When in Margaritaville, Do as the Parrotheads Do

Jimmy Buffet and the Coral Reefer Band took over the Ford Amphitheatre on Saturday April 24, 2010, and it was an electrifying experience, to say the least. I completely underestimated the size of the venue, and the intensity with which the Jimmy Buffet fans, or “Parrotheads” as they tend to be called, celebrate the concert occasion.

I’ve seen tailgating…but there are no words to describe the festivities in action just on the way to park for the show. You must just watch and take it in. Grass skirts, coconut bras, on women and men, parrot, shark, cheeseburger, and straw hats decorated every which way you could see. There were mardi-gra-like beads, tiki shirts, silky surf tops, board shorts, sun dresses and Jimmy Buffet shirts too. Everyone was drinking something, whether it was Landshark beers, margaritas, or drinks out of coconuts and pineapples. Buffet songs were blasted on too many car stereos to count. The place was packed with Parrotheads.

As soon as people started filling in, beach balls were bouncing all over the lawn section and the seated area. Before the show two roadie-looking characters in board shirts and sleeveless tops came out to entertain the crowd with a t-shirt shooter and a backpack that was an extendable palm-tree-shaped basketball net for fans to try and shoot hoops in.

For the beginning of his “Under the Big Top” tour series, Buffet chose Tampa, and his fans clearly appreciated it. The lawn looked as if it was standing room only and the audience in the seated section seemed ready to dance. With drinks in hand and smiles on faces, the Parrotheads were ready to welcome Buffet onto the stage.

Jimmy Buffet and the Coral Reefer Band appeared and the party began. Behind his big band was a huge LCD screen with beach scenes and landscapes, occasionally sharing footage from Buffet’s 40 years of touring. The Coral Reefer band consisted of keyboards, steel drums, percussion, guitar, bass, amazing supporting vocals from both male and female vocalists, drums, pedal steel guitar and trumpet, not to mention the Buffet, himself.

The show started off with high energy. Buffet was outfitted in shorts and an A1A shirt. The fans were mouthing the words, dancing, swaying and basically enjoying being “Under the Big Top.” It seemed like there were thousands of people there to help him kick off his 2010 tour. Buffet could relate and trace almost every single song to an experience in Florida, and every song he played had a story or island tale to accompany it.

He played for about two hours with a quick 15-min intermission halfway through, complete with an old Buffet video to keep us entertained. Notable songs added to the set list for this tour, according to Buffetworld.com, included “Knees of My Heart,” “Frank and Lola,” and “Tin Cup Chalise.” He chose to debut “Big Top” on Saturday and played the songs everyone knows him for including “Cheeseburger in Paradise,” and “Margaritaville.” Unfortunately “Why Don’t We Get Drunk…” did not make the set but, the show was amazing nonetheless.

The people or Parrothead-watching at the amphitheatre was epic. They were just as entertaining as Buffet, and when they imbibed more and more drinks, at times they were almost more entertaining. The real die-hards were seemingly stationed in the lawn area. You could feel the care-free, beachcomber vibe within the breeze as it occasionally swept through.

Buffet was very aware of how important his fans are, and how well they can party, “Some of you may take flight tonight and never leave the ground,” he joked. He claims that it’s the Tampa Parrotheads that really know how to tailgate. He also mentioned the “pirate mentality” of those in the “land of Gasparilla.” By the end of the show he had given away his bracelets and kicked off his flip flops, worn only for the encore, into the crowd to appease his many followers.

“Just like Santa, I come once a year,” said Buffet. And this year, he gifted devoted fans with a mind-blowing performance. He ended the evening by taking the fans, “Away again in Margaritaville.” Just before the finale, Buffet said someone once asked, “You ever get tired of those songs?” He responded, “No, because it’s not about me, it’s about you and how much the fans love hearing the songs.”

As he finished, the crowd went wild with applause banging on any and everything to entice him back for more. He returned within just a couple minutes. The big hit of the encore was “Fins.” Literally just about every pair of hands and arms in the place made the formation of a shark to swim and sing “Fins to the left, fins to the right.” It was contagious really, in the best way.

