Easter Weekend Rhett Fest 2010 (Part One)
Okay, so I have the best husband in the entire World, nay Universe!
I just wanted to throw that out there because it's true. I am so frelling lucky. I am married to this amazing man who puts up with all my shit AND drives a thousand miles through three states in two days to placate my desire to watch my fantasy husband perform back-to-back gigs. Like my boy sings, "If it's not love/what is this/Aaah what is this?"
Good thing my ever-lovin Geo enjoys him as well. Plus, the weather was picture-perfect, we got to have sushi with our long lost Bud who we miss every single day AND Geo didn't have to use a vacation day because Friday was a company holiday. Who knew? So this trip was meant to happen, right?
That's my story anyway.
So anywho, I'm sure you all are sick of my obsession with Mr. Miller, but really I keep going back for more because he never puts on the same show twice, he sings his ass off--no one gives more to his fans than he and when he's feeling confident and playful on stage, the banter is just the best! He's smart, witty, charming. Even when he's taking artistic license with some of his tales, he never fails to entertain. I never ever leave unhappy or unfulfilled. Not the spiritual uplift of a Francis concert, but a happy hum coursing through my veins to accompany the unending smile from ear to ear. Besides, he's just, you know ADORABLE!
Alright. Enough of that ya-ya shit.
So, the first stop of our excursion was a little place in lovely New Hope, PA called John & Peter's. And by little I mean tiny, minuscule, down-right Lilliputian. It was the Mini-Me of night clubs. No lie. This place was like a cave... the ceiling was barely above six feet, cramped perimeter, dark. It only held 80 people. Seriously. It was so low, those of us on the side couldn't stand fully upright resulting in a crouching ovation. Even he clocked himself pretty good on the "padded" rafters. And Dude... it had the WORST mixers. Like Romulan rot. The juices were hard core rank. Take the absolute worst generic OJ that exists and add pond scum water with a hint of cyanide and you just might duplicate the swill these gals were serving up. I could only force down one cocktail.
I know, right?!? That's like, unheard of for me. I actually spent the concert sober. What?
That said... I did find this sign in the ladies room to be amusing, being that it was Good Friday and all.
I got to speak with Rhett's road manager, Mike beforehand. I met him last summer when the Old 97's played at Hartwood Acres. We had a great conversation. Mike's got a great sense of humor. I bought a new tee then took my place on the Group W bench in the corner to wait for the show to start.
Rhett bounded down the stairs with his large glass of Jameson, and launched into the first of his 30 song playlist. Yeah. He played 30 songs AND a three-song encore. Do you see why I love him?
"Super human, he is."
You are correct, Yoda.
He was in a very playful mood that night, working off the good vibe in the room. He went off on all sorts of topics--several of which I recorded, but one of of the funniest rants, which I foolishly didn't tape, centered around this peculiar... okay horrendous stained glass window on stage.
Seriously. WTF?!? Who the Hell thought that bellowing bloke should be committed to glass? Is he passing a kidney stone? having his innards chomped out by a parasite? being impaled on the fence post? It was, as Mr. Miller said "fucking horrifying", but he was absolutely hilarious about it.
Then after the show he kindly agreed to pose for this...
I will heart him forever and ever for it. Again I say, do you see why I love him. He's such a good sport.
The concert was unbelievable. The energy through the roof. You know, the usual from Rhett. We're so lucky he lives on the East coast. I know he misses his home, but I selfishly hope he doesn't move to Dallas any time soon. I would so miss our little jaunts to see him. But seriously, he should come to Pittsburgh. Club Cafe is perfect for him.
That said, here are some video highlights from New Hope:
The gals in the front row lured him into singing the missing hydra line of Singular Girl. Nice job, Ladies.
A special birthday request I like to call a 4X4: Four-Eyed Girl for her, and a kicking, scream-at-the-top-of-your-lungs version of Four Leaf Clover for all of us. How does he not bruise his brain?
Rhett's going to be a guest voice on Squid Billies. Being an Adult Swim fan, he's gotta be stoked. You can hear us cracking up in the background.
This one is just Rhett ripping on the black fly. Here's a perfect example of the kind of fun you have when he gets all wound up. Again you can hear me and Geo laughing heartily. Proof Geo doesn't completely hate our little excursions. I believe he gives me shit about my obssession just to keep me grounded.
There are more videos posted on my YouTube page.
So to recap:
Interesting venue, John & Peter's. Certainly intimate enough. We were practically on stage with him, but I have three major complaints
a) Cocktails majorly sucked--Good God man! Invest in some top shelf mixers next time.
b) It was waaaay too smoky. Seriously. Enough with the smoking.
c) People would just not SHUT THE HELL UP!?! He was less than ten feet away, people. Um...hello? He can hear you. As Geo always says, "don't you just hate it when the singer who you paid money to see is so loud he interrupts your conversation?"
This post has turned into a beast all its own, therefore I'll write part two tomorrow or the next day. Besides Geo's just got home and it's Thursday which means Community and The Office and 30 Rock... But trust me, you're gonna want to watch the videos from the next night. He was Big.Time.Fun!!
