Iris Dement, The Bowerbirds

A few weekends ago I went to see a couple shows with Lauren.

One was Iris Dement, who thought it would be a good idea to wear a country picnic tablecloth dress. You know, those checkerboard ones? Nice. Between songs she talked like she was stoned out of her gourd and about to pass out, but she sang beautifully. Favorite quote (said in a total stoner voice): "my fingers are sticking to the keys...". I took some video on cell phone, but they are so tiny they aren't worth uploading. The guy that opened for her was so boring that I forgot his name. I did recognize him as soon as we walked in though - he is the guitarist for John Prine. For somebody who has been entertaining for so long, he really needs to work on his stage presence and his conversation between songs. Good voice, but some of the songs he played were a little too silly for my taste. Lots of old people at this show. Every once in a while I would nudge Lauren and say "hey look, there are some young people ", pointing at some people without gray hair. Here's a clip of my favorite Iris song, which is actually a duet with John Prine. If you know my taste in music, you can probably already guess that its a bit out there.

We also went to see The Bowerbirds at Duke Gardens. These people were really good. The lead singer reminded me a bit of Damien Rice. Their instruments were unique too - of course the rhythm guitar, but also an auto harp, an accordion, and a big bass drum. I wish the girl in the group had done more singing, her voice was really nice too. Lots of hippies at this show. Once I nudged Lauren and said, "hey look, an old person". It stormed during this show, and we sat on the grass in the rain and got soaked!