Finally Buffet took the stage alone and bid his fans farewell after the introduction of the Coral Reefer band. The evening surpassed any expectations and overall was just astounding. I’d seen some serious fans before but nothing like the Parrotheads. Buffet himself, is even better live than any night you listen to him at home. For forty years he’s been rockin’ his fans, and Saturday night being “Under the Big Top with Buffet and the Parrotheads, he kicked off another tour by doing nothing less than that once again.

An Eye Opening Experience with the Blind Boys of Alabama

On April 23, 2010 WMNF sponsored the Bird Street Players and the Blind Boys of Alabama onstage at the “Skipperdome.” Arriving early to grab a bench ended up not being early enough. In a predominantly older crowd, the early-birds got the worms, and the good seats. The place was filled with fans of the Boys that had listened to them for decades.

The show took off promptly at 8pm with the Bird Street Singers. I’d seen them before at the Zombie Christmas show. Tonight they were far more energetic and funk-tastic. With a bass, timbales, drums, keyboard, and electric guitar, they rocked the opening set and announced that after the Blind Boys of Alabama finished their set the Players would be back for more.

The crowd was steadily filling in as the sun was setting. Mosquitoes were on the loose but the crowd was too anxious to care. The place was buzzing with chatter and excitement. This particular WMNF event had a completely different feel than the ones before. Perhaps it was the bluesy-gospel-harmonies about to ensue, but the vibe was amazing.

The Blind Boys of Alabama were helped onto the stage while given a huge welcome with applause, whistling and cheering from the audience. They announced “We don’t like to play for a conservative crowd, so if you want to jump up, jump up!” They launched into a few of what they referred to as, “Grammy songs.” Decked out in sharp sapphire-blue suits and their signature sun-glasses they left the crowd in awe as their energy and 3-part-harmonies bellowed out from the stage.

There were not many people mouthing every word to every song, but instead moving, grooving and taking in the tunes. The soulful sounds and intense dedication to the music you could feel from each note was enough to bring a fan to tears. During their set, they played “Perfect Peace,” a “Spirit in the Sky” cover, “Free at Last” and their epic rendition of “Amazing Grace.”

The three main singers took turns sitting. At one point in the performance, the sitting and standing was like a game. Joey Williams, the guitarist, would walk behind Jimmy Carter and sit him down, and then Bishop Billy Bowers would stand and dance around. As Williams would get Bowers seated, Ben Moore would then get up. It was like some kind of bluesy musical chairs. The only one who stayed seated throughout the charade was drummer, Eric McKinnie.

While Joey Williams occasionally blasted out an extreme falsetto solo, it was the deeply southern sounds, the gospel-esque wails, and crazy long notes that made for an amazing set. It was one of those shows where you were so mesmerized by the performance, and you had so much fun, even ten minutes after you leave it’s difficult to really remember which songs they played.

Towards the end of the performance Carter asked the crowd, “Do you feel good?” And after holding a note for what felt like five minutes straight said, “I feel good now!” Shortly after, the Blind Boys bodyguard escorted Carter into the crowd to party with the fans. It was just about then that the “non-conservative” crowd got loud and rowdy; just in time for the big finish.

The Blind Boys of Alabama introduced the band members, with solos by each player included, and then had a great instrumental finale. After the crowd chanted “We want ‘em back” they returned for a quick encore. The on-stage chemistry makes this ensemble a musical marvel! Jimmy Carter closed the evening saying, “We hope we sang something that made you feel like you never felt before. That’s what we try to do.” They tried and they succeeded. After a night watching the Blind Boys of Alabama in action, there is only one way to sum up that Friday at the Skipperdome: “Impressive.”

Lodjic Letters - I inherited my father's gift for angry letters!

After being fired from my job at First Uniform retail outlet the day before we left for vacation to go home and see family and friends, I became a bit disgruntled.

Not only had I been fired for no real reasons: Starting a "Clique," undermining the manager by defending my fellow employees, and making her out to be the "bad manager" due to my comradery with two girls I worked with, but I had wasted 8 months of my life at I place you couldn't pay me to use as reference.

