Even more Rumble photos

Two things that happened to me at the Rumble show last night:

1 - A lady next to me asked me to guess the age of another woman who was on the other side of her. She was attractive and dancing with her husband, so wanting to keep my face intact, I said I had no idea. (I'm married; I know this drill.) The first woman wouldn't take no for an answer, so I had to guess. I said 35. (Wink, wink.) She was turning 52 today.

2 - A woman who brought her dog -- think Marmaduke -- on a leash stood behind me, with the dog licking my ankle and smelling the back of my shorts (and those of the aforementioned woman) during the Molly Hatchet show. I'm glad Michael Vick wasn't around.

I had the thought during the show that there's a huge difference between fans of Southern rock shows and fans of rock shows in general, especially metal and hard rock. I like Southern rock as much as the next guy -- the very first headlining act I saw was .38 Special back in the late 1970s when I was a pimply teen -- but I never feared for getting my head bashed in at a rock show, and I've been to gosh knows how many shows in 25 years.

I've seen fights at shows of all types, mind you, but the drinking last night was a little too much -- though it was really only a few who got out of hand; kind of expected, I guess. There was too much pushing between a select few trying to get to the stage, especially when you consider there were children scattered throughout the first few "rows" of Noble Street. When Hatchet broke into "Flirtin' With Disaster" to close their show, two guys nearly knocked me to the ground trying to shoulder their way in front of me.

Most people behaved well; a good crowd mixed with Calhoun County residents and out-of-towners, I thought. But the few who drank their week's salary in Pabst Blue Ribbon could have ruined it for one of those kids if they had been hurt. Just a thought. It was a good night and the shows were OK. Glad I went -- though I'll pay for it with bleary eyes and ringing ears for a few days.

My face is ugly, but at least I kept it.

Rumble on Noble photos

OK, it's late, I smell like beer -- dude next to me wasted half a Budweiser on my right leg -- and what little hearing I had is now gone. For good.

But it was fun.

I've sent along a few photos: The first is of Molly Hatchet guitarist Bobby Ingram. The second is of the lead singer from the band Geneva. And the third is of JB Walker and the Cheap Whiskey Band. I'll try to post a few more when I get some sleep.

The music was loud -- especially Hatchet -- and a few too many of the yahoos at the show had too much to drink for my taste. Hard to enjoy the show when you're avoiding shoving matches between ... you get the point.

There were some highlights. The guitar player for the JB Walker band was pretty good. That band and Geneva both covered John Mellencamp's "Pink Houses," and Hatchet covered "Freebird," of course. This, too: I'm not so sure how many people can tell you anything about Geneva's set because of the outfit the singer wore -- or what she didn't wear, if you get my drift.

Oh, well. If I have more thoughts I'll post them when I get the other pictures sent your way.

Even if you're not a huge fan of Southern rock, it was good to have shows in downtown Anniston. This town needs more of it.

Putting up the stage on Noble Street

It was steamy down on Noble Street this morning, where the work crews were busy erecting the stage for the Rumble on Noble concerts this evening. The stage is on Noble between 11th and 12th streets -- I think ... I didn't take notes or anything, and that's what I remembered when I got back home.

Oh, well, you can figure it out when you get there.

Favorite Hatchet songs

I know it seems like I'm all giddy about Molly Hatchet rockin' Noble Street on Saturday night, but, well ... OK, I am. So sue me.

I started thinking (for a change): What's my favorite Hatchet songs? Here's my list:

1. Fall of the Peacemakers
2. Flirtin' with Disaster
3. Satisfied Man
4. Dreams I'll Never See
5. Beatin' the Odds
6. Gator Country

If you don't have your Greatest Hits CD with you, click here for Amazon's Web page where you can hear some of these classics. (Yes, there are classics!)

Molly Hatchet live! In Anniston!

I don't know about you, but I'll be doing some flirtin' with disaster Saturday night on Noble Street when Molly Hatchet -- Yes, that Molly Hatchet -- plays Rumble on Noble.

(If only I could grow a mullet ... )

I have to admit, I'm a Hatchet fan. Saw 'em in the early 80s; think the last time was in '81 at an outdoor music festival when I was about 15. All I remember about it was I liked the music, there were lots of bikinis, and I was the only dude there not waving a Confederate flag.

Maybe that's what Noble Street will be like Saturday night.

When I get home tonight, I'm gonna break out my Hatchet live album and crank it up for the 8-year-old. Might even give him a mullet for old time's sake.

Here's the Hatchet Web site.

(By the way, the band's Web site mispells Noble Street on its tour date list. Might want to update that before Saturday night.)