Reunion
WOW!!! What can anyone say about that show? It was unfreakin' believable. Absolutely amazing. Can you tell they haven't played most of these songs in over 10 years? It was an absolutely flawless show.
Tim, Whale and I left Atlanta around 4pm and followed the signs to Athens. Whale had been at the Georgia Theater before. So we had a beautiful tour of UGA. Nice campus. So we found Lumpkin St. and things started looking good for us. Next thing we knew, we were approaching the Georgia Theater and who is standing out in front laughing it up? Corky! I don't think you can look at him and not smile. Corky must be the happiest guy in the world. He's always smiling, laughing and joking around.
We get checked into the Days Inn and are off to sound check. We walk into the theater and the band is setting up. We walk up to the stage and I introduced myself to the guys. They immediately stopped what they were doing and shook our hands and greeted us as if we've been long time friends. Mike, Clay, and Corky are the nicest, most genuine guys out there. I think they were as appreciative of the fans as we are of them. Clay was telling us that they sold 550 tickets thus far so we knew the place would be packed. So they hooked us up with Brian the sound guy, who was also very cool. So they guys that came to tape the show got all hooked up from the board and the band did about 4 songs for sound check.
We left and went for dinner at the Wild Wing Cafe. We knew doors opened at 9pm so we were there right on time and were the first ones in the theater. We snagged the tables behind the sound board and camped out and watched all the fans come flooding in. I think I saw about 5 other tapers there as well. The opening act came on board. Nathan Shepard and Jimmy Harris came out with their acoustic guitars and put on quite a nice opening set. I'm not too familiar with their music, but what I heard I liked. They did a cover of the Grateful Deads Cumberland Blues and did a Dylan song. A very good opening act.
During this time, the band showed up. I met Mike's wife, Mike's sister, Clays wife, Clay's brother in law. I think Mike's mom was there too. I'm not sure of all the lineage, but I was talking with all of them and they were so nice and treated me as if I were one of the family.
The opening act finishes up and the theater is packed! The main floor was packed. My group decided to go up front. I stayed by the soundboard because it was up higher and I wanted to see everything. I'm too old to be in the mosh pit. LOL. I took a walk to the balcony and I saw the balcony was fille up too. The band started up and completely blew everyone away. They wove in and out of songs effortlessly. You can see the band knew they were "on". They had such a good time playing. All the guys were smiling and joking around. And kudos to the Jupiter Coyote guys. They were tight with the band. Clay and John going back and forth on the solos and simply jammed the whole night while Noel Felty was rock solid on the drums. And they didn't fall short on the jams. At one point, they were playing Semprini. I went to the washroom and talked with a few people, got a beer, and they were still playing Semprini. Awesome! I don't recall the set list at the moment(if anyone has it then feel free to post it. I'll get it up when I get the recording), but they did pull out a few old ones. One in particular was Vidalia. Clay did an awesome job singing. The band really seemed to have slipped right into the groove as if they never stopped playing. Mike really plays so effortlessly busting out all the walking bass lines and not even breaking a sweat. Corky's vocals were spot on as well as his rhythm guitar playing.
It was truly a magical night for the band and the fans. Will they play again in the future? Who knows. We can only hope that they feel the urge to do it at least once a year if not more. But we're all older and have our families and careers. I wouldn't expect any tours. But let it be known that if they play again, I will definitely make the trek to see them.
Mike, Clay, and Corky, Thanks for the music that moves so many mountains and inspires so many people. We hope to see you again!
Tim, Whale and I left Atlanta around 4pm and followed the signs to Athens. Whale had been at the Georgia Theater before. So we had a beautiful tour of UGA. Nice campus. So we found Lumpkin St. and things started looking good for us. Next thing we knew, we were approaching the Georgia Theater and who is standing out in front laughing it up? Corky! I don't think you can look at him and not smile. Corky must be the happiest guy in the world. He's always smiling, laughing and joking around.
We get checked into the Days Inn and are off to sound check. We walk into the theater and the band is setting up. We walk up to the stage and I introduced myself to the guys. They immediately stopped what they were doing and shook our hands and greeted us as if we've been long time friends. Mike, Clay, and Corky are the nicest, most genuine guys out there. I think they were as appreciative of the fans as we are of them. Clay was telling us that they sold 550 tickets thus far so we knew the place would be packed. So they hooked us up with Brian the sound guy, who was also very cool. So they guys that came to tape the show got all hooked up from the board and the band did about 4 songs for sound check.
We left and went for dinner at the Wild Wing Cafe. We knew doors opened at 9pm so we were there right on time and were the first ones in the theater. We snagged the tables behind the sound board and camped out and watched all the fans come flooding in. I think I saw about 5 other tapers there as well. The opening act came on board. Nathan Shepard and Jimmy Harris came out with their acoustic guitars and put on quite a nice opening set. I'm not too familiar with their music, but what I heard I liked. They did a cover of the Grateful Deads Cumberland Blues and did a Dylan song. A very good opening act.
During this time, the band showed up. I met Mike's wife, Mike's sister, Clays wife, Clay's brother in law. I think Mike's mom was there too. I'm not sure of all the lineage, but I was talking with all of them and they were so nice and treated me as if I were one of the family.
The opening act finishes up and the theater is packed! The main floor was packed. My group decided to go up front. I stayed by the soundboard because it was up higher and I wanted to see everything. I'm too old to be in the mosh pit. LOL. I took a walk to the balcony and I saw the balcony was fille up too. The band started up and completely blew everyone away. They wove in and out of songs effortlessly. You can see the band knew they were "on". They had such a good time playing. All the guys were smiling and joking around. And kudos to the Jupiter Coyote guys. They were tight with the band. Clay and John going back and forth on the solos and simply jammed the whole night while Noel Felty was rock solid on the drums. And they didn't fall short on the jams. At one point, they were playing Semprini. I went to the washroom and talked with a few people, got a beer, and they were still playing Semprini. Awesome! I don't recall the set list at the moment(if anyone has it then feel free to post it. I'll get it up when I get the recording), but they did pull out a few old ones. One in particular was Vidalia. Clay did an awesome job singing. The band really seemed to have slipped right into the groove as if they never stopped playing. Mike really plays so effortlessly busting out all the walking bass lines and not even breaking a sweat. Corky's vocals were spot on as well as his rhythm guitar playing.
It was truly a magical night for the band and the fans. Will they play again in the future? Who knows. We can only hope that they feel the urge to do it at least once a year if not more. But we're all older and have our families and careers. I wouldn't expect any tours. But let it be known that if they play again, I will definitely make the trek to see them.
Mike, Clay, and Corky, Thanks for the music that moves so many mountains and inspires so many people. We hope to see you again!
posted by dmorton67 | 5:41 AM
5 Comments:
I totally agree.. had a blast! Haven't seen Allgood play since 1992 or so.. used to see them every week at the Uptown back in the day. Thanks to the guys who put on an absolutely incredible show, and for a while, made me forget that I wasn't 21 anymore! I had so much fun hearing the music and seeing friends I haven't seen in so long.
PLEASE - Mike, Corky, Clay -- you need to do this as a yearly event. You had fun and so did all of us!
Second Saturday in April next year is 4/14/07 - hint, hint :-)
AMAZING!!! I can't wait to hear/see this show. Did anyone happen to capture any video or still shots? I'd love to see what's out there documenting this magical night!
Magical. I discovered Allgood only shortly before they disbanded. Mike Sain and I used to live in the same town, and he is one of the nicest, most genuine and humble musicians I've ever met. Maybe the cross he wore is more than jewelry. I believe Clay is an attorney now, but how did he play those licks so well? Like he never quit jamming? I was awestruck and felt renewed in many ways. These guys don't know how special they are to their fans. I am a 51 old married woman who tries to play guitar. I put Santana on a high pedestal too, but the live recording of Mornin' on the Kickin' and Screamin' CD is the best recording of anything ever made. By anyone. Period. I thank you all for putting in the hard work and for making dreams come true! And for Mike and Morton putting stuff on the archive and keeping us informed on what's coming next.
I totally agree with what Linda said about Mornin. Its funny, I owned that cd for probably 10 years before I ever went past track 3, which was one of the greatest Trilogy recordings, with Boyd Tinsley's fiddle playing, which I listened to over and over and over, etc. But then one day, I let the cd play on to track 5 and was totally blown away by that song. It is truly amazing.
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