In the words of Lonnie Stoner, this whole thing ended up being quite a "blurse," a blessing and a curse, if you will. I found out I didn't hate my other job at the restaurant, got away from the terribly stressful store where I was apparently unappreciated, and now actually have time for a life, and am still making great money.

However, I left corporate Headquarters in Charlotte, NC these words. ENJOY!

Dear Bill White,

With much trepidation and regret I write to you in the wake of the termination of my employment at First Uniform in Tampa, FL just three weeks ago in an attempt to inform you of my disappointment with the management and their violation of my rights as an employee.

On March 20, 2009 Suzie Alday, or Santorsola, whichever she may choose to go buy, came in to the store and pulled me outside to talk to me about her disappointment in my personality traits and their effect on the workplace, inevitably firing me. She then, without fully concluding the conversation with me, and with my being in earshot, called my peer and co-worker, Heather Boyd, to inform her that I was no longer employed with First Uniform. This was none of Ms. Boyd’s business, should not have been done anywhere within my presence, violates my rights as an employee (to my understanding, of course) and is completely out of line and inconsiderate. Not to mention the fact that if any employee was to be informed of this decision first, it should be the one in the store with me, Ms. Jamie Johnson, not the one at home enjoying her day off. Also, she did not call my other co-worker, Jennifer Pantaleo to inform her, so I do not understand the point of this phone call anyway.

Suzie also told my, now, ex-coworkers, that if anyone asked where I was or what had happened, to inform them that I “went on vacation and never came back.” This is not only incredibly hurtful to me personally, but disregards my reputation, making me look terrible in the eyes of the Hospital Staff, customers I had come to learn by name, and any friends I had made at the University Community Hospital. I also feel that this puts my ex-co-workers in an uncomfortable and unfair position as well.

It hurts me to think that after almost 9 months with First Uniform in Tampa, it ended in such an abrupt and seemingly inconceivable way. However, these acts are a testament to the management of Suzie and I am hoping that you take the time to consider these issues among others I feel obligated to discuss.

I was told upon being hired that I would be evaluated within a few months of my hire date. This never happened. Instead, any and all issues that I ever had with Steve or Suzie were brought up in front of my peers, even if they were very personal issues and clearly only concerning myself and no other. I feel that if my position had been properly and personally evaluated, I would not have been fired. In nine months of employment I only ever had three altercations with Steve and/or Suzie Santorsola and I thought all of them had been resolved; apparently not.
Within about two months of my employment, during a time when I was dealing with a personal issue (a family emergency some 3,000 miles away) Steve addressed me about my “attitude.” This was not because I had offended a customer or a peer. It was because I had offended Suzie. I, of course, apologized to Suzie and explained that I was having a bad day and regretted that my personal life interfered with working in the store.

That situation is ironic because just a week before my termination, a fellow employee was having a fight with her significant other and was in a terrible mood. This employee was on her phone texting while in the store most of the day, ignored many duties, was rude to most everyone around her, and even broke a major rule at First Uniform – when she clocked in another employee who wasn’t even scheduled for that shift – and somehow escaped unscathed. To me, this all seems a bit unfair.

Let me make something clear: Steve and Suzie Santorsola are wonderful people. There was a time when I looked up to them and thought that they were amazing managers. I counted myself lucky to have such a wonderful job. I still don’t understand how I offended them, but whatever I did, resulted in my firing. The worst part is I still don’t quite know where I went wrong. The only reason I was given for the termination of my employment was that I started a “clique,” “undermined Suzie” and that my personality created an environment that Suzie didn’t like. I was seemingly fired for a personality clash, which is an unfit reason in my eyes.

When Suzie was appointed manager I was excited. I thought that things would improve in the store and she put a great deal of time and effort into becoming an active and present manager. Ironically, it was another employee who voiced a major problem with Suzie’s promotion; if Suzie is a person who lives by the mantra “Keep your friends close and your enemies closer,” she’s on the right track. However, her favoritism is definitely a hindrance in the store. Many times I felt like the only reason we had any problems was because she just didn’t like me, not because I wasn’t doing my job.

