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Subject: Birmingham Show
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Robert
Posts:37


09/08/2008 8:40 AM  

After I left Work I grabbed an Arby sandwich on the way to WorkPlay.  I am a fraid I take after my father sometimes. "Hurry up, so we can be early." I git there about 35 minutes befor the show. I told the girl sat the entrance that was a guset. She didn't look at any paper to verify or amything and gave me an arm band pass.

I knew the theatre had seating, so I took the Makers Mark in with me. I figured I could set it undr the chair. What they had was a bank of small table. All the tables at the front were already full, so I sat down at one in the middle toward the back, but it was a small theatre so I was still close.

Teddy Thompson came on. I guess he was good. He just wasn't my style. Anbd the microphone was turned up so high that his wards scrambled.

Then after the stage was prepped, Tift finally came on.

Tables are handy for jotting down set list.

Something To Me
duet with Teddy, the Everly Brother's song "Kissed You"
Morning Is My Destination
Stray Paper
I Know What I'm Looking For Now
Another CountryHopes Too High
Supposed To Make You Happy
Keep You Happy
My Heart Is Free
Broken
Tender Branch
Neighborhood
When I Cross Over

Then after that, I think the encor:
Good Hearted Man (solo)
Virginia(slow version, solo)
Plainest Thing
Mille Tendresses
Trouble Over Me(solo)

Someone commented that shows at places where you have to stand are better. I definately liked sitting down. And the airconditioning was good too!

Tift pointed out a guy on the front left who gave her a standing ovation after every song. She said that because she was born in the South when she tours the South, in every city she has cousins. She said that even in France she has cousins, and used that as an intro to My Heart Is Free about her ancestor. One girl in the audience called out to her in French, and they exchanged some French dialogue.

Tift also asked if you could drink in Alabama on a Sunday, while holding her beer. Someone in the audience held up their beer in reply.

When Tift said something to Zeek that the audience couldn't hear, someone called out., "Sunday is nobodies business." Later that song was requested, but Tift ignored all request.

Before hert last song, she said it was dedicated to someone, I didn't catch who. And she doesn't sing it very often anymore. Then sang Trouble Over Me. During the song she stopped, but kept playing and said, "I forgot the words," then picked it up and kept going. That didn't stop her from getting a standing ovation.

I had no trouble getting toward the front of the line, if it could be called a line. Zeek came out with her. He saw my bag and smilled. He said, "Your Robert?" I replied in the afirmative and he shook my hand. He thanked me for help out. When Tift finished signing a cd I pulled out the bottle and presented it to her. She smiled, took it, and thanked me for sall the help I'd done. I went around behind the table to get the picture. The girl who speaks Spanish took one whil I had to bend my knees to lower myself to get into the shot with Tift. Tift said to take a second ond to be sure. Which turned out to be a good idea because the first one was out of focus.

After that it seemed that I was leaving too quyickly. But I was tired. I got some great pictures. I'm working on getting them online now.

 







“I don’t walk around thinking of myself as someone people would pay money to come see. I feel more like an awkward person who thinks bad thoughts, goofs up and struggles with my own feelings. Sometimes I resolve those struggles, sometimes I don’t, but fortunately,the universe seems to look after me.” -- tm
Shug
Posts:228


09/08/2008 9:04 AM  
Robert, thanks for the review. Sounds like you had a good time. Did Danny Eisenberg play keyboards at this show? I can't tell from that clip that Mitch posted from the Variety Playhouse show in Atlanta this same weekend. Just curious, since he's been at some shows recently and not others.

Mack Daddy #7
"Some like their water shallow, I like mine deep"
-Chris Robinson
Robert
Posts:37


09/08/2008 12:37 PM  
Danny was not there.

I always remember things later after I write a review.

When a phone went off. Teddie Thompson pulled his phone out of his pocket saying, "Was that my voice mail?" Then checking, "No, I never get any voice mail."

Teddy's drummer started the wrong song, the same wrong one twice in a row. Teddy said, "You try to be nice to them, but they still screw you up." I wondered if that was part of the act.

I told Tift that this time I didn't have to travel 300 miles to see her this time. I was impressed that she remembered I'd seen her in Chattanooga.
She said, "I'm glad you didn't have to drive far."

“I don’t walk around thinking of myself as someone people would pay money to come see. I feel more like an awkward person who thinks bad thoughts, goofs up and struggles with my own feelings. Sometimes I resolve those struggles, sometimes I don’t, but fortunately,the universe seems to look after me.” -- tm
PAUL BUSTA
Posts:187


09/08/2008 5:32 PM  

Thanks for the review Robert....or should I call you MD 26 From the picture your one happy camper. Great job.


Mack-Daddy....#22
Phillip Reid
Posts:1716


09/09/2008 5:14 AM  
Robert--this is great. How full was the theater?
Phillip Reid
Posts:1716


09/09/2008 5:19 AM  
Let's hear it for RWC, MD#25. If you want a t-shirt, let me know. P
Robert
Posts:37


09/09/2008 1:09 PM  
When I first started Taking pictures I pressed the button and nothing seemed to happen, then it went off. I realized it was still set on time exposure, but being dark I couldn't see to adjust the camera, so i had to get up and go to a lighted place.

I was anxious as to whether she was going to sing "Still pretending" and debated whether I would walk up to and place the bottle on the piano or not.

Tift hugged me right after the picture was made. It is worth going to the concerts just to get a hug from Tift.

Excerpts from a review in the Birmingham News:

"Audience: Relatively small, filling most of the chairs and tables in the 250-seat theater. But the enthusiasm level ran high; these were Merritt fans and obviously glad to see her." I certainly thought that the "meet Tift" line after the show was the longest I'd seen in proportion to the audience.

"Pros: Merritt has a wonderful voice -- clear, bell like, evocative -- and a kittenish, come-hither stage charisma that's all her own. ...tended to rock a bit harder than is typical of her recordings. No need to prop up a wimpy chanteuse; even the bittersweet ballads had essential strength."

"Cons: Merritt's singing betrayed some wear and tear near the end of the show, which lasted 95 minutes. A few rough edges, a few ragged notes, but this didn't detract much from her performance. In general, it sounded mighty fine."

I spent hours putting together this website of the photos.

http://www.robertwcaldwell.com/Tift/workplay.html

I like this way of presenting them better then the commercial browsers people use.

I can send some of these to be put in rotation on the front page.

YES! I'd like a t-shirt, size large.

“I don’t walk around thinking of myself as someone people would pay money to come see. I feel more like an awkward person who thinks bad thoughts, goofs up and struggles with my own feelings. Sometimes I resolve those struggles, sometimes I don’t, but fortunately,the universe seems to look after me.” -- tm
admin
Posts:589


09/09/2008 3:59 PM  

Robert, excellent show report, and yes, if you can e-mail the pictures to me at admin@tiftmerritt.net, that would be fantastic.


Chris McCandless
Admin
Phillip Reid
Posts:1716


09/10/2008 8:11 AM  
Roger that t-shirt request, Robert--Paul Busta's going to trade in his Ls for Ms so I'll turn that around as soon as I get it.
admin
Posts:589


09/10/2008 9:51 AM  

Robert's pictures from the show at Workplay in Birmingham are now up on the site.


Chris McCandless
Admin
Robert
Posts:37


09/11/2008 8:00 AM  
Here's a link to the online version of the article I quoted:

http://blog.al.com/mcolurso/2008/09/review_rating_four_out_of_10.html

“I don’t walk around thinking of myself as someone people would pay money to come see. I feel more like an awkward person who thinks bad thoughts, goofs up and struggles with my own feelings. Sometimes I resolve those struggles, sometimes I don’t, but fortunately,the universe seems to look after me.” -- tm
PAUL BUSTA
Posts:187


09/11/2008 7:02 PM  

Nice shot Robert. The lighting was perfect.


Mack-Daddy....#22
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