Holiday happenings...

If I didn't gain a working dose of the holiday spirit at St. Paul's Cathedral in London last week during the annual Thanksgiving service, I surely accomplished it tonight back home here at Toads' Place thanks to the Blind Boys of Alabama. Imagine if you will first of all the security assembled to ward off any potential trouble with all those dang Americans in one place on such a symbolic day. And then consider the grandeur of the Sir Christopher Wren's masterpiece that's seen everything from the funeral of Winston Churchill to the wedding of Charles and Diana.

Add the U.S. Marine color guard reverently delivering the stars and bars up the aisle and the full congregation singing "Come Ye Thankful People Come," and you have have a the makings of one terminal lump in the throat. As exciting as it was to spend Thanksgiving week in the venerable capital of the UK, we missed the traditional kickoff here at home. The lights are on at Lewis Ginter and it seems like all the neighborhoods are way ahead of past years in Christmas extravagance. Maybe we're more ready than usual for the comfort zone.

Tonight's Christmas show with the Blind Boys of Alabama at Toad's Place proved to be a much-needed fast-forward as early on these four-time Grammy winners (who aren't all blind or all Alabama boys for that matter) took flight with a harmonically lush arrangement of "White Christmas." How cool is that? When they sang 'Amazing Grace' to the tune of "House of the Rising Sun" and reached "was blind but now I see" the irony came full circle. Continued kudos to Jeff and the Toad's gang who've worked to improve acoustics and continue to keep open minds about who'll play this important canal-side venue.

I hope to see some of you at In Your Ear Recording on East Broad for a return engagement of harmonica master Rick Epping tomorrow (Thursday) night. He was here two and a half years ago before moving to Ireland and I promise you an riveting evening of music if you'll just check him out at http://www.jaminc.org/ and reserve your seat.

My Bon Secours connection will afford me the privilege of taking in a few sets of the John Winntet (aka/Neighborliness) on Friday night at the Virginia Museum with Mandy Moore's favorite piano player Daniel Clarke back in position on the evening Pollack Award winners Modern Groove Syndicate debut their new CD Ms. Popular at Cary Street Cafe. Danny C might miss the Cary Street gig to rest up for a red-eye flight to L.A. on Saturday morning to begin his year with the tunefully torchy k d lang. Word is their first show is is a duet...no pressure Daniel.

Watch this space for news of when k d and d c will pass this way.

And a final heads up for Sunday, December 9th at Barksdale Theater in Willow Lawn for their BJ Kocen's Stretchin' concert series. Steve Earle's very talented son Justin Townes Earle is coming to town and I'm sold after checking him out on his MySpace page.. Do we have live musical options here in River City now or what?

Thanks for spending some time here...and pass it on.