I could use a holiday - Last weekend in Atlanta
Musicians Fran Healy & Andy Dunlop of Travis, all-around genius Leonardo da Vinci, and a stay in a (mostly) renovated 1920's Spanish-Mediterranean-influenced hotel -- it was not a bad weekend in Atlanta, Georgia. As I am not a professional travel writer, things are gonna be out of order in this entry.
Last weekend I drove to Atlanta with Youngest Sib and my mom. I'd planned this trip for a couple of months already and my mom still managed to infiltrate my mini-vacation. Ah, but that's a complaint I can get into another time. It worked out because we managed to find a group activity we could all enjoy and it was good to be able to split driving duties with someone because I was effing exhausted.
THE ART
The High Museum of Art in Atlanta's Arts District is huge. We arrived in Atlanta late Friday afternoon so we could have made it to the monthly Jazz night event, but like I said, I was exhausted. Instead, the next morning we walked to the museum in chilly weather. We only saw the Leonardo da Vinci "Hand of the Genius" and John Portman "Art & Architecture" exhibits along with part of the museum's permanent postmodern art collection. (Next time I am in Atlanta I will visit it again to check out all the other collections.) The da Vinci exhibit was the the main reason we were there of course (and the only thing that I was positive my mom would enjoy). I felt a bit breathless as I was standing in the presence of actual sketches/studies that Leonardo had made. Apparently he was a bit obsessed with horses - his sketches of a horse's foreleg were so detailed they were practically photorealistic. Same goes for his studies of draped material to practice drawing shadow and light. There were also a couple of pieces on display that the museum's curator thought were collaborations between Leonardo and the main sculptors they were attributed to. Donatello's sculpture Bearded Prophet and Rustici's bronze figures John the Baptist Preaching to a Levite and a Pharisee were on display as well. Just gorgeously detailed. I wasn't sure if I should be amused or irritated when my mom criticized that John the Baptist's head was disproportionately small. Yes, she is the artistic one in the family but she has to critique somewhat loudly. At the end we had the obligatory stop at the gift shop, where I bought a poster. Usually I'll pick up postcards or a magnet, but since I drove this time I actually have space to carry and stash a full-sized poster. I have not taken an art or humanities-type course in well over a decade, so I will point any readers toward the official website instead for more exhibition details:
www.high.org
THE HOTEL
I booked a room at the Artmore Hotel due to its proximity to the venue where Fran and Andy would perform (The Loft). An added bonus was that the museum was only a few minutes' walk away plus the MARTA station was almost across the street. We ended up not using MARTA at all, but it was good to know it was there in case we wanted to see the rest of Atlanta. The Artmore is a decent 3-star hotel - reasonably-priced. Renovations were made to restore the original Spanish/Mediterranean influenced architecture and the effect was charming. The courtyard was lovely and had an impressive new fountain that was actually topped with a flame they'd turn on in the evenings. The interior was modern (front desk, lobby, bar) while the room we stayed in had an almost comical hodge-podge approach to decor. Nice beds and linens/covers, possibly customized window treatments, but the paintings/prints hanging on the walls didn't really match and neither did the secondhand furniture. The not-matching and the quaintness of staying at an "old-World" style hotel (small bathroom; the hotel was only 3 stories high; noticeably old areas) didn't really matter to me though. What was more important was that the staff were exceedingly nice and polite. I've stayed at hotels where the staff were just snooty and trying to take advantage of tourists, so that made a huge difference. My only complaints: the chain for the front door was halfway ripped out of the frame (bolt seemed sturdy enough though) and the windows were not sealed properly and the locks looked kind of flimsy, due to the age of the building I guess. Consequently, cold air kept seeping into the room. The heater worked fine though and we were on the 3rd floor so we felt safe enough. I'd probably stay there again if I was in the area.
