blue sky and the devil.

…"Old worn out feelings
And yesterday's news
Just give me something
That I can use…"

Dreams came true this past week when Trampled by Turtles played their first show here in Nashville. And while yes, I am aware that this is rapidly approaching music blog status, I'm not sorry for telling you of their greatness.

Ah yes, ok, so the venue was small enough and the crowd included everything from oxfords to flannel...a solid showing for a bluegrass group from Duluth. They took the stage and I cannot express to you how perfectly happy I was from the moment they started playing. Their desolate ballads are hauntingly beautiful - you don't really know whether to sing along and smile or start to cry. Pretty early in their set they played one of my favorites, "Methodism in Middle America," and later they covered the Pixies' "Where is My Mind." Incredible. By the end of the night I was in such a euphoric state that I wanted to head to the country and never return…or quit my job and follow those five guys on the rest of their tour. Win-win if you ask me. We were all captivated by the whole scene, including Kenny, famous for knowing every rap since Tupac's day, fell in love with the bluegrass, and the lead singer, right then and there.

Oh man, I really can't say enough about these guys. I would love nothing more than to be their publicist and let's face it, I would probably already be a groupie (do those exist anymore?) if I didn't have a job and all that. Just trust me on this one: you want to hear this band. I even played a little "Wait So Long" for my 8th graders pre-fall break, and while they were skeptical at first -yelling out phrases such as "Who are these white guys?" and "We thought you liked Kanye!" - they ended up singing and clapping along.

So please, do yourself a big favor and (legally) download both "Duluth" and "Palomino" and give in to the bluegrass. You're welcome.

P.S. 903 just got a little more awesome…we now have a record player.