Eddie’s Attic has been a fixture in the Atlanta music scene since 1991 if I’m not mistaken. We’ve been there several times before. It’s a cozy room up a long set of stairs with a listening room in the front and a bar and patio in the back. Eddie’s is similar to a lot of rooms that we play in the South and northeast in that the shows are seated. The energy is always good but it’s quite a contrast to a bar full of revellers in Missoula Montana or John’s Alley in Moscow Idaho or a festival in Haines Alaska. It’s a different kind of show. The long list of performers that have played Eddie’s over the years is quite impressive to say the least (John Mayer, Indigo Girls, Sheryl Crow, Ani DiFranco, Brandi Carlile, The Black Crowes and hundreds more… ) so we are always happy to be asked back. Shalom is the sound guy there. He’s one of my favourites. Warm hearted with a real appreciation for music. And the portobello sandwich with potato salad. I took his recommendation later and he was right. It was good.
It was a three band night night starting off with The Smart Brothers out of San Diego. Their music is a little hard to describe but I would say it had a bit of a 1940s lonesome back-porch sound with a modern sensibility. Old Crow Medicine Show meets The Avett Brothers who then meet up with Rufus Wainwright at Woody Guthrie’s house perhaps? They dress in a very dapper fashion and play banjos and guitars and keep the rhythm by banging an old suitcase with a kick drum pedal. They had a few technical problems but played through it and entertained the crowd and sold a lot of c.d.’s afterwards. We were up next and played for an hour. It was a fun set. It was one of those places where the audience sits so close to the band that I know I’m sweating in their beer. But my sweat probably has traces of beer in it anyway so it probably all balances out in the end. We turned the stage over to a well known Atlanta musician Matthew. (whose last name is escaping me) He did a cool thing by starting out sitting behind the drums and singing a cappella while at the same time playing the drums with his hands before switching to guitar for the rest of the set. After the show everybody gathered by the merchandise and we finished off a good night by meeting a lot of nice people from Atlanta and other friends that we have met in other places that had come to the show. The icing on the cake was that we got to haul all our gear back down the stairs! What goes up must come down I guess.
Damn you singer-songwriters who prance in and out with your acoustic guitars and a box of c.d.’s. Packed up in a minute or less. Thanks so much to Bob and Eddie and my favourite forty-eight year old Shalom. Shalom.
Trevor Rogers 