Knowing the Unknown

I am, as a rule, usually skeptical of anything that might be considered a novelty act. Weird Al never did