So two or three songs in during his acoustic show at the Troubadour last night, you forgot he was the only person on stage.

Shawn's currently promoting his new album Honeydew, and this show at the Troubadour was sparsely filled, mostly with industry folks - and I understand this was by design. The Troubadour had set up chairs on the main floor, in addition to their balcony, and nearly everyone had a seat. And the audience felt comfortable enough to ask Shawn questions in between songs, like whether or not he would collaborate again with the Thorns, to which Shawn said it was a possibility, and then jokingly asked if this was a press conference.

Shawn gained national attention some years ago when "Lullaby" became a #1 pop hit, followed by another minor hit, "Shimmer," from his Soul's Core album, which I hear as an Americana album, not a pop album. If you need further proof, you should have been at the show when I started bawling when he sang, "I'd drink a whole bottle of my pride," from "Shimmer." That's some good songwriting.

Shawn also told my favorite story about "Blue As You," from 9th Ward Pickin' Parlor, in which he was writing with Matthew Sweet and Pete Droge (the three of them round out the supergroup The Thorns), and Matthew was a little hung over from the night before and was napping in the other room. But they needed him to contribute the third verse to the song so they could properly share writing credits, so they carefully woke up him, and Matthew mumbled, "Interstellar rainbow on its cosmic wheel; rollin' where the wind blows, never standing still," while Shawn and Pete hastily wrote it down. And Matthew promptly went back to sleep.

THAT's great songwriting.

And there's more where that came from on Honeydew, as evidenced by "For America," "Cabbagetown," "All In My Head," and especially in the tragic "The Ballad of Kathryn Johnston," all from the new album. Shawn also covered James McMurtry's "Where's Johnny," and came back for TWO encores (even the Chris Thile Fan Club didn't get TWO encores!), which included two Kris Kristofferson songs.

An awesome show, and a sweet new album.

My knowledge of Bad Religion is peripheral at best, but it appears that I'm even more indie than I thought - because I thought the songs that weren't their radio hits were their least interesting songs (except for "The Hills of Los Angeles." That song kicks ass.). However, are they still a punk band? 'Cause I went to this show to see a subculture that seemed to be absent...Can the punk experts elaborate? I need to know!

(And if you want to take me to one of their sold-out shows in Anaheim this week, I love you.)

Shane Tutmarc hails from Seattle, WA and is best known as lead man for the now defunct band, Dolour. A very bright and ingenious songwriter, Shane, his brother, Brandon, and their cousin Ryan have formed a tight family band, and the Mercies are just oozing with talent. It’s like a fresh breath of air to hear them play. And, the topics that Shane Tutmarc writes about have certainly hit home with me as I’m sure they will with music lovers all over. They pull sounds from many different music genres to keep it fresh and progressive. The instrumentations only add more color to songs about life and love. It’s the "next best thing in rock and roll", and I know you won’t be disappointed.

With their recent release "Hey Lazarus!", Shane Tutmarc & The Traveling Mercies are a band to keep your eye on!

Shane Tutmarc & The Traveling Mercies

You can check out Shane Tutmarc and the Traveling Mercies at:

http://www.shanetutmarc.com
http://www.myspace.com/thetravelingmercies

Also check out Dolour at http://www.myspace.com/dolour

Yes, I said the Foo Fighters.

"You mean you know who the Foo Fighters are?" asked my 22 year-old sister, who apparently thinks I live in a cave.

(Okay, the only reason I know who the Foo Fighters and Serj Tankian are is because they've been featured on Loveline. And they sounded pretty smart when they were on that show - especially Serj Tankian - so I figured I'd be interested to explore their music a little. I realize that that's kind of the opposite of what Loveline's goal is - what they really want to do is draw in listeners with the bands, in hopes that the listeners will learn something. Instead, I listen to Loveline in hopes of laughing at their stupid callers, and end up learning about music, too.)

Not realizing that I'd accidentally be seeing Mike Stinson at the Gaysian bar last Saturday, I was afraid of having live music withdrawals, so at the last minute, I scored a pair of "obstructed view" seats in the rafters of the Forum - which is a nightmare venue to try to park at (the freaking House of Blues is easier than this joint), little did I know....So we missed all of Against Me! and most of Serj Tankian, but saw enough of him to realize that he is the brother from another mother of Big & Rich's Big Kenny. And when Dave Grohl announced that this was the show at which, "Everyone who has to work tomorrow is fucked!", he wasn't kidding (I was useless at work on Thursday). The Foos went on at 9:30p, and didn't stop until shortly before midnight. They're a band who is clearly proud to consider L.A. their hometown, and thrilled to have sold-out the Forum for two nights in a row.