THE SHOW
Travis are my favorite band ever. I had been to two shows before, one in Austin, TX and the other in Orlando, FL. I missed out on their J. Smith tour because they didn't come to Florida or any part of the southern US for that matter, so when I heard about the "chronological acoustical journey through the Travis back catalogue," I started researching. Would they be in Austin again? Maybe I can visit some friends while I'm there. Would they come to Florida? No such luck. Hmm...Atlanta isn't too far and I have yet to see the rest of the City. Work seminars and Dragon*Con pretty much force you to stay in the vicinity of the hotel. I decided that seeing Fran and Andy in Atlanta would be my big splurge as well as my one big show for the year. (I typically go to one concert a year; earlier I'd tried to see Morrissey but he cancelled all his Florida shows.) I was excited -- you just can't tell because I'm tired.
Anyway, the Loft is indeed an intimate venue. It's in the same building as a couple of other small venues, I think. My sis and I were actually in the wrong line at first. I was wondering why I was surrounded by faux-emo punk teenagers. A fellow Travis fan pointed us to the right line fortunately. My sis and I got seats on the end of the 5th row. She was probably the only one who saw Fran unexpectedly burst through the doors next to the stage (not on the stage) to set up his iMac and projector. I honestly didn't recognize him at first because it was dim. Fran explained they were having some technical difficulties but would start soon. After a short delay, the projector screen lit up and Fran got on stage with his guitar. He got into storyteller mode immediately and after a short intro, he launched into the first "good" song he wrote: 20. After that, Andy joined him on stage and they played another 19 songs, one of which was new. Each song was accompanied by a background story and its own slide(s). The show was pretty relaxed and the sound was fine. It was actually a surprisingly full sound for just two guys and their guitars/occasional keyboard. Fran is a natural talker so the format worked well for them, even though he told us he never knows what to say at the show...
That's right, he actually said it to me and Youngest Sib, because we met him and Andy after the show. Fannish moment! They were selling their own merch and signing it because they didn't want any strangers on the tour with them -- Fran and Andy are planning to write new songs while they're touring the US. We only got to spend probably less than a minute with them, but we got a photo with them and had our tix and the official bootleg I bought signed. They seem genuinely friendly and appreciative of their fans. As Fran said during the gig, he and Andy would be "the last men standing at the end of the night." They stay until everyone in the line has gotten a chance to have their stuff signed. Awesome, I finally got to meet half my favorite band! Third time's the charm? Youngest Sib and I are collaborating on a full gig report. Eventually it'll be posted for posterity. Meanwhile I need to go out to the art store and buy a couple of shadowboxes and picture frames to preserve my new mementos.
Last weekend I drove to Atlanta with Youngest Sib and my mom. I'd planned this trip for a couple of months already and my mom still managed to infiltrate my mini-vacation. Ah, but that's a complaint I can get into another time. It worked out because we managed to find a group activity we could all enjoy and it was good to be able to split driving duties with someone because I was effing exhausted.
THE ART
The High Museum of Art in Atlanta's Arts District is huge. We arrived in Atlanta late Friday afternoon so we could have made it to the monthly Jazz night event, but like I said, I was exhausted. Instead, the next morning we walked to the museum in chilly weather. We only saw the Leonardo da Vinci "Hand of the Genius" and John Portman "Art & Architecture" exhibits along with part of the museum's permanent postmodern art collection. (Next time I am in Atlanta I will visit it again to check out all the other collections.) The da Vinci exhibit was the the main reason we were there of course (and the only thing that I was positive my mom would enjoy). I felt a bit breathless as I was standing in the presence of actual sketches/studies that Leonardo had made. Apparently he was a bit obsessed with horses - his sketches of a horse's foreleg were so detailed they were practically photorealistic. Same goes for his studies of draped material to practice drawing shadow and light. There were also a couple of pieces on display that the museum's curator thought were collaborations between Leonardo and the main sculptors they were attributed to. Donatello's sculpture Bearded Prophet and Rustici's bronze figures John the Baptist Preaching to a Levite and a Pharisee were on display as well. Just gorgeously detailed. I wasn't sure if I should be amused or irritated when my mom criticized that John the Baptist's head was disproportionately small. Yes, she is the artistic one in the family but she has to critique somewhat loudly. At the end we had the obligatory stop at the gift shop, where I bought a poster. Usually I'll pick up postcards or a magnet, but since I drove this time I actually have space to carry and stash a full-sized poster. I have not taken an art or humanities-type course in well over a decade, so I will point any readers toward the official website instead for more exhibition details:
