On Friday, September 23rd, The Bear, based out of Muscle Shoals, Alabama, stopped into Tuscaloosa’s Oz Music to perform an in-store set before they played at Green Bar later that night with Blaine Duncan & The Lookers and Callooh! Callay! Since I wasn’t going to be able to make the show at Green Bar, I wanted to make sure I got some coverage of this performance.
The last time I got a chance to see the band was my 3rd Anniversary Showcase at Green Bar, and I was absolutely blown away by their talent. They present a hypnotic mix of folk and bluegrass, along with other styles, and it’s a winning combination. If you ever get a chance to see this band, do so because you won’t be disappointed. I was glad I got a chance to see them in the Oz Live! setting in this instance.
“I want to say I saw them at Green Bar when it was only $5″…
I overheard those words last night in regards to the show The Alabama Shakes put on before an absolutely packed house at Green Bar in Tuscaloosa. It summed up pretty much the view of everyone in the bar: this band is on the track to be something really big… really soon.
The band, based out of Athens, Alabama, wasn’t even the headliner for the night, but it was obvious the bulk of the crowd was out to see them perform. I talk a lot about how a band either has “it” or they don’t. The Alabama Shakes have so much “it”, things aren’t even fair at this point. It is the right combination of stage presence, musical ability, and pure energy that is making this band turn so many heads.
You might have heard of this little band called The Alabama Shakes, their brand of southern soul is taking the south by storm. They stopped off at the Green Bar on Wednesday night. The show was amazing and packed out. Our own Mikey Oswalt was there too capture the magic. The vocals are a little low but this really captures the energy of their live show. We will be making an announcement of an upcoming free Alabama Shakes show here in town so those that missed it will be have one more chance before these guys aren’t playing shows in Tuscaloosa anymore.
That’s right everyone it is time for a new league to start. This will be our…..12 to 15ish league. Its hard to really remember when the sport practically demands that you drink large amounts of beer. The league works like this;
You and two friends come out to the AMF bowling ally on Wednesday nights at 8pm
If you don’t have two other people to help you form your very on three headed monster pure
Hip socks encourged!
bowling awesomeness come out anyway there are always a few people looking to join a team.
You each bring $12, this covers the cost of the games, shoe rental and league scoring
You get assigned a handicap to make it fair when bowling against better bowlers.
How does this handicap work? Well I’m glad you asked, It is 100% of 200. I know you thought there would be no math but bear with us, all it means is that if you average 100 pins you’ll get 100 pins added to your score. So lets say you average 120 pins well you get 80 pins, 150 you 50 added and so on. So what ever you average under 200 will be added to your score.
At the end of 12 weeks there are cash prizes as well as well as a big pot luck and free bowling. We also have it on good authority that there will be a special prize for each team this league. Hint it rhymes rolling fall.
We like to look at the league as sort of a midweek weekend. Something to help on Monday because shit it’s only two days till bowling and after bowing it’s almost the weekend. It’s also a great way to kick it with your friends and play one of the few sports that encourage drinking. If you have any questions please drop us a line at wellthatscool(at)gmail(dot)com. We hope to see you there.
The Oxford American is an American quarterly literary magazine that features writing and art from Southerners or about the South. We prefer how they describe themselves, ” The Southern Magazine of Good Writing”. The Magazine started a special focus on the music of each of the southern states and as luck would have it the first happened to be Alabama. This lead to a series of concerts called “ABALABIP!” around the state featuring Alabama artist of both past and present. The last of such concerts is Saturday night at Tuscaloosa’s Bama Theatre.
The event begins at 8 p.m. and also will feature jazz bass superstar and Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame Inductee Cleve Eaton & The Alabama All Stars; North Alabama alt-country folk players The Bear; Huntsville hip-hop sensation G-SIDE: and Jason Isbell and The 400 Unit. You get a heaping helping of all that for only $10…now that’s a steal.