Within two weeks of her promotion, Suzie pulled me aside because a friend and fellow co-worker had expressed her concern about my being stressed out due to my second job. This created a major conflict as Suzie thought that there was some deep issue between the two of us and that it was her place to step in. Seeing as how my relationship outside the store with this employee was becoming a stress and a problem, I pulled away from it, to salvage my position in the workplace as an apt employee, and to act in the best interest of the store.

Two weeks after this, three of the four young ladies employed at First Uniform were gathered together for a meeting during a slow period of the day. Suzie talked to us about communication, upkeep, updates and then somehow the conversation turned to being about me and my personality flaws. I had offended Suzie at work as she thought that I was poking fun at her (which I was not, a co-worker explained this as well) and she discussed this issue with me in private, where I, of course, apologized many times over. She brought this up again, after I thought it had been resolved, and in front of my peers and publicly chastised me for my “attitude” and overall, for my personality. I had one co-worker come to my defense and say there had been a large amount of miscommunication. I took a deep breath, swallowed my tears of frustration and continued to work the day. I thought it was all behind us and I focused solely on customers and my duties at the store.

I thought things were getting better. Suzie and I had, what I thought to be, many constructive discussions about store morale and increasing sales, schedules, and the like. I was always honest with Suzie and very up-front. However, one particular conversation apparently helped lead to my employment termination. Suzie had expressed her frustration with an employee’s lack of understanding and her lack of willingness to listen. Myself, and another peer, tried to explain to Suzie that sometimes this employee whom she was so frustrated with just needed to have things rephrased or explained in different terms for her to fully understand…she did not offend with intent. Suzie didn’t seem to care about our thoughts and later accused me of “deciding to steer the conversation in the direction that I wanted to undermine her.”

There was also an instance where a co-worker approached me concerned she had offended Suzie and asked if anything had been said about the situation. I answered her honestly saying, Suzie had brought up the conflict as an example of “what not to do” and would probably speak to her in greater detail about it later. This situation led to Suzie accusing me of making her out to be “the bad manager” and my trying to get the girls to “rally” against her.

These situations are clearly misconstrued and misunderstood. What is important isn’t who is right or wrong, what is important is that Suzie used situations that could have been avoided, better discussed, or completely ridiculous as a reason to fire me. I was easily expendable to her because I had another job, so she could fire me with a clear conscience – another testament to her managerial character.

I think it is imperative that you understand that Suzie’s capabilities as a manager are not even in question, but when you rule with your heart and not your head things can become unnecessarily complicated. I watched Suzie let one employee get away with things once deemed “unacceptable.” I’d heard customers both in the store and at outside First Uniform events complain about Suzie. I watched Suzie claim other employee’s ideas as her own to Steve, and micromanage employees giving her “favorites” simplistic tasks like making a sign, while forcing another to straighten every piece of Cherokee in the store alone.

I don’t think there is any legitimate reason for the termination of my employment, and if there was, I hope you can send me some form of explanation because I still don’t know. Two of my peers thought I was a wonderful employee. I was 100% there for First Uniform. Part of my upset comes from the fact that just a month ago Suzie asked me if I planned to stay on the team throughout the next few months and I said “Yes, nothing I will take on will affect my position at this store, but I wouldn’t stay if you didn’t want me here.” Her response was “You are valued, that isn’t even a question in anyone’s mind.” Also, a week prior to my getting fired she asked me if my second job would lessen my availability at the store as they were getting ready to hire a new team member and I said “You were my first job and I will not let my second job interfere.” If I had known that these problems existed, I would have gracefully resigned for the good of the company. Instead I was fired the day before I left to fly home to see my family, never having been fired before from anything, and feeling as though I wasted 9 months of my life without walking away with a reference, or any appreciation.

I don’t doubt that the store sales will continue to increase, but I will tell you that you will continue to gain and lose employees under the management if Suzie is not evaluated and trained by someone other than Steve. When I returned to the store three weeks after my firing to pick up an order I had placed, I smiled and said hello to Suzie and she wouldn’t even look at me and quietly just said “hey.” I find this ridiculous and rude and the last testament to Suzie’s management.

