Superb performance by Chevelle and a nice surprise

I got off work yesterday and tried to catch a couple of winks before getting ready for the concert. That didn't work out, because the dogs would not allow that. All they wanted to do was play when I got home.

Shannon went with me to this show and I was meeting two co-workers at the venue. I've talked before about how much I like shows at The Marquee Theater in Tempe because they're so up close and personal. I like to call it my favorite "sweaty concert barn". It used to be called the Red River Opry or something like that. But they turned it into a rock venue. Same building, all they really did was tear out the seats and the carpeting leaving you with a nice concrete floor and a room to cram as many people as possible into. My guess is it probably holds about 1000 to 1200 folks to be legal. But I swear I've been in there when they were probably violating the fire code with too many people in there.

Our night started out crappy when I saw brake lights ahead of me before I even got to Loop 101. It was a railroad crossing. The only problem was, there was no train, the stupid crossing arms came down and stayed down. After about 30 minutes of waiting it was a go. We dropped into MacDonalds for a real fast meal and headed down to the Marquee.

We got there about 7:15 and my friends showed up not too long afterwards. I introduced them to my daughter Shannon and we headed for a good spot near the stage. Shannon was supposedly meeting some friends there but they never showed up so she just hung around with us which was cool with me.

The first band came on and they were called The Tyler Read Band from Shreveport Louisiana and they were okay. Pretty talented, but I just didn't care for the musical style they played.

Now the next band was the surprise. They are called Fair to Midland and they are from Dallas Texas. I had heard a song of theirs on my favorite radio station (98KUPD-Arizona's Real Rock) called Dance of the Manatee. I loved the sound. The vocalist was phenomenal with a huge range. They had a very melodic rock sound with a bit of funk influence. The lyrics were very deep and poetic. After seeing them and hearing more of their stuff, I just might have to head out and get their CD. I'll try and find something on YouTube from them and post it.

And as always, the boys from Chicago Illinois, a little trio called Chevelle did not disappoint. I think this was the 5th time I have seen them and the second time in a year. They have been better each and every time I have seen them. I did not get to hear Family System, my favorite song, because we left a tad early. Due to the fact that it was almost 11:30 and I had to get up at 5 am for work. We only missed two songs, and guess what the last song was? You got it, Family System. Got home around midnight and didn't fall asleep until 1. My alarm clock scared the crap out of me at 5 am, but after a cup of coffee, a small breakfast and a shower, I was good to go. It's after lunch now, and surprisingly, I'm not too tired. But I have a feeling I'm gonna sleep very good tonight.

Be well folks. And say a prayer for those folks out in Southern California. We actually have a Fire Weather Meteorologist from our office dispatched out there on the front lines. I just spoke to her from the office this morning at our morning briefing.