But what I was most proud of is that I anticipated an unheard of level of debauchery, being in the "Cheap Seats." I expected to see fights, pot smoking, many overserved patrons...But what I witnessed in Collonade 24 at the Forum was nothing, NOTHING compared to the debauchery that went on in the lawn section of KZLA's Country Bashes at Verizon Wireless in Irvine. We had people puking on other people, enough weed to make Willie Nelson feel at home, men fighting, babies crying, and security guards having sex with female concert goers (we made the venue hire a different group of security guards the next year). The worst thing I saw at the Foo Fighters' show was a guy who'd lit up a joint, only to obey when security told him he had to put it out. WTF? Oh, and the drunk guy who got his leg stuck in a chair while trying to climb into another row was pretty funny, too.

But overall, compared to the country fans, you rock fans have NO IDEA how to party. Once again, the country fans have made me proud.

I went to the Troubadour with high hopes on Tuesday, and for the first fifteen minutes of his set, was really impressed but after that, all of his songs kinda started to sounded the same, as I frequently find is the case with shoe-gazers. Since his opener was Anders Parker, also a talented musician, but also a little boring, I was hoping for there to be maybe a little something from their Gob Iron collaboration, and yet...nothing. Having said all that, Jay totally redeemed himself with his encore, a cover of "Are You Sure Hank Done It This Way" Jay Farrar-style. BAD. ASSSSSSSSSSS. Maybe I do worship him. A little.

The Punch Brothers were playing Thursday night, but silly me - I didn't realize until I got there that this was a show to be attended almost entirely by the Chris Thile Fan Club. Seriously. With a name like "The Punch Brothers," one would think that this would be more of a collective band unit - no, this show should have been marketed as Chris Thile and Everyone Else - okay, that's unnecessarily mean - Chris Thile and the Punch Brothers, instead of The Punch Brothers featuring Chris Thile, as it was marketed. I don't mean to say that it's a bad thing that Chris is the star, because he clearly is - and while the rest of the brothers are also clearly talented (No way is the former member of Nickel Creek going to associate musically with anyone who's not a virtuoso), I'm just saying let's call it like it is. Especially if Chris is going to keep referring to Punch, the new record by the Punch Brothers, as his second solo album....I mean, come on.

But yeah, I'd go see them again, too. In a heartbeat. Even with the Chris Thile Fan Club.

Freddie Bell died on February 11, 2008. He may have been the last of the old-school Vegas lounge singers. He was certainly the last of something.

I should back-up a bit, before I get too carried away, and mention the prelude to our evening in Santa Barbara. The previous evening, a Friday night, I went (yet again) to The Mint to see Hayes Carll and Chuck Prophet (Chuck produced Kelly's latest record, Translated from Love, and was also playing in Santa Barbara the next evening). I've seen Hayes in better form - I imagine that because this was his first trip to Los Angeles, he wasn't as surrounded by as many people who were familiar with his music as he's used to. The band scheduled between Hayes and Chuck was the Carnival Dogs, but it seems that most of the band was unable to make it, so as filler, they got some terribly boring coffee-house singer to perform for a half-hour, and then two members of the Carnival Dogs joined the founder of the Mint (I found this a little confusing, 'cause I thought the Mint was founded in the '30s, but it seems that this was really the guy who refurbished it a few years ago) for three or four really boring songs that made me seriously consider leaving. I stuck around, though, and got to see Chuck play for about 30 minutes before I had to go back to work. Chuck was so-oo good, and it was really hard to leave early.

