Fans of Amp the Alley may have noticed that during the summer we tend to book more solo acts. That's because Aiken doesn't have a lake or a beach, and no, Langley Pond doesn't count. The bands aren't powered by salt water or Jet Ski fumes... but family vacations are - leaving Aiken a bit quieter in the summer. We've had a few bands this year that have challenged that theory, so time will tell if that is a system we keep in place.
This past week was no exception. We booked Johnathan Wilson, an up-and-coming multi-talented musician and vocalist, to make his debut on the Bud Light Stage, but he had other ideas. For no other reason than the love of the game, he reached out to friends in the industry and slammed together a supergroup for a powerhouse performance. Everyone recognized guitar prodigy Keith Petersen, and some of you may have even been thinking, "where have you been? You haven't sat in with a band in a couple of weeks." Fair thought, and I'm not just saying that because I thought it too. Keith is a hard-sought commodity in our musical community. Also on stage was Michael Baideme - The Keith Petersen before Keith Petersen. Mike is the guy everyone was calling when Keith was still learning 3 chord, high school party, I hope a girl kisses me ditties. He is also a former member of the Kenny George Band, as is his brother Brooks, who was also on stage playing bass. Bringing everyone together and keeping time was the wizard Tommie Reid himself on drums. He too can be found on many a stage with many a band, including his long-time band Bethany and the Southside Boys who played earlier this year. The forecast for the week was foreboding, but this time of year I feel it is in the best interest of any forecaster to err on the side of caution. A sunny day, in spite of a terrible forecast, is a treat. Meanwhile, a deluge on days that beg for picnics is a complete disaster and the irrefutable evidence that a meteorologist is nothing more than an overpaid carny palm reader. As always, we push on until we can't... and did those boys push it. They opened with favorites like "Gimmie Something Good", "You Should Probably Leave", and "Soulshine"! Johnathan's voice has that type of rasp that makes you think you can sing, backed by sweet and powerful notes that quickly remind you that you cannot. It can be as infuriating as it is enjoyable. His two backup vocalists were a Diamond Series Schecter and a Les Paul Gibson, wailing in perfect harmony. The sounds of those two guitars in unison or turn were pure magic ringing out of the speakers. It was crazy to hear, especially when it was billed as a 1 man show. Want to know what was crazier? Not hearing it.
I'm not making fun of the folks listening to some shag band with a North Myrtle Beach residency after woofing down a turkey leg at Medieval Times and thinking life couldn't be better oblivious of the magic that was happening in The Alley in Aiken. I'm talking about the guitar players. If you take the time to read these, I imagine you've nearly got my walking paths around the stage mapped out like James Bond studying armed sentries before breaking into a Soviet-occupied nuclear facility. At the least, you are aware of all the times I'm standing directly in front of you to get my photograph. I shoot in the front of the stage and at the back of the crowd from the green power box where I spin like the turret on a tank to survey the crowd. I sneak around in the flanks and clamber over gear at the back of the stage.
When I made my way around the mounted PA Speakers, it was like Ace Ventura's triumphant moment proving his theory with the double-paned sliding glass door. Everything became muffled and droning. Nobody on stage could really hear themselves. These maniacs were pulling off insanely synced 80's style hair metal harmonies - by sight! These sorcerors of sound had tapped into the dark arts, used some mystical hand gestures, and watched each other's fingers fly across the neck of the guitar to achieve synchronicity. It was mind-blowing, and it couldn't get any crazier.
Until it did.
The guys appropriately played Band of Heathen's "Hurricane" in defiance of the looming storms and the weather seemed to acquiesce, shambling along to the North. They had achieved the perfect frequency rumored to be lost with the ancient Egyptians for course-correcting cosmic calamities. It truly couldn't get crazier.
But it did.