I really liked working with everyone at First Uniform and I thought I was part of a great team and a valued member of a company I supported. However, if you support a manager who is able to fire someone based on personal conflicts and likeability, I cannot sit back idly and wait for her to do it to someone else. I have lodged a complaint with the Better Business Bureau, and I hope that this note and this complaint will have some resonance and make First Uniform in Tampa, the “positive” place that I kept it from becoming.

I encourage you to call or write me with any questions or concerns. Thank you for your time,

Alison Chriss

Bill White has since responded with the following:

"Alison,

Thank you for your letter. I appreciate your sincerity as well as the amount of through and time you put into it. Rest assured that I have read it carefully and we had detailed discussions with both Steve and Suzy on the matter. I can tell you that they both had many positive things to say about you, that you will be missed by all, and they certainly wish you the best as you move on. Clearly they agonized over the decision, but they felt it was unfortunately the best course of action in this case, and I agree. And yes, there is always some room for improvement.

Alison I can tell you care a great deal about your job, and I'm sure this trait will serve you well in the future. Thanks again for your letter and the work you did for our company.

Sincerely,

Bill White
Director of Business Development
First Uniform"

If this doesn't apply to my "Art of Letting Go" post...I don't know what does! Sometimes we have to let go of the fact that we have no power, were wronged and there is no right. It's freeing to think that this is all behind me, and I will walk away as the adult of the situation. Now I just fear for the girls I once worked with! Hang in there ladies!

The Art of Letting Go - Hopefully this isn't too "Self-Help"

How many times have you heard the phrases “Let go,” “Let it go,” “Just let go” or “Let them go.”? How many times have you uttered those words? It’s common English diction really. When you “Google it” music, lyrics, and “how to let go” of lovers, grudges, bitterness, and regret all come up within just the top ten.

Letting go, however, is one of those many things in life that are easier said than done. From personal experience, I believe that there is an art to letting things, people, situations, and emotional attachments go.

What exactly are we let go of? Pain, emotional baggage, people, grief, love, anguish, stress, disappointment, regret, anger and anything else in life that plagues us, right? It’s a process.

Maybe it just becomes easier with age but when I think of all the people, memories and just “things” – both tangible and emotional – it’s quite the impressive journey.
When I was five, my Kindergarten boyfriend left the school and moved. That was an attachment I had to let go of. That same year my Grandma Mary died, which was someone I had to just let go. Those two occurrences seemed so simple, but is it as we grow older or as we grow emotionally and mentally that it all becomes more complicated?

Perhaps there was a moment in my life where, in the midst of everything that I thought I knew was spinning out of control, I decided that I had to take control of as much of my life as I possibly could. This probably led to my inability to “let things go.” Maybe inability is the wrong word. I can do it, but it’s never easy for me.

After a terrible bout with severe depression in 2008/2009 I’ve discovered some interesting patterns in my life. I’ve randomly thought about the events that have unfolded in my life in the past decade only to come to the realization that I have some very self-destructive habits. One of these habits has everything to do with the whole issue of letting go.

One of my best friends said it best when he asked my husband, “Did you ever notice how Alison makes a big deal about the little things, she obsesses over them, but the huge things in life just don’t bother her?” I wanted to argue but I couldn’t. He was dead on. My sarcastic self said “Oh, come on, I’d rather be mad that my hair looks like shit than the big catastrophes in my life because if I think about the big things all the time, I’d kill myself.”

I don’t want to let go of the little things because then I’d have to face the big stuff. Seems like common sense to me, but, it also allows me to push away the anger and pain. I sweep a lot under the rock. I shelve things that shouldn’t have a shelf life. I was wired early on in my childhood to “save face,” or to keep certain things private, and now that seems to have totally wrecked my persona.

But now, I want to study and explore this “art” of letting go. I’ve lost so many people in my life in the past 5, even 10 years. And I’m not talking about loved ones passing. I’m talking about people that have been “let go” or have let me go. And now that I’m away from the circumstances, both physically and mentally, I can really reflect.

When you move, when you graduate, when you grow as a person, you lose touch with people and drift apart. Some of these things feel natural and some do not. Some leave imprints and some just happen like the change of a season overnight. When you feel the shift, however, and I mean really feel it that is when you know that you’ll be forever changed. And now, my reflections:

My first love did not love me back, and he wasn’t always the nicest guy. One day we just stopped talking. He moved away and I moved forward. We mutually let each other go.

