Edie Carey at the Red Eyed Fly
Friday afternoon, Jess and I set out for Austin, TX. Our friend, Danielle, flew in to Austin on Thursday, and we were meeting her there to see Edie Carey and Anne Heaton open a Melissa Ferrick show at The Red Eyed Fly. We picked up Danielle at her cousin's house, checked into our hotel room, and then went looking for dinner.
6th Street wasn't too crowded as we made our way around and eventually found ourselves standing in front of the club waiting for the doors to open. They opened over an hour late, and it wasn't for almost another hour before Edie and Anne finally took the stage.
Anne Heaton at the Red Eyed Fly
The Red Eyed Fly seemed to be a decent venue. There were nice, comfy looking couches placed on the indoor stage, and that had a very clean outdoor stage where the show was to be held that evening. The club was pretty barren at first, and, as the night went on, slowly filled up. Most of the people were there to see Melissa Ferrick. Because of her fan base, this meant I was among only a handful of men, and even then, I wasn't 100% certain that they were male.
The show was great. I had never seen nor heard Anne before, and I was very impressed with her. She and Edie played in the round, tossing the spotlight back and forth and offering backup vocals for each other. The Melissa Ferrick fans soon grew rowdy, unwilling to listen to these beautiful women pouring their hearts out on stage. They began talking louder and louder until Edie and Anne gave up trying to sing over them, and just kept on singing anyway.
Jess wasn't feeling so well, so once Melissa took the stage, we left and headed back to our hotel room. It wasn't long before the three of us were fast asleep.
Edie Carey at the Red Eyed Fly
Saturday morning, I woke up pretty early, conditioned from getting up early everyday for work. After a while, we were all up and ready to head back to Dallas. We had considered staying in Austin for a little bit, but, with Austin City Limits happening that weekend, we wanted to get out of town and avoid the crowds. We stopped for a quick breakfast at IHOP and then headed home.
We arrived in Dallas, bummed around the house a little bit, and then went to Oak Lawn to bum around for a little bit. Around 6pm, I went to the airport to pick up Brad, Morgan and Zoe. After settling in at home, they went out to eat with Jess, Danielle and I at Saltgrass Steak House. Afterward, we went back to Brad and Morgan's place and introduced Danielle to the wonderful world of Invader Zim. Then, after a late night trip to Krispy Kreme, we headed home for bed.
Sunday morning we got up, got dressed, and headed to Bill's Records. Danielle bought a few CDs and some stickers, I picked up the new (actually a re-release of some old work) John Mayer CD, Inside Wants Out, and a John Mayer sticker. Jess got a DVD of Smashing Pumpkins videos. We all left pretty happy. We stopped for lunch at a Bagel/Deli shop, and then went to the grocery store to get ingredients for the Lasagna Danielle was making for dinner that evening.
Anne Heaton at the Gypsy Tea Room
Jess took a nap while Danielle cooked and I watched. The Lasagna was great. So good, in fact, that Jess and I had leftovers for Lunch the next day. After dinner, we headed out to Deep Ellum. We looked around a bit, stopped for coffee at the Insomnia Coffee House and then went to the Gypsy Tea Room to see Edie, Anne and Melissa again.
The doors opened promptly, and the show started on time. Edie and Anne rocked. Absolutely amazing. The crowd, of the same demographic as before, was much quieter this time, though still getting rowdy on occasion. Anne's voice is amazing. Her rhythm is incredible, and she leaves this tingling feeling in your chest with every note she sings. Edie was beautiful and sang very powerfully. The put on an outstanding performance, and we were all very pleased. Jess and I bought Anne's CD, Black Notebook and neither one of us can get her song, "Spinning", out of our heads.
Edie Carey at the Red Eyed Fly
Danielle wanted to introduce us to Edie, so we waited out the Melissa Ferrick show in order to see her afterward. Melissa played for about 2 hours. Maybe longer. She sounded great, and has a very powerful voice that speaks to the hearts of her fans. However, 2 hours was a very long time. A very long time. By the end of her set most of her fans had left and she was still going strong. Toward the end, she played, what seemed like, a 30 minute song that was a dramatization of a typical sexual encounter for her. At least, I think that's what she was doing. Needless to say, the three of us were ready to pass out by the end of the show.
When Melissa finally got off the stage we waited around for almost an hour before the club kicked us out and made us wait outside. A little more waiting there, and Melissa and Edie finally came out (Anne was very tired and had left long ago. Smart girl). Edie was very nice, and very personable. She expressed her excitement to Danielle about the tour she was on. Danielle mentioned that she was sad because she wouldn't being seeing Edie for a while and Edie responded with something that hit me deep. She said, "I know. But I'm doing what I'm supposed to be doing."
If Edie or Anne ever make their way within four hours of here, I'll certainly drive out to see them again.
All in all, we had a great time. Danielle was a lot of fun and I hope I get to see her again sometime soon.