I wish I could say that Pam and I headed up the coast to Santa Barbara early enough on Saturday to do some wine tasting and sit down to a nice dinner, but c'mon, we don't have our shit together THAT much. We made it in time to walk up and down State Street a bit, and have Ben & Jerry's ice cream (Brownie Cheesecake is DELICIOUS!) before heading back over to the Lobero. Outside, we marveled at how cool it was that so many people knew who Kelly Willis was, and then we realized that her show was part of a subscription series called "Sings Like Hell." It was a very different setting and crowd than we're used to at the smoky bar joints - a sit-down theatre with no alcohol allowed inside. We worried that people would complain if we tapped our feet too loudly, and backstage, even Kelly admitted that shows like that are terrifying - because those people are actually listening! Kelly played a fantastic set accompanied by only a couple of guitars (and Chuck and a drummer at one point for "The More That I'm Around You"). I also learned at the show that the Dixie Chicks had requested to record Kelly's "Not Forgotten You" for their debut album, which Kelly denied them, saying, "That's MY song!", not realizing that they'd go on to sell a gazillion copies of that album. Now, of course, she's a sister-in-law to one of them, and the song they recorded by Kelly's husband, Bruce Robison, "Travelin' Soldier," became "the fastest descending #1" in the history of the Billboard charts. I would have loved to hear Natalie Maines singing that, and it seems like it would have been such a great inclusion on their Wide Open Spaces record, but I'd take Kelly Willis singing her own song over that any day.

This show has definitely left me yearning for the day when Kelly returns to touring again.

However, as much as I love Jessee, I found myself a quick fan of the new lead singer, Sarah Dugas, and thought her introduction was a perfect one - just enough fan favorite songs, plus plenty of songs from their forthcoming album, which they just recorded in Nashville. Sarah's voice is similar, albeit not identical, to Jessee's, but Sarah sang even the "old" songs with as much sass and confidence as if she was the one who had performed the songs on the record, too.

Appropriately, fiddler Tania Elizabeth and banjoist Leonard Podolak took over introductions on a few songs that had a place in the band's history prior to Sarah's inclusion, but in such a seemless way that one never knew she hadn't always been part of the band. Guitarist Jordan McConnell is still with the band, but percussionist Scott Senior has been replaced by Sarah's brother, the understated but very talented Christian Dugas (Scott has chosen to remain off the road, due to the birth of his second child, and ironically, Christian and Leonard also played together in a band called Scruj MacDuhk - from which Leonard came up with the current band name).

So, yeah, I'm anxiously awaiting the new album from the Duhks, and the next ripple in their pond.

I take that back. I caught a glimpse of I think Kanye West singing something while waiting for my friend Pam to get ready (she had the Grammys on TV when I came over Sunday night). Unmistakeable? Irreplaceable? Something like that? I was clearly impressed.

Several co-workers playfully accused me of being a "show whore" when I told them that prior to the private Dierks Bentley show I was scheduled to attend on Friday night, I would also be attending Yep Roc's Grammy Showcase at the Mint, thanks to Wanda and her college radio magic. We were mainly there to see Jim Lauderdale, who was nominated for (and later won!) Best Bluegrass Album for The Bluegrass Diaries. Jim's Friday night bluegrass set was pleasant but quiet, and a couple of times I wanted to punch the ass holes standing in front of us for talking so damn loud.

You'll have to ask Wanda about Peter Case and Doyle Bramhall, who followed Lauderdale, because after Jim, who was our priority, I went over to the Knitting Factory. I'm not embarrassed to admit that I'm a Dierks Bentley fan mainly because the very first time I saw him perform live, he did a really, really great job - and the merits of that one show (although I've seen him several times since then) have made me forgive him for not having a personality. Anyway, when I learned that Miranda Lambert and Dwight Yoakam were scheduled to make appearances, the value of this show skyrocketed for me.

And the show did not disappoint. I've seen Dierks enough times to kind of know his formula - I know that he's going to play the "hits," as well as "can't-miss" album cuts like "Domestic, Light, and Cold," "Cab of My Truck," "Wish It Would Break," etc. However, Dierks strayed from the norm with this show: instead playing album cuts like "Can't Live It Down," and introducing a new song, "Life on the Run." Miranda Lambert was the first guest to join Dierks for a duet of "Are You Sure Hank Done It This Way," which as you may recall, she performed with Jack Ingram on CMT Cross Country, and at this show, name-checked Jack - Nothin' wrong with that! (If you get that reference, know that I love you.) Following Miranda was Brad Paisley, who performed "Folsom Prison" and "Act Naturally" with Dierks. Next up - Mike McCready of Pearl Jam, who played guitar for another of Dierks' album cuts, "Distant Shore." The kids from Paramore were up next, and who knew Hayley could do "Jackson" so well?! They also performed the Foo Fighters' "My Hero," in honor of Chris Shiflett, who was scheduled but couldn't be there. The quote of the night belongs to my boss, who was in the restroom when Dwight Yoakam came out for the encore, to perform "Close Up the Honkytonks" and "Love's Gonna Live Here." "Wow, Dwight can really clear a bathroom!" was her comment upon returning to our post.