www.high.org
THE HOTEL
I booked a room at the Artmore Hotel due to its proximity to the venue where Fran and Andy would perform (The Loft). An added bonus was that the museum was only a few minutes' walk away plus the MARTA station was almost across the street. We ended up not using MARTA at all, but it was good to know it was there in case we wanted to see the rest of Atlanta. The Artmore is a decent 3-star hotel - reasonably-priced. Renovations were made to restore the original Spanish/Mediterranean influenced architecture and the effect was charming. The courtyard was lovely and had an impressive new fountain that was actually topped with a flame they'd turn on in the evenings. The interior was modern (front desk, lobby, bar) while the room we stayed in had an almost comical hodge-podge approach to decor. Nice beds and linens/covers, possibly customized window treatments, but the paintings/prints hanging on the walls didn't really match and neither did the secondhand furniture. The not-matching and the quaintness of staying at an "old-World" style hotel (small bathroom; the hotel was only 3 stories high; noticeably old areas) didn't really matter to me though. What was more important was that the staff were exceedingly nice and polite. I've stayed at hotels where the staff were just snooty and trying to take advantage of tourists, so that made a huge difference. My only complaints: the chain for the front door was halfway ripped out of the frame (bolt seemed sturdy enough though) and the windows were not sealed properly and the locks looked kind of flimsy, due to the age of the building I guess. Consequently, cold air kept seeping into the room. The heater worked fine though and we were on the 3rd floor so we felt safe enough. I'd probably stay there again if I was in the area.
THE SHOW
Travis are my favorite band ever. I had been to two shows before, one in Austin, TX and the other in Orlando, FL. I missed out on their J. Smith tour because they didn't come to Florida or any part of the southern US for that matter, so when I heard about the "chronological acoustical journey through the Travis back catalogue," I started researching. Would they be in Austin again? Maybe I can visit some friends while I'm there. Would they come to Florida? No such luck. Hmm...Atlanta isn't too far and I have yet to see the rest of the City. Work seminars and Dragon*Con pretty much force you to stay in the vicinity of the hotel. I decided that seeing Fran and Andy in Atlanta would be my big splurge as well as my one big show for the year. (I typically go to one concert a year; earlier I'd tried to see Morrissey but he cancelled all his Florida shows.) I was excited -- you just can't tell because I'm tired.
Anyway, the Loft is indeed an intimate venue. It's in the same building as a couple of other small venues, I think. My sis and I were actually in the wrong line at first. I was wondering why I was surrounded by faux-emo punk teenagers. A fellow Travis fan pointed us to the right line fortunately. My sis and I got seats on the end of the 5th row. She was probably the only one who saw Fran unexpectedly burst through the doors next to the stage (not on the stage) to set up his iMac and projector. I honestly didn't recognize him at first because it was dim. Fran explained they were having some technical difficulties but would start soon. After a short delay, the projector screen lit up and Fran got on stage with his guitar. He got into storyteller mode immediately and after a short intro, he launched into the first "good" song he wrote: 20. After that, Andy joined him on stage and they played another 19 songs, one of which was new. Each song was accompanied by a background story and its own slide(s). The show was pretty relaxed and the sound was fine. It was actually a surprisingly full sound for just two guys and their guitars/occasional keyboard. Fran is a natural talker so the format worked well for them, even though he told us he never knows what to say at the show...
That's right, he actually said it to me and Youngest Sib, because we met him and Andy after the show. Fannish moment! They were selling their own merch and signing it because they didn't want any strangers on the tour with them -- Fran and Andy are planning to write new songs while they're touring the US. We only got to spend probably less than a minute with them, but we got a photo with them and had our tix and the official bootleg I bought signed. They seem genuinely friendly and appreciative of their fans. As Fran said during the gig, he and Andy would be "the last men standing at the end of the night." They stay until everyone in the line has gotten a chance to have their stuff signed. Awesome, I finally got to meet half my favorite band! Third time's the charm? Youngest Sib and I are collaborating on a full gig report. Eventually it'll be posted for posterity. Meanwhile I need to go out to the art store and buy a couple of shadowboxes and picture frames to preserve my new mementos.