Swell Season in Asheville

This group was too great to not post about. It’s been a while (well over a month) since I’ve been to a great show, and while that might seem crazy to some people, you have to understand my love for live music.

We had a busy Thursday, so were in a rush to get to the Orange Peel before 9. We still had to pick up our tickets and I needed to get my photo pass, which I had requested a few days earlier for work. When all was said and done, I ended up with three tickets. Seeing how the tickets were pretty pricey, and I knew that my friend Aileen was a fan, I started texting her. Long(er) story short, her husband was sweet enough to drive her back into Asheville, drop her off at the Orange Peel and we hooked her up with our third ticket.

There was no opening band, and the Swell Season came on just after 9 p.m. They sound SO much like their albums, which is a plus when you’ve spent months singing along to their recordings. And they were kind of funny. I think they really enjoyed themselves in Asheville, as it seemed that they had an entire day to check out the city. Glen mentioned he ate at Over Easy, while Marketa mentioned she had her hair chopped off (super short!) and donated it to be used for soaking up the oil in the ocean. (Gross, I know, but we just did a story over a week ago about how people could donate hair for that reason.)

The thing I dislike about the Orange Peel is how a sold-out or almost sold-out show can be SO packed in the venue. And how a short girl like me has a problem seeing the show. (I’m only 5’3″.) I did my best to enjoy the show….and got texts from Aileen’s husband filling me on the ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ season finale (which I have yet to watch.)

The only other thing I didn’t like about the show was a girl that Glen invited to play a couple of songs with. He lost major cool points with me when he mentioned a local girl (he met her in Ireland, and said she was local to our area.) Turns out she was from Nashville. She said that it was like Asheville, with an “N.” Um, no it’s not. And then she mentioned that she used to live in Winston-Salem, which, again, is not like Asheville. The girl had a good voice, but when someone yelled, “How’s Nashville?” (most likely referencing the recent floods), she replied, “It’s fine!” And then she spoke to the crowd as if we were there to see her. No, thank you. Please let Marketa back on the stage to sing.

Now, photos. Many apologies for the many photos. There is a video, too. Enjoy! 🙂