Sparklehorse
Grey Eagle | Asheville, NC | 09.09.06

Yes, it is true - I witnessed the traveling miracle known as Sparklehorse at Asheville, North Carolina's Grey Eagle over the weekend. Only one of seven stops on this US "tour" - nothing could have been more important than this viewing [even death should have been put on hold 'til Sunday - {my 540 miles traveled to and from was well invested} ]. To a crowd of 300+, Linkous and a qualified three-piece band [veteran drummer Johnny Hott (Vivadixie) on percussion and harmonium / Paula Jean Brown - Bass / Chris Michaels - Guitar/ Keys] covered material from the classic Vivadixie book to the upcoming hardback known as Dreamt For Light Years In The Belly Of A Mountain [due out Sept. 26th; Astralwerks].

Between the acoustic opener, local talent Tyler Ramsey [certainly worth checking out; "Time Machine" shows great things to come], I overheard one man attempting to describe to a new Sparklehorse listener the bands sound: "It's really laid back. Have you ever heard Grandaddy?", said the one man to his neighbor's query. "No, I haven't", was the novice listener's reply. This quick relay of "information" brought a brief giggle to the front of my excitement for the evening, for I have always claimed the - now retired - Grandaddy machine borrowed heavily from the most informative page of Mark Linkous' notebook. If you're gonna borrow, you may as well choose wisely...

Opening with a beautiful version of "Gold Day", a three-piece suit'ed Linkous [hair styled and all] and his well-dressed band never once let up throughout their hour long set. "My relatives and friends from Hayesville (NC) are really gonna hate this one", Mark stated in a southern drawl that could only belong to a native of the woodland area, before taking charge on one of Dreamt's vivacious anthems "Ghost In The Sky".

Of the new material performed, we got to absorb "Don't Take My Sunshine Away", "Return To Me" and "Ghost In The Sky".

From the marvelous back catalog, the performance included "Painbirds", "Homecoming Queen", "Spirit Ditch", "Someday I Will Treat You Good", "Sad and Beautiful World" and "Apple Bed".

Yes, it is true - I witnessed the traveling miracle known as Sparklehorse at Asheville, North Carolina's Grey Eagle over the weekend. Glory be the memories.

kaleb :: [2006 AD]