That guy was in the crowd. You know - THAT GUY. He is in every crowd. They say he originated in Florida, but this particular fella was emblazoned with the St. Louis Arch. Let's call him Tony - because that is his name. Tony let out the Flori-Bama Warcry/Mating Song/Funeral Song/ Featured on the Tour the Capitol Soundtrack -
The band were good sports, opportunists even, withholding the groans that always follow and instead issued a challenge.
"Drop $100 in the tip jar and you can have "Free Bird."
Then our midwestern brother with suspiciously Florida-like tendencies did what any Budweiser-fueled Florida man would do- told his wife, "Hold my beer.", he threw down the gauntlet, and called their bluff.
He held a $100 bill in the air like Hulk Hogan waving his championship belt after body-slamming Andre the Giant at Wrestlemania. I'm pretty sure that he made sure the Benjamin Franklin was placed securely into the bucket so as not to be blown away by the blustery guff of our reluctant summer storm, but my mind replays it with more drama. It was like a feather of a red-tailed hawk falling ever so slowly, dancing through the air and twitching like a green pumpkin fluke bait in Clark's Hill, before landing in the tip jar as both the band and crowd watched with bated breath. The band looked at each other, weighed their options, looked to the culminating cumulonimbus, and agreed on what had to be done. They played "Free Bird".
Either Mother Nature decided it would no longer play second fiddle to this terrestrial force or she genuinely wept. I think either is a plausible explanation, and it was the only way to end that show.
My God did they play it.
Check out the video posted by Kathy Greeves.
Video by Just Kathy Live Music
Fun Fact: That was the 2nd time a $100 tip encouraged a band at Amp the Alley to play Freebird. The first time was a couple years ago with one of Ryan Abel's bands featuring none other than - Keith Petersen and Tommie Reid!
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This Week on the Bud Light Stage
Kenny George is back! Aiken's favorite singer songwriter will be on the Bud Light stage performing his own songs as well as his favorite Americana and Outlaw Country. He will, as always, do his best to honor any request you throw at him. Kenny's full band opened the season for us this year and Kenny has saved the day on several occasions. Keep up with Kenny and his musical endeavors in the area where he runs open mics in The Alley and across the river in Augusta with some of our favorite folks in the Radio Fade Project.
Moose's Dinner
The Red Door is a bit off of the beaten path some would say. It really isn't. It's right there. Roughly 2 minutes from all of the bustle of The Alley are some pretty cool places that aren't sponsors of Amp yet, and 1 awesome place that is
The Red Door: Sake + Kitchen.
I have an odd benchmark for Asian restaurants - dumplings! Call 'em potstickers, call 'em Gyoza, call 'em jiaozi, call 'em mandu, call 'em dumplings, call 'em what you want; I love 'em! There are plenty of express Chinese and Japanese places around that order frozen bags filled with sausage links unceremoniously shoved into some dough and present them as traditional dumplings. This is wrong. I won't stand for it. Rather, I won't sit... in that restaurant. I'll just stroll by. Dumplings done right are those delicious little pre-meal treats that I cannot resist even when I know I'm not hungry enough for them. Hand-made dumplings filled with ground chicken, Chinese cabbage, lemongrass, sesame oil, scallion, rice vinegar and served with dumpling sauce made in house at The Red Door passes the test for me. There are plenty of options to pair with the dumplings - Gyoza as The Red Door calls 'em. Wash it down with a Savage Craft Red Door Rice Lager, show some restraint, and call it a day. Grab some little hand made bao sandwiches/tacos (an argument for another time) to make it a meal. Go big and finish off a giant bowl of authentic ramen for the full nap-inducing experience. Take a stroll and grab a bite in the intimate restaurant, or call in take out and munch at The Alley Downtown Taproom during Amp. You can eat whatever food you want any day of the week in the Taproom, but you get the idea, it's an Amp Blog. It's just on the north end of downtown and is another independent house of flavor that we are so fortunate to have.
Once again Moose you captured the moment with your descriptive words. I just can’t say it enough how fortunate we are to have you and this blog ! Kathy, your awesome, the video was outstanding !
It was awesome! Love the blog⭐️🌀💞🎶