The Sakura Dojo

So, we have lived in Athens, Georgia, for 13 years and last night was the first time we attended AthFest, the yearly festival of music and arts. We went down because Guadalcanal Diary had reformed for their 30th Anniversary and were playing two shows, the first at AthFest! It was a great show with many of our favorite songs being played (including Lips of Steel which was the very first song of theirs we had heard). Much fun.

Unfortunately, being a free outdoor concert, we had to contend with lots of people wandering aimlessly through the area, talking, getting in the way, smoking, drinking and so on. Still, well worth it to see Guadalcanal Diary who were rocking and having a good time, playing three (!) encores! We grabbed t-shirts and their live CD (from 1998!) which completes my collection of their easy to get hold of music.

Here is a video for their song Always Saturday which I think if the only actual, official video they have. But several other of their songs are up on YouTube as well. Give them a listen.

Shameless plug! We have a Roleplaying Game Demo Night at Tyche's Games tonight starting at 6.

Join my (virtual) dojo! Silly online fighting game.

What you need, my friends, is your own personal (programmable) soundtrack t-shirt. Though I want an MP3 player that adjusts what it is playing to the conditions around me.

On the more serious side, what should be done about music no longer in print? A whole community of bloggers are providing downloads of these otherwise unavailable pieces of music. Pretty cool if in a legal gray area.

Wired reports of civilian uses for nuclear explosives (they call they crazy, I think creative is better).

Yesterday, Laura and I went into Atlanta (a surprisingly easy trip) to Eddie's Attic, a lovely little venue in Decatur off courthouse square. My favourite singer-songwriter Al Stewart was performing there.

We got in early, about half an hour before the venue opened, and walked around the Decatur Courthouse reading the historical signs. We got back just as Al Stewart and his accompanying musician Dave Nachmanoff were arriving so we spoke briefly to both of them. I was wearing my old Al Stewart Mailing List "Year of the @" t-shirt which Dave recognized as a former listee too. We parted ways and went in. Hung out on the bar-porch and looked around, it is really a nice place, until the doors opened. We had not paid for a table, it only being the two of us and a table seating four, but we ended up at the only table that had not been reserved. Had a pretty good dinner with some Woodchuck cider. Dave approached us and asked us to help him with selling his CDs and to film some of the sets for him, which were happy to help out with.

Dave Nachmanoff opened with three pieces which were pretty solid and then the main show began. Eddie's Attic is a really nice venue, small, with a good sound system (which is piped to the outside bar for those smokers who just have to get a cig in). Very intimate, really. It was a good show in two sets (and one encore) including four new pieces (one about a Carthaginian, Hanno the Navigator, which was really beautiful) from his CD that will (hopefully) be releasing later this year. Just a really nice show, lots of great songs and fun patter.

After the show, helped Dave sell some more CDs, thanked Al Stewart for a lovely night and headed home, getting back a little after midnight and tumbled into bed.

This is the fourth time I have seen Al Stewart in concern, each time in a smaller venue. Apparently, he played Eddie's Attic last year and we missed it. I will try to keep a better eye on Al Stewart's concert schedule.