My first boyfriend, also not a very nice guy, ended up stealing from me, his roommates, and a couple other people close to me. He left apology letters for everyone, except me. I was hurt, ashamed, and filled with anger…every once in awhile I catch myself getting all worked up about how terrible he was, but the further away I get from it the easier it has become to take a breath and let it go.

I had an integral person in my life abandon me in so many ways…she chose everything over me. The worst part is; I don’t know if she was ever really there for me. Perhaps she was there physically but what about mentally? I want to let her go in every sense, walk away forever, but she is genetically tied to me, and irreplaceable. I’ve been detaching from her bit by bit since I was 13…this is the kind of letting go that isn’t just a “cut and run” situation.

My best friend, or ex-best-friend as I now refer to him, was my friend since birth. I put a lot of pressure on him to be this amazing force in my life. I thought I believed in fate and he was this amazing part of mine. I gave him everything he asked, and then some, and in the end it just wasn’t what either of us needed. I looked to him for a sense of family and he came through. I idolized his family because, with everything they’d been through they all had this amazing bond and were wonderfully happy. They all thought of me as something-better-than-nothing, and they accepted me for who and what I was: completely fucked up, but with a good heart.
I’d struggled with him for years. I wanted him to be a life-changing friend and he wanted me to be this simply rockin’ girl and in the end we both failed. When we grew out of our teen angst age and I dated his roommate and he dated girls from work, parties, or concerts, we just couldn’t find our groove. We fought, and I cried…all the time. I wanted him to care and he wanted me to not care…it was a set up for disaster. One weekend we went on a trip together and I realized that I was trying so hard to be this perfect girl for him; I didn’t even know what girl I was anymore. I’d completely lost me.

I went home to my then-boyfriend, now-husband and cried telling him I had to change and he told me that I needed to do any and everything to be happy, because he was suffering too. But, he didn’t want to lose me. He had lived too long in the shadow of this stressful friendship I’d been fighting for.

After weeks, months and then some of serious therapy where I laid all my shit on the table, I thought my very bestest friend was behind me. He was supportive and present, dating a really sweet girl who made him happy, and I’d salvaged my hanging-by-a-thread relationship with the only man who ever loved me, and who I felt like I kinda deserved. During my steps away from depression and anxiety I had begged my friend to let me go if I was too much of a handful. I’ve almost always seen myself as a burden on someone and in the past few years, I thought of myself more as a kind-of-unfortunate-looking personal driver, loan officer and/or rent-a-friend, than a substantial relationship for him, but he refused to just “Let me go.”

But then, because it’s my life and not a movie, the shit hit the fan and my “integral person” came back to completely fuck up all my progress. In the wake of all of the family drama and another episode of “Alison being forced into dealing with more than a twenty-something should have to” scenario, after too much alcohol, an Irish Punk Rock vibe gone wrong and some terribly fucked-up inappropriate conversation, my then-best-friend, now ex-best-friend, let me AND my then-boyfriend, now-husband GO, to be with the girl he loved.

For a month I cried myself to sleep and completely regressed. I’d gone through pangs of anger and serenity and then one day I just realized: we needed to let each other go. His family went through some serious anguish with all of this. We regret so much but almost felt a relief knowing it was over. Both parties involved have since moved in completely positive directions after the terrible incident and now I look back and it just makes me sad.

We had some amazing memories. We had some really good times. But at some point, we just had to let go. I couldn’t be the perfect girl he wanted, and he couldn’t be the man I needed. I should have let him go years ago but there was a certain dysfunctional co-dependence we shared.
Letting go of all of this sucked, to say the least. This is the big stuff I didn’t want to face! But, true to form, more recently, I just deal with the little things that bug me with the occasional major hurdle.

February was the month of answering all my questions from my childhood and facing my demons. I think March was the month of facing the high school drama all over again.
After a tumultuous love-hate relationship with Facebook I finally gave in and “friended” a few old high school friends. As if this wasn’t enough drama, I happened to have attended 3 different high schools. I found an old “flame,” now married with a family and everything and we started catching up.

