Hey there,

So this past Saturday in Dallas the Granada Theater hosted a solo acoustic show by Jeff Tweedy of Wilco. Despite being preceded by a mind-numbingly awful Scott McCaughey (not sure how he hooked up with REM and The Minus 5, but I sure hope he doesn't lose his day job), Tweedy put on a spectacular show, plucking something off of almost every album - including his side projects and Uncle Tupelo (solo acoustic "Gun"!?!) – and ending with a truly unplugged version of "Acuff-Rose" from the front of the stage. I won't unleash my hyperactive hyperbole gland that loves to gush words like "transcendent" and "revelatory" and "genius", but it was really, really good.

And now that Jeff has the stage sufficiently warmed up and all - but with, you know, enough time to let it cool just a little bit - the Granada will be hosting another good bill this Saturday:


Saturday, Jan. 27th / Granada Theater / 8:00pm / 3524 Greenville / Dallas, TX / (214) 824-9933

8:00 - Travis Hopper
9:00 - Sarah Jaffe
10:00 - Patrice Pike

* Show times are sharp at The Granada, so don't be late. We'll start at 8:00 and be wrapped up by 8:45.

http://www.travishopper.com/shows.html


I'm sure most of you know Patrice Pike from her years in the Texas music scene, both with Little Sister and Sister 7. Some of you also probably know her from her appearance on last year's "Rock Star Supernova" reality show on CBS. And Sarah Jaffe - if you don't know this local lady yet, you will soon. She played solo acoustic before us at Ryan Adams night at Club Dada in November and held the bar absolutely silent with her voice. Not sure if she's solo acoustic or with a band, but it won't matter - she'll own either way.

And lastly - I offer you a tip for this Saturday after the show - and, really, a tip for all future Granada excursions. As good as Jeff Tweedy was, the post-show hot dog from the new Big D Dogs after the show was aces. Rideek. Big D Dogs is across Greenville from the Granada and they stay open until 3:00am. Great dogs, fries, a good selection of bottled sodas, and a space/room that's non-discreet enough to allow for overhearing uncomfortable, late night, alcohol-induced conversations.

I'll be straight with you - it's no Weiner Circle - but I still got a laugh out of wondering what the people next to me were thinking as I relayed the story of my friend who was driving home from the Tweedy show clad in only his whitey tighties and a t-shirt. Seems as though his wife wanted champagne after the show (?), and somehow he'd procured it - only to have it blow up on him upon uncorking it in the car in the parking lot. Mind you he's dressed a bit like a disco train conductor at the time - polyester jacket, cool indie hat, black frame glasses - which somehow makes it even funnier in my mind. So, of course, he stripped down to his skivvies for drive home. Clearly there was no other way to handle the situation. And clearly he needed to call me immediately to relay this information as it happened.

God bless cell phones.

Travis

www.travishopper.com