Calvin Johnson's Thursday Night Performance

Okay, perhaps I'm not hip enough, but I thought there would be a lot more folks at the HiTone last night to see the legendary Calvin Johnson. Granted we are talking about a Thursday night in Memphis, but to have a crowd of fifteen (and that's being generous) show up to see the K Records founder himself is a bit sad. The good news is that it was a faboulous show. Standing alone on stage with just his acoustic guitar by his side, Calvin treated the select few with his clever (and often hilarious) songs. And what a voice...I had never considered Calvin's voice his strong point but after last night I have to say I have had a change of heart. The microphone merely stood as a prop as Calvin's voice vibrated around the Tone (sometimes in a neck n' neck battle with the chatter from the bar). I also never realized how similar of an artist Clavin is to Stephin Merritt (of the Magnetic Fields). Really, I hope Calvin opens his mailbox each day to find royality checks from Mr. Merritt. Probably the most endearing part of the evening was when Calvin would talk to the meager crowd, completely ignoring the loud noises coming from each and every direction and just have us all cracking up as if he was doing an old Steve Martin routine (he even resembled Martin I thought). Anyway, kudos, Mr. Johnson, for making the trek to our fair city!

And, Viva Les Chouettes!

(Unfortunately, I forgot to charge my camera battery so there are no pictures to post...)