A few days after the April 27th tornado, we called our friend Elliot McPherson of the Dexateens with the idea of trying to organize a benefit show to help in the recovery. It was decided that any sort of concert should be put on hold and the help the city needed most at that time was definitely more hands on. So with the one year anniversary approaching, we would like to announce the “Tuscaloosa Get UP”
The Tuscaloosa Get Up will take place at the Bama Theatre in downtown Tuscaloosa on Friday March 23rd at 8pm. The event is a partnership between us, the Tuscaloosa Arts Council and Tuscaloosa’s own Dexateens. It will showcase the music of the Alabama Shakes, The Dexateens and Lee III and the Glory Fires. The event is all ages and will be $15 for general admission with a limited amount of VIP tickets for $50. The VIP tickets will entitle attendees to early entry to a preparty at the Bama featuring light food, free local beer and limited edition poster and a short acoustic set from the some of the bands.
This event is a fundraiser for Tuscaloosa Habitat for Humanity. All proceeds from the event will go towards our goal of rebuilding a whole house for a family that lost theirs during the storm. We want to harness the power of music to help heal Tuscaloosa.
General admission and VIP tickets are available here
If you can’t make it but still want to help, you can make a tax deductible donation here.
Here is a little wellthatscool.com taste of what you have in store.
One of our favorite bands for years have been the D-teens and for good reason. They bring an amazing amount of energy to their live shows. We were lucky enough to be on hand and get a great amount of video. So enjoy what our own Mikey says is some of the best film he has ever been involved with. Look for a few more nuggets from both The Dexateens and The Alabama Shakes coming soon.
For those lucky enough to get in on Friday Oct 14th, you got to see a band that will no longer be playing small venues. You might have even got in but could not see the band. It was the fullest Egan’s has ever been. Well, do we have a treat for you. With Mikey on the injured reserve, our own Erin Phillips fought the throbbing masses to record a few songs that are not on their wildly popular EP . The sound is not perfect but it really captures the energy of a packed out live Alabama Shakes show. These guys, much like the Dexateens, make us proud to be from Alabama.
Friday, October 14th, 2011… another night, another jam packed show from The Alabama Shakes in Tuscaloosa. The band came into Egans as part of the birthday celebration for Tuscaloosa counter-cultural ambassador Bo Hicks, and they did not disappoint. They put on another sizzling show in front of a ridiculously large crowd, especially for a confined space like Egans.
I’ve said it before, but I’ll say it again. The band has so much “it” when they perform. All the buzz they are generating isn’t out of line or an overreaction. The way they carry themselves during a show and hook the crowd is something special. You can’t really teach it, and the bands that have that ability are the ones that do rise to the top. If you get a chance to watch them, do it. I think everyone in the bar realized they probably won’t be playing many more free shows in the near future as they progress into bigger venues and different markets. Still, it has been great to watch them grow a fan base locally in Tuscaloosa.
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.
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.
I know sometimes you ask yourself, what do I do after an evening of rock and roll and nautical debauchery? Tomorrow night following the Rockin Brews Cruise we may have the answer for you. Starting at Ten o’clock at the Green Bar New Orleans based rockers the Revivalists will be on hand to keep the night going. This will be a great way for the recently disembarked passengers of this years Brews Cruise to continue their revelry and an excellent way to get a Friday night started for those who couldn’t be with them on the Black Warrior.
The Revivalists are a fantastic up and coming band that were recently named best emerging artist at Gambit weekly’s Big Easy Awards. They describe their music as a combination of soulful, syncopated rock and earnest songwriting, and according to Rolling Stone the “dash of Dave Matthews” in the lead singers “crusted tenor” and the pedal-steel guitarists’ “distinctive wah wah treated scream” make for a great show. I am not actually sure what the hell a “crusted tenor” is or how much Dave Matthews is contained in a dash, but I have to say I am intrigued, and if your interest is similarly piqued check out their website at www.therevivalists.com. They have tons of audio and video and a blog documenting their travels.
*update after publication of our initial story we got a call from the good people saying that there is a grand prize of an additional set of tickets with a parking pass.
We have been pumped about what has been going on at the Tuscaloosa Amphitheater. Count us as double pumped about My Morning Jacket, Neko Case and Phosphorescent coming to play a benefit show here in town. You don’t have the money to splurge on tickets right now you say; because lets face it, how could you not get that tattoo of Dark Lord Saban eating an oatmeal cream pie? It’s super roll tide but also ironic enough for the hipsters. Well do we have some good news for you! Egan’s is giving away a pair of tickets. What do you have to do to get said tickets? Well, nothing. You just have to show up, sign in and enjoy a beer or two. Here is what Egan’s had to say about the event:
We’ve got two tickets to Friday nights concert at Tuscaloosa Amphitheater and we’re giving them away. Come out to Egan’s Bar Thursday night and sign up for the free drawing. One lucky person will get a pair of tickets shortly after midnight. While you’re there, enjoy $2.50 Tommy Knocker Maple Draft, $3.50 Egan’s High Gravity Drafts, $4 Tallgrass IPA and Buffalo Sweat and $3 Bud Cans. We’ll see you at Egan’s this Thursday and every night.
A chance for free tickets and drinking — Egan’s, you know you had us at drinking.
A few weeks back we were lucky enough to be joined by SDX live in studio for what was gonna be an acoustic set. A guitar was forgot and so we were treated the most driving quietest SDX song ever. Seeing Sweet Dog playing with brushes could be the coolest thing we’ve seen in awhile.
“* Due to overwhelming demand, we are updating our Friday night ticket kick off party. The tickets will not be sold til 10 but people may arrive at 9 and get a number. At ten, we will start selling based on number. We are only selling 35 tickets with a maximum of two per person at this event. They will cost $15 and all we will be able to accept is cash.”
On Friday July 29th, we are planning to head out to Green Bar and offer the first round of tickets to the 3rd Annual Brews Cruise which will be taking place on Friday Aug. 26th. We will only be doing cash purchases this night, but no service charge will be added. After Friday night, they will only be available on line starting Monday Aug. 1st here.
What is the Wellthatscool.com Brews Cruise III you ask? Well, we’re glad you did . It is a three hour cruise up the Black Warrior River with great live music and cheap local craft beer. The music this year will be provided by Lee Bains III & The Glory Fires and The Shakes. If you have not seen these bands, prepare yourself for best southern rock and soul the Druid City has ever seen. If you need video evidence, look no further than here and here. The brew portion of the evening will be provided by Terrapin Brewing (Athens, GA.) and Good People Brewing (Birmingham, AL). For the price you’d normally pay for a PBR, you’ll get some of the best beer the south has to offer.
So there you go, great music and local beer good enough to bring a tear to a glass eye. We will be at Green Bar from 9 until we sell out. The Bama Belle does not hold too many people, and the cruise has sold out early every year. If you want to make sure you make it, come out to Green Bar Friday and bring $15. Kadesh & The Perfect Strangers and Battito Trio will be playing on Friday. You’ll be able to get into Green Bar for free, and you can make sure you have a ticket for the most awesome rock show you’ve ever seen on a river boat. For more info drop us a line at wellthatscool(at)gmail(dot)com.
A few days after the April 27th tornado, we called our friend Elliot McPherson of the Dexateens with the idea of trying to organize a benefit show to help in the recovery. It was decided that any sort of concert should be put on hold and the help the city needed most at that time was definitely more hands on. So with the one year anniversary approaching, we would like to announce the “Tuscaloosa Get UP”
