Article by Sarah Powell Cassada
With our birthdays just around the corner, and over 400 miles between us, my friend Kate and I decided to hold a birthday extravaganza in our honor as an excuse to spend a couple days together. New sundress across my back seat, $1 ticket to Tea Leaf Green in hand, a case of Spotted Cow rattling in my trunk, and I’m on my way to a show with my phamily.
So excited to be with all my tour buddies, I woke at 5 in the morning, kissed the kids and hubby goodbye, and hit the road. I made it to Louisville in record time, grabbed lunch and enjoyed a necessary nap to get me amped for the show. Hot shower, some food in the belly, texting and coordinating, and finally, we hit Headliners. With its small size and reasonable drink prices, Headliners in Louisville is quickly becoming a favorite venue of mine.
That night, Headliners was featuring a show from their famed “Boogie for a Buck” series. From the dollar menu, we got Moon Taxi, Elmwood, and Tea Leaf Green. YUM!
With so much fun to be had pretending to play pool at the bar across the street, the group I was with completely missed Moon Taxi. Arriving right at set break, people were pouring out to escape the heat in the venue, and enjoy the beautiful Louisville evening (which was perfect long sundress weather). We ran in to a group of friends who had thoroughly enjoyed Moon Taxi, and were sad we missed it.
Lights were going down, and we knew it was time to head in to the venue. Elmwood started to play. My buddy Fred turned to me to say, “Who invited Dave Matthews Band?” He was right, they sounded quite a bit like DMB. They had a lot of horns and the lead singer had a certain “Dave look” and “Dave sound” about him. I spent the short time Elmwood played catching up with several friends of mine who came out to wish Kate and me a happy birthday.
Finally, set break, and Tea Leaf Green would come on soon. Tea Leaf Green is an energetic group of boys made up of Josh Clark on guitar and vocals, Trevor Garrod on keyboard and vocals, Reed Mathis on bass and vocals, and Scott Rager on drums. All us little hippie kids were ready to hear them play. From start to finish, their happy lyrics and jammy rhythm kept us dancing and smiling. They opened with “If it Wasn’t for the Money,” a lyrical masterpiece, and one of the many songs they played that I was craving. The rest of the show went in this order: All Washed Up, Dreaming Without Sleeping, Honeymooners > The Devil’s Pay >Don’t Curse at the Night > I’ve Got A Truck > Ride Together, Oklahoma Home, Cops Took My Weed > Baseball Song > One Reason > Run That Body Down > Germinatin’ Seed > The Garden (Part III)
Encore: My Bastard Brother > Jubilee
Other favorites of mine from the night include “Don’t Curse at the Night,” “I’ve Got A Truck,” (I’m pretty sure I’m the rich man’s daughter they sing about), and “Ride Together” (a song that always make me think of my favorite tour buddy). When “Ride Together” came on, I shimmied up to the front with a friend of mine, and watched Trevor Garrod bang on his keys, dancing, sweating, singing, shouting, and smiling all the while. (I’m pretty sure the boy smiled right at me). And, let’s not forget the Paul Simon cover of “Run that Body Down,” what a treat. Once we could tell the set was ending, my buddy Fred encouraged me to get up there and tap on the stage and demand “Pretty Jane,” the song I said earlier that night I wanted to hear the most. I banged on the stage, and Trevor glanced down at me, but my pleas did not work. Still, a nice encore. Who doesn’t want to end their night with a little “Jubilee”?
While I did not get to enjoy “Pretty Jane” at the show, Kate and I did find the time at the end of the night to unwind with it playing in the background, wishing each other a happy birthday, and longing for sleep.
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