Paul Thorn in Chattanooga 5.21.09

It's been a long time since I blogged here, and last night got me inspired to start back and make this a more regular part of my life.

Last night I got to see the Paul Thorn Band in Chattanooga at Rhythm & Brews. And yes, I know what you are thinking..."Paul Thorn again? How many times has she seen them?" Well...it's over 30 shows so far. It may be 35 or 36, and there will be 2 more before the weekend is over. Whenever I tell people this, I get called things like "groupie" or "stalker". And it might look like that from the outside, but these guys are my brothers now. I really do think of them like family--but they are the cool family members that you look forward to seeing at the family reunion. I've been able to get to know each of them over the last few years and I treasure their friendship, humor, honesty and as a bonus, these boys can play. Going to a show is a true escape for me. Maybe not as much of an escape as taking a cruise, but it's a close second for the 90-100 minutes that they are on stage.

Here's the set list from the Chattanooga show:

Long Way From Tupelo
Are You With Me?
Double Wide Paradise
Mood Ring
I'm Still Here
Crutches
Every Little Bit Hurts
Better Days Ahead
Something Out There
---solo set---
That's Life
Pimps and Preachers
Even Heroes Die
Evil Women
----band back---
800 Pound Jesus
Weeds in My Roses
Lift Somebody Up
Starvin' for Your Kisses
Black Rainbow
Good Day
Lover's Vacation
Rise Up
---Encore---
Ain't Love Strange
Mission Temple Fireworks Stand

When I first got to the club, I thought it was an odd set up. The room ran wide rather than long. So I was worried that the sound was going to be crappy, but with Billy's skill at the board, the show sounded good. So that was a relief. The set list was pretty close to the one they played at the Birmingham show on the 8th. The new songs are still standouts for me. Better Days Ahead makes you want to dance along. That's Life will make you think. And Pimps and Preachers is just classic Paul. Weeds In My Roses is great. I don't know if it was all of the hormone shots I am on, or the smell of Old Spice in the air, but that song along with Starvin' can get you riled up. Luckily there's a breather in between the two songs with Lift Somebody Up, or the crowd might get crazy. There were a lot of dancers up in front of the stage and it was great to see.

I hadn't heard 800 Pound Jesus live in a long long time and I loved how they played it last night. The combination of Doug (bass) and Jeffrey (drums) on that song made it a musical massage. I was loving it. We also got to witness the "tap dancing" skills of Doug again during Black Rainbow. Too damn funny. Those boys are nuts.

The show was getting ready to wind down and I was thinking about how much I love the new songs, but I still miss hearing songs like High, That's a Lie, and Ain't Love Strange, when they pulled a switcheroo and played Ain't Love Strange in the encore rather than Hammer and Nail. So that was another bonus for the night.

All in all it was a fun night. Good band. Good friends. Easy drive home. Now I have to go and get ready for the show at the Variety Playhouse tonight.