At some point, the conversation went awry and I got the feeling that he thought my asking to meet up “for lunch sometime” was some kind of sexual code. One day he text me and I finally had to make it clear that "lunch" meant actually eating lunch and then he just stopped talking to me. One stressful night after one-glass-of-wine-too-many I found the strength to text him asking, “What you’re just never going to speak to me again? We can’t even be friends?”

He responded with “Please don’t ever text me again.” I quickly un-friended him on Facebook and had to let go of the fact that, even while I was doing right I still somehow did “wrong.” I have to let go of the fact that some people are just assholes.

I don’t think I will ever master this “Art of Letting Go” but with every dramatic incident I get better and better.

Life gives you these challenges every day and it’s up to us to decide if we hang onto them like a sentimental picture or a souvenir or if we just do the cool thing and “recycle” them. There are some people in this world that can actually just “let it go.” Most of them are men, but for women like me and most women in general, we have to study this concept much like we study the mystery of men. Maybe my next chapter on this will be the “Art of Closure.” Until then, I think I will just…stick to what I know.

Between the Black and White...There's David Gray

David Gray is probably most famous for his hit, “Babylon,” from his album “White Ladder.” Personally, I think this is his worst song, especially when you listen to the entire album, let alone his entire catalog. Despite my distaste for “Babylon,” I fell in love with “White Ladder” and with the handsome man from Wales, David Gray. He has come a long way since his success in 2000, and proved it throughout his performance at Ruth Eckerd Hall on Tuesday, April 13, 2010.

To open for Gray, Phosphorescent warmed up the crowd with their grungy, folksy, Iron and Wine-esque musical style. With deep indie-rock riffs and vibrant guitar solos, the country twinge drifting in and out made for a soothing entrance into an amazing evening. With five players – keyboard, drums, bass and two guitars, Phosphorescent left the audience with a Willie Nelson cover and some great new songs remember.

After the short and sweet opening set, the stage was readied for David Gray. Ruth Eckerd Hall had never looked so sparse, but then sporadically filled in bit by bit. There was a big, white sheet engulfing the stage for Gray’s ominous intro. The lights went dim, the sheet turned red, and you could see his silhouette. The sheet dropped and there he was, center stage, strumming that guitar and rocking the crowd.

Gray had four men behind him to complement his signature sound. Gray’s stage presence was strong, and some of his moves are very much like dancing tantrums. His forceful guitar strums are one with his stage-stomps and erratic foot-work; his head is a like a bobble-head on a windy road but never misses a single beat. Gray is a performer to be taken in, watched and paid close attention to.

Gray performed pieces from his entire collection, but definitely made it known that his new album, “Draw the Line” should not be missed. “Be Mine,” “Draw the Line,” “You’re the World To Me,” “Freedom,” “Sail Away with Me,” “Nemesis,” “Kathleen,” “Babylon”(of course!), and “Please Forgive Me” were all featured throughout the evening. People in every row were singing along, dancing from time to time and loving every minute of it.

Gray also frequently switched instruments. Between different guitars, the piano, and the harmonica, he proved he was not only good on disc, but was fantastic live. He commented on the Florida weather saying “It’s like Jurassic Park down here,” and calling Floridians, “Part reptile by now.” And these “part-reptilian” fans are extremely devout. I wanted to believe David Gray to be a relatively obscure artist, but I was very wrong. I’d never seen such a dedicated crowd. I even had a woman next to me “helping” by letting me know the name – and lyrics – to nearly every song he played.

After about an hour or so, he had quite the instrumental finale finishing with a bang. The crowd hooted and hollered until he returned for his ferocious encore. He closed with my personal favorite, “This Year’s Love,” followed by “The Other Side” and then “You’re the One I Love.” The crowd left smiling and content. Throughout the parking lot you could hear various David Gray albums blaring out of car stereos.

David Gray is an incredible performer and should not be missed the next time he comes back down around “Jurassic Park.” He exceeded my expectations, literally wowed fans (I heard them say “wow!”), and left too many of his songs stuck in the audience members’ heads. For a Tuesday night in Clearwater, it was definitely a musically eventful evening.