To give you a little background on each artist this is what the internet has to say;
Cleve Eaton is an American jazz double bassist from Fairfield, Alabama, a suburb of Birmingham, Alabama. His most famous accomplishments are substantial playing stints with the Ramsey Lewis Trio and later with the Count Basie Orchestra. His 1975 recording Plenty Good Eaton is considered a classic in the funk music genre. (Wikipedia)
The Bear is one of many bands emerging from the Shoals’ indie scene, bringing together artists from other projects to create a unique alt-country, pop and, yes, folk sound. (TimesDaily.com)
G-Side is an American hip hop duo from Huntsville, Alabama. Stephen “ST 2 Lettaz” Harris and Yung “David Williams” Clova met at the Boys & Girls Club in Athens, Alabama. G-Side says that artists like 8Ball & MJG, UGK, Outkast, Geto Boys, Scarface, Master P and 2pac influenced them both at an early stage of their lives and career. Their music has been described as a mixture of Dirty South and G-Funk. Although they have created some more up-tempo tracks, they mainly create laidback, suggestive music often described as “Film music symphonic” or “Hypnotic” and “Spellbounding”. Block Beataz has provided the duo with beats that sample artists not commonly associated with Hip Hop music like Enya, Beach House and Dune. (Wikipedia)
in 2001 Isbell joined the rock band Drive-By Truckers while they toured in support of their album Southern Rock Opera. Isbell recorded and wrote with the Truckers for their next three albums… On April 5, 2007, Isbell announced that he was no longer a member of Drive-By Truckers. Jason Isbell released his first solo album, Sirens of the Ditch, on July 10, 2007. Jason Isbell and The 400 Unit’s eponymous album was released on February 17, 2009, on Lightning Rod Records. Jason Isbell and The 400 Unit is Isbell’s second solo release and his first release with his band The 400 Unit. Matt Pence of Centro-Matic serves as co-producer, drummer and engineer. Isbell and the 400 Unit released their second album, Here We Rest, on April 12, 2011, on Lightning Rod Records. (Wikipedia)
So after you’ve watched the Tide at 2:30 and let the fog of beer and whiskey dissipate, head over to the Bama for a musical treat that people always bitch about Tuscaloosa never getting. This is a chance to prove that there are people here in town that don’t want to hear some shitty cover band play “Sweet Home Alabama” and “Brown Eyed Girl” over and over again. I know we’ll be there and hopefully you will be too.
The late hours of Friday, September 2nd and early moments of Saturday, September 3rd featured a lot of things happening in the city of Tuscaloosa. People were just getting over the great performance by Alabama at the Tuscaloosa Amphitheater along with prepping for the early kick-off featuring the Crimson Tide against Kent State. Green Bar was a venue that also featured a fantastic event. They hosted a dynamic night of music featuring The Woggles‘ first performance in town in over 4 years. I had done a few sample shots at their show at then Little Willie’s 4 years ago, and well… let’s just say those photos weren’t up to snuff and leave it at that.
The Woggles, still based out of Atlanta, put on a madcap show sizzling with energy and a lively crowd. The mix of long time fans and first timers danced the night away as the band ripped through their set with a frantic pace. It was definitely an event to remember, and I was glad I got the opportunity to photograph it. The Woggles define the term stage presence and having “it”. I talk about it all the time, but it’s incredibly important for me, as a photographer, to shoot bands that connect with the crowd. The Woggles do that and then some.
Before The Woggles played, another Atlanta based band, Tiger! Tiger!, put on a good set of their own. It was the first time I had seen them perform, and I was definitely impressed. If you ever get a chance to check them out, do so. You won’t be disappointed.
Come out to the Alcove International Tavern for another exciting Friday night with Well That’s Cool as we help celebrate the Alcove’s two year Anniversary. This Friday we will be hosting the WTC weekly podcast taping at the Alcove at 8pm (note: This is 30 minutes earlier than our regular tapings in the WTC world headquarters). We will have a special keg of Great Divide Titan IPA available for $1 from 8-9pm and just $3 after that, or if you prefer, you can enjoy one of the 12 draught beers the Alcove has on tap or one of the many varieties of canned or bottled beer in their case. Also new this week is the Alcove’s mobile app. By accessing the Alcove’s website on your smart phone you will be able to see the Alcove’s full beer and mixed drink menu. If you are unfamiliar with the Alcove International Tavern, they are Tuscaloosa’s home for high end beer, spirits, and a smoke-free environment. In fact, the Alcove is the only smoke-free bar in town. They are located on 22nd Avenue between 7th and 8th streets in downtown Tuscaloosa (730 22nd Avenue) and can be found on the internet at www.alcovetavern.com.
Come out to the Alcove International Tavern for another exciting Friday night with Well That’s Cool as we help celebrate the Alcove’s two year Anniversary. This Friday we will be hosting the WTC weekly podcast taping at the Alcove at 8pm (note: This is 30 minutes earlier than our regular tapings in the WTC world headquarters). We will have a special keg of Great Divide Titan IPA available for $1 from 8-9pm and just $3 after that, or if you prefer, you can enjoy one of the 
