Sunday, July 11, 2010

Rock the Block: Blues Travelers on July 17

Speaking of upcoming music-- color me surprised!  (Oh, that could be twisted into an awful pun.  I shall resist.)  Turns out 4th Street Live is hosting a couple of pretty good non-country free concerts this summer. I've already missed a band called 100% Poly (I'm actually just assuming they're not country) and the Gin Blossoms.  But next weekend-- July 17th-- the glorified airport terminal will host the Blues Travelers for their Rock the Block free concert.  And I will say, without hesitation, I'm pretty psyched.

I genuinely kinda love Blues Travelers.  And not just in that nostalgic "their debut album was the soundtrack for a really great summer in my teens" kind of way (though it was).  John Popper is a harmonica god.  As Bono once said, "You wouldn't think something this small [the harmonica] would be this hard to learn."  And while I haven't heard much from their latest album, it features a guest appearance by Bruce Willis (also a harmonica badass), and my general rule of thumb is that if it includes Bruce Willis, it must be made of awesome.  (Oh come now.  Think hard.  I'm not entirely wrong here.)

Anyway the show is free and 21 and over after 9pm.  Parking is free in the garage.  The next Rock the Block show is Sister Hazel on August 14.  If I'm remembering correctly, they're from somewhere in the neighborhood of Gainesville, FL.  At least I knew some folks who worked at the University of Florida who were dedicated Sister Hazelheads back in the 90's.  Saw them live once in New Orleans, and I could definitely understand the concert-- if not quite the album-- appeal.

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