Road Block Trippin'
Just got back from quick weekend trip down to Atlanta. Connecting flights both ways. Shitty airplane meals for $10. But it was worth it to see the Indigo Girls perform with the Atlanta Ballet.
First of all, let's talk about Atlanta. Coming from a Seattle boy who's never been to the South, I didn't know what to expect. It turns out that in the city, the southern drawl isn't as prevalent as expected. It seemed like any big city I've been to. And the weather is nice down there this time of year. While Seattle was barely in the fifties and cloudy, we had 80 degrees and sun down in Atlanta.
The first night Lisa and I went down to Decatur to check out Emily Salier's (the blonde half of the Indigo Girls) restaurant, Watershed. It's a remodeled garage that serves hipped-up southern fare (catfish, grits, and collard greens, among others are on the menu) and features an impressive wine collection. We highly recommend the Rombauer Zin. We brought two bottles home with us.
The next day, Saturday, we drove around town and ended up at the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Center. It's an impressive center, attached to the church he preached at, and replete with multimedia displays of Dr. King's life. I was moved to tears every time I stood at a display and listened to his historic speeches. Across the street stands his tomb in the middle of a huge fountain at the Freedom Center. This part of the memorial center was a bit of a disappointment: the rooms devoted to Rosa Parks, Gandhi, and Corettal King are small and spare. But a block over was something that made up for it, his childhood home. We didn't want to spend the five minutes to walk back over to the center to get tickets to the free tour of the house, but we took some pictures in front of it. Let me tell you, it's pretty cool just to be standing on the porch that MLK used to hang out on as a kid. At the gift shop, we bought a few books.
Then it was another trip back to Decatur to drive around. A few minutes out of Atlanta, it's a cute little town with a population of about 18,000. It's close to Emory College, and it's got plenty of little shops and restaurants. Of course, it's part of modern America: there's a huge Starbucks at the main shopping area. But to me, other than Watershed, Decatur's most important building is its pool hall, Twain's. We had some beer and grabbed a bite (the black bean patty burger is actually pretty good) and shot a few games in the non-smoking room. It's pretty much the perfect town for me; it's quiet, fairly liberal, and there are plenty of cheap (by Seattle standards) craftsman style homes.
That night, show night at the fabulous Fox Theater. It's an old theater, built in the late 1920s, with a long entry way and wide lobby. It was really crowded that night and dark in the lobby, so it was hard to make out the details. But as we walked up the second flight of stairs to our balcony seats, I was blown away. The ceiling was lit in a dark blue with with tiny twinkly lights, like a clear night sky. In the dark theater, I had to do a double take just to be sure we weren't in an outdoor venue.
As for the show itself, I would give it a three out four stars. The first piece, by George Ballanchine, was a snoozer. Now, I've been to a few ballet performances and found them entertaining and moving. But I didn't fly all the way down there to see something I could have seen the Pacific Northwest Ballet understudy group do on a matinee. Ouch, you may say, but it's true. It's amazing the difference you can see between a world class company, such as PNB, and one that's a notch or so below. The second piece was something that I'd never seen before. It was a solo performance by the male principle dancer, and it's something I won't forget anytime soon. It featured a dimly lit stage and occasional strobe light bursts. The effect was that when the lights burst, it froze the dancer. The crowd oohed and aahed as he froze in midair.
The piece de resistance was, of course, the Indigo Girls. The first thing I have to say is that the band looked awesome, resplendent in black. The notable detail here was that it was the first time I'd ever seen Emily wearing a skirt. Amy was looking casual as usual, and I thought to myself, "This chick needs a haircut". Anyway, the show consisted of seven or eight of their better known songs. The first, "Least Complicated" was what I called the "party song" of the set. It started off with the girls playing acoustic with dance extras in a dark background, holding candles. Quite intimate. Then they added drums, and I started chuckling. It looked like the video for Lionel Richie's "All Night Long" or the ending to "Dirty Dancing". Dancers flooded the stage, doing solos.
It got a lot better. The next routine, done to "Shed Your Skin", to quote the "Queer Eye" Fab Five, was fabulous! For those of you who don't know this song, it's kind of a dramatic song with layered guitars. Very sensual. And let me tell you, the dance interpretation was right-on. The dancers started shedding, uh, layers. I thought, this is not your father's ballet. I could almost hear Lisa -- my wife of over a year -- telling me with a smirk, "Close your mouth, dear."
Anyway, I don't want to bore you with more dance details. All I can say is that the music was powerful and the dancers did a really good job. It was definitely more modern dance, freed from the constraints of ballet. I was moved to tears (again -- yes, I'm a wuss) during the pieces to "Ghost" and "Caramia", and I could barely contain myself from singing loudly and dancing along to "Closer To Fine". We gave a long and loud ovation when it was over. And then we bought every piece of crap souvenir in the joint. Let's see, a poster, t-shirt, stickers, mini ballet shoes (a perfect Christmas tree ornament). Oh yeah, and drinks weren't cheap there, either.
The next morning found us in Decatur yet again. After checking out of the hotel, we wandered down there for brunch at Watershed. What!? Stop rolling those eyes! We're groupies, we know!! Leave us alone! Anyway, after a lovely meal of biscuits, chicken hash, grits, and banana fritters (enough to make Atkins dieters go into diabetic shock at the thought), we were given a pleasant surprise. Emily Saliers walked in with her parents and partner. Lisa and I made sure to greet her quickly to minimize the effect of us annoying fans. Emily was patient and gracious, and she was glad we enjoyed the show. I think she was really impressed we made the trip just for the show. After buying more stuff at the restaurant (it also doubles as a consignment shop for soap makers and stationers), we left town elated.
On the way to the airport, we stopped at three other notable tourist traps in Atlanta. First we stopped at the first Krispy Kreme and paid our respects by getting a half dozen. Second, we stopped in at the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library. It's a large museum and library on about thirty acres, featuring everything you wanted to know about Jimmy Carter and his presidency. (And a gift shop. At least we didn't dent the pocketbook too badly there.) I came away having a new respect and appreciation of the man. The last stop was at the famous Varsity, the largest drive-in restaurant in the world. It's also one of the busiest. Cries of "What'll ya have!" from behind the counter. Still full from brunch and donuts we settled in for barbecue pork sandwiches. Mmmm... And then we hit the gift shop.
Back home, I flipped through house listings in Decatur. Hmm, I wonder if they need software engineers in Atlanta...? :)