I took a breather from all-things Grammy on Saturday, before heading back over the Mint for the Americana Music Association's Grammy party, hosted by Sin City (I have now been to the Mint so many times in the past month, the girl at the door knows my last name). Pam and I are so cool that we said we'd be there at 9p, but we wound up leaving her place on the West Side at 9:30p. Fortunately, nothing really got underway until 10:30p, when the Sin-City All-Stars started their set. They're mostly a jam band, but guest appearances from Travis Howard (who performed "Famous In a Small Town," the song he co-wrote with Miranda Lambert, and which was nominated for a Grammy - but lost to Carrie Underwood) and Aaron from Shurman were much appreciated. Ted Russell Kamp was also in the audience, and if it was up to me, he'd have played, too. Jim Lauderdale was the well-deserved prince of the evening with his Grammy-win, and his hour-long set would have been awesome, enough....even if Lucinda Williams and Charlie Louvin hadn't come up on stage to sing with him! (Lucinda was standing right next to me for a little while - and I can honestly say I have never, ever been more nervous in MY LIFE).

People started clearing out around 1a, but they should have stuck around, because shortly afterward, Jim Lauderdale and Randy Kohrs started an impromptu acoustic performance by the bar. After two songs, it was suggested that the party be moved upstairs (I didn't even know the Mint had an upstairs!), but it was now 1:30a, and people, I had to be at work at 10a the next morning...and I don't like Monday mornings to begin with.

And now, I am Grammied out.

The Beatles have yet again, made music history, but this time in a bit of a different way...okay, a real different way. Last week, The Beatles song "Across The Universe" was literally catapult across the the Universe by NASA!

Scientists are continuously discovering things about the Universe they didn't know before. I will never say that there is not life on another planet, because there is too much we don't know. Every time I truly think of our "big" blue planet floating out there in space, it blows me away. We don't stop often enough to think about how miraculous that is. We're too busy trying to earn a living, take care of our families, etc. But, thought is infinite and the imagination can take us far in our journey. Who knows, maybe someone, somewhere far, far away will be listening and trying to make sense.

To read more (click on the link below):

http://www.nasa.gov/topics/universe/features/across_universe.html

Engineers at JPL's mission control initiated a signal telling the NASA's Deep Space Network to send the song into space. Image credit: NASA/JPL.

I was actually on the fence about whether or not I wanted to see Mark Olson (of the Jayhawks - I'm not sure if I should say "formerly" of the Jayhawks or not - are they getting back together? Are they not? I don't have a clue anymore) and Mary Gauthier, only because the responsible voice inside my head kept saying I should really throw that money at some bills instead of the $20 it would cost for the ticket, plus the $2 service fee, plus parking, plus beer...Then again, I had another voice inside my head (and this one MUCH more obnoxious and whiny) saying, "But you stayed home last night! Can't you go out tonight?" And then of course, it's the end of the month, and when I saw that my paycheck was more - much more - than I thought it was going to be - well, that obnoxious whiny voice won big time.

Mary Gauthier was clearly the draw of the evening - sonically, she's a lot like Lucinda Williams, but for as pissed off as Lucinda Williams is, Mary Gauthier is just sad and depressed. I almost want to tell her that the world isn't that fucked up - but then again, I don't, 'cause then her music wouldn't be as good. No backing band for Ms. Gauthier, just a guitar and harmonica, and she kicked ass.

Unfortunately, I think about a quarter of the audience had left by the time Mark Olson had finished - which totally sucked, because he was really great! I think of him as what I would think of Bob Dylan, if I liked Bob Dylan. But I don't. I hate Bob Dylan. I hear other people sing his songs, and I think it's the greatest thing ever. Then I hear Bob Dylan sing his songs, and I find myself praying to a god I don't even believe in for some sort of very loud explosion to happen nearby, permanently damaging my ears so that I never have to hear Bob Dylan again. But Mark Olson was phenomenal - and with only his guitar, fiddle player (who's name I can't remember, but I know he was from Italy and he was awesome - I'm a sucker for fiddle players), and percussionist who sometimes played the piano - it made for a very intimate show.

Perhaps I should mention that I was drinking at this show - no shock to anyone, I suppose. However, my drink of choice is Shiner Bock, which I've only seen sold in Texas, at Alex's Bar, and at some sports bar in Santa Monica (and sold in the bottle at Ralph's, Howe's, and Whole Foods). So it's not a huge surprise to me to find that the Troubadour doesn't carry it. My second choice drink (a distant second) is a good ole Bud Light, which the Troubadour also does not sell. So I have to order an MGD. Six dollars for one MGD! I nursed that first MGD through Mary's set, giving me a fairly good buzz. Now, the Troubadour is usually a standing-room-only venue, but they'd laid out the folding chairs for this show, which I thought was hot. That was EXACTLY how I wanted to spend my night - just a little drunk, watching good live music. However, the place was packed enough that I wasn't able to get the ideal aisle seat that's also close enough to the center of the stage. So I was stuck in the middle, and as I frequently do at "sit down" concerts, I budget that if the opening act played about 45 minutes, the closing act would play about an hour and a half, so I'd need two more drinks. During the interval between acts, I got up to get two more MGDs - that way, I wouldn't have to get up in the middle of the set. Genius, isn't it?! I can't help it - I'm a thinker. However, I'd just - and I mean, just started my third MGD - only 50 minutes in! - when Mark Olson announced his last song. So I had to chug, because I'd paid $6 for that beer alone, and as much as I'd tried, I couldn't forget that I'd spent over $20 on beer, and easily could have bought a 12-pack for less than that at my local market. "This is what I get for trying to be responsible," I thought.

All in all, it turned out well, except for the fact that I'm really pissed off that YOU didn't go. Please don't make me even madder by not showing up to the Hot Club of Cowtown show at Safari Sam's on Saturday. Unless you want to be lame like Wanda and go to the Stevie Nicks show instead.

Maybe one day they'll learn how to properly spell "Yep Roc."

Happily, the answer was yes.

I hit the ground running on Wednesday, January 16th (the previous two days were spent trying to work ahead, in anticipation of Punk Rock Bowling that weekend) with Cross Canadian Ragweed at my favorite venue, the House of Blues, Sunset. Last year's show was comprised of almost entirely new material from their then-current album, Garage, which was cool, but people come to see CCR for "17," "Constantly," "Bang My Head," and the like. CCR played a nice mix of the old and new this time around (Hey, they played that song, too!), and getting to sing back, "Sweet Home Alabama!" at Cody Canada's prompt of, "They sang about Savannah..." was one of the moments that I know I'll look back on fondly on my deathbed. Cody, by the way, looks a lot less scary now that's he's cut off much of his formerly waist-length hair.

Punk Rock Bowling that weekend consisted of a lot of driving, bowling, shopping (you need to see my boots), eating (I'm still thinking about that chicken I had at Billy Bob's Steakhouse), but mostly drinking. Got to see The Adolescents Friday night, and Throw Rag proved on Saturday night that even with a crappy sound system, they are still great - both clothed and unclothed.

I left Las Vegas early Sunday afternoon, concerned about the amount of work I'd have waiting for me at the office on Monday...and also wanted a bit of a "resting period" before the week began. My "resting period" plans were blown out of the water half-way through my drive when a friend reminded me that Pat Green was playing at the House of Blues, Anaheim that night. I've never been able to resist temptation, so I drove straight to Disneyland, with enough time to change clothes, get tickets, and still see the opening band, who was about as memorable as their name (I couldn't tell ya to save my life). Pat was awesome, but in case I was worried that Orange County wasn't as Republican as ever, I can now rest assured that that's not the case at all. Pat's mention of, "I'm looking forward to 2008! Yeah, there's gonna be a new jerk in office. Or a woman!" was met with boos, and when Pat sang, "Here We Go," and substituted "Toby Keith" for "Nashville" in the line, "I gave up on Nashville a long time ago," I was the only one who cheered. Great.

Wednesday afternoon found me at the taping of NBC's "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno," as Shooter Jenningswas the musical guest. Watching the taping is truly an amazing experience - it really doesn't seem possible that they're able to write (especially without writers), produce, memorize monologues, rehearse, and execute a full hour show day after day. Guests included a contortionist, a crazy lady who spun dishes and bowls at the top of poles, and another crazy lady who made her housecats do all sorts of wacky tricks (they call this "Writers' Strike Filler"). Adam Carolla and Richard Roeper rounded out the guest list (Adam Carolla's voice isn't nearly as obnoxious as I remember it being on "Loveline" - that was part of his charm!), and Shooter was awesome.

I had sort of a dilemma in planning Friday night...Jason Isbell (formerly of the Drive-By Truckers) and Will Hoge were playing at Spaceland, but Todd Snider (who is a not-miss) was playing at The Mint, followed by Steve Poltz's CD release party. Fortunately, I discovered a work-around...if I went to see Jason and Will at the Vault 350 in Long Beach Thursday night, that would free me up to see Todd and Steve at the Mint Friday night. And I wouldn't have to worry about getting lost driving in Silverlake. Perfect.

I'd called the Vault ahead of time to get a rough estimate of when Will Hoge (my priority) would be going on (I knew I'd need to take a nap if he was going on late enough) and was told 11p. I figured if I arrived by 10p, I'd be able to see most of Jason Isbell's set, and all of Will's. Well, shockingly, I got lost in Long Beach, and arrived at approximately 10:15p to discover signs on the front door saying that Will and the opener would be playing extended sets because Jason was ill. From within, I could hear Will crooning, "When I Can Afford to Lose," the first song on his new CD, Draw the Curtains, so I was anxious to get inside, but not so anxious that I didn't let the doorman give me a comp ticket because I was cute (read: because I have a nice rack). Inside, I found that the torrential rains had kept most people away - there were maybe 30 people in the venue that I'd seen fit 700. It was cool, though, to be able to sit down and watch a great show at a great venue, and even Will sadly commented that the Vault had the best sound at any venue he'd played at during this tour, and only a handful of people had braved the weather to see it.

We were a bit late arriving at the Mint for Todd's scheduled 8p performance, but that was okay, because Todd was more than a bit late going on stage, so it all worked out. This was the third night that Todd had played the Mint, and he'd be back Saturday night, and if I had been able to, I would've attended all four nights - Todd is that awesome. I thought it was a little ironic that Todd was playing Los Angeles on the same night that his nemesis, Garth Brooks, was also playing Los Angeles (more about that in a bit), and yet, he didn't take on his usual diatribe about how one of the songwriters of Garth's "Beer Run," had stolen the idea from him, and in retaliation, Todd wrote a song called "If Tomorrow Never Comes," which has a completely different message than Garth's hit of the same name. Todd played both songs, but omitted his usual explanation.

Prior to Steve Poltz's set, a guy named Tim Bluhm, lead singer of The Mother Hips, played. Tim has a very nice voice, and a mellow, but not unenjoyable, set. Tim and Steve host a songwriters' workshop each year; this year it will be in Yosemite, and in Costa Rica next.

Although Steve co-wrote Jewel's "You Were Meant for Me," his sound is far from commercial-pop. Sonically, he's much more similar to Tim Easton, Blue Rodeo, and Jayhawks, but he's also definitely been influenced by Todd Snider, with his comedic and frequently self-deprecating explanations of how some of his songs came about.

It was time for something completely different Saturday night, as I held tickets to see one Garth Brooks play the last of five shows held over two days, an unprecedented move by any performer. The concerts were a benefit for the Southern California 2008 Fire Relief Campaign, with all proceeds from tickets and merch sales going to the fund. Garth had played two shows (one at 6p; one at 10p) Friday night, with the first airing live on CBS. I understand that Garth was not a fan of having to constantly stop and start between songs for the taping, and was much more amped up for the second Friday night show. Each of Garth's five performances had slightly different set lists (Garth says he knows that there are some die-hard fans who would be in attendance at all five shows and wanted to mix it up for them, and to have people compare notes and say, "No, he didn't do that at our show!"), and Huey Lewis was a guest at the Friday night shows, but not at the Saturday shows. Garth's wife, the phenomenal Trisha Yearwood, performed a couple of songs with Garth at all five shows, earning more applause than Garth himself! The chemistry between them was unbelievable during their Grammy-winning duet, "In Another's Eyes," even from opposite ends of the stage. I felt a little like I was seeing Garth fifteen years too late - in videos, we see him running all over and jumping off the stage, and this show didn't have that kind of energy - maybe because the man is now nearly 46 years old - and also because this was his fifth show in two days - and third show in one day! However, it was very clear how much Garth loves performing and how much he misses it - and also how much his fans miss him.

I haven't really had time to make plans for this week's night life, except I know that I'll be back at the NBC studios on Monday to see Dierks Bentley perform on Leno...but with Lady Antebellumat the Mint on Tuesday, Deana Carter at the Roxy also on Tuesday, and Mark Olson and Mary Gauthier at the Troubadour on Thursday...it looks like my dance card is starting to fill up.