Wine Up in NoDa Gallery Crawl

Date: Friday, February 6, 2004
Location: Wine Up in North Davidson Street Disctrict in Charlotte, NC
Purpose: Gallery Crawl gig
Attendance: About 50-55
CDs sold: 2

Man, what a cool gig! This was the first time I played Wine Up! It's a really cool bar, located just opposite the Evening Muse in Charlotte's North Davidson Street (NoDa) arts district. I played on Gallery crawl night--which means that it was the first Friday of the month. (Every 1st and 3rd Fridays in NoDa, there's a gallery crawl where Charlotte's coolest artsy crowds mingle in and out of the art galleries and bars...often to the backdrop of belly dancers, fortune tellers, and a hippy-style drum circle.) This gallery, however, was WAY TOO cold and rainy to do any mingling...and if any belly dancers were there, they were smart enough to wear full-length shirts and a raincoat.

Quite honestly, the weather was unusually miserable. I was pretty fearful that it would prevent my friends and fans from coming out to see me...Wine Up! is a new bar (it has only been open a month or two)...and I wanted to pull in some people to show them that they should have me back. To my suprise, I counted about 30 of my friends who came!! Thanks to ALL who were there. It really made the night fun.

I found myself a bit nervous--it was really the first time I'd every performed in front of my parents. I mean, sure, they heard me through the walls all my teenage life...but they never had set foot inside any rock and roll event that I know about. Wait--I take that back--as a young twenty-something, Dad saw Jerry Lee Lewis light his piano on fire. Anyway, I was glad they came...and it kinda made the night special for me. Also, it was especially fun cuz my friends were trying to get them drunk. It was great also to see friends from all parts of my sordid life come together for a night of no-smoking wine and beer funk and roll. I think nearly all my past corporate entities were represented: American Express, First Data, Metasys, Wachovia, etc. Thank you all for coming!

I played for 2 hours--for the first set, I played electric guitar...for the second set, I played mostly acoustic. Everyone seemed to enjoy saying "screw the man" via my anti-coporate punk song "Daily Grind"...the spoken word piece I added to my show at the last minute was also a big hit...probably the biggest success was my interpretation of a Bob Dylan video (special thanks to my sister Bowen for her help!). I met several new fans as well...one of whom gave me a great idea for some new songs for my next show...thanks Valery!

I'd especially like to thank the friends of mine who not only showed up at the show, but also bought a CD...Thanks Jenny and Carey! Doug and I worked on the disc for a long time, and your support means a lot.

Special thanks to Grayson for her promotional help. If I ever need some strings, I'm giving you a call! Thanks also to Tim Jones at Woody's Music for the PA!

Wine Up! seemed happy with the show as well. They invited me back for another Gallery Crawl show! I hope next time the belly dancers aren't too cold!

Listen to Brian's music now!