Jan. 21 @ Apple Alley - Asheville, NC

We left Athens at 3 am and didn't get to Asheville until 5:30 AM. "The Beautiful Ones" by Prince kept us awake on the drive to Asheville, and therein became the theme for the rest of the tour.

The next day we decided to go to the Moose Cafe, upon Ryan's request. It was a cozy little cabin-themed restaurant up in the  mountains of West Asheville with a stellar view, amazing food, and the best fried chicken I've ever tasted.

Mark Brown and Teenage Souls sets were really good. There seems to always be one person that is really hype on Teenage Souls during his set. At this show, it was Justin, the keyboard player from Lonnie Walker. He kept throwing his arms down in amazement and hitting his friend on the arm every time DJ would do one of his impossible skittery drum rolls.

Our friends Lonnie Walker played after Teenage Souls. Lonnie Walker,  a thoughtful and precise southern-tinged rock group from North Carolina, is headed by Brian Corum, the main songwriter and lead vocal/guitar player. His songwriting chops are considerably good, as is his voice and persona. He really brings a very strong presence to the show, and the rest of the band follows neatly in line, playing out the songs like seasoned veterans. I've seen Lonnie Walker about 8 times, and this time was still just as great.

At midnight, as we were setting up for our set, WE SANG BEN HAPPY BIRTHDAY! Ben turned 24 on Jan. 22nd in Asheville, NC. DJ got him a really cool crystal pouch chest piece of love. We were followed up by Ear Pwr, the sweethearts of the south. They really bring the party no matter what the situation, and thus was the case for this night. Unfortunately, they were having some sound problems the whole time they played, and the good energy was tinged with some frustration. Beyond all of that, the crowd was dancing from front to back, and yours truly was obviously cutting a rug with the rest of our buddies.

January 29th, 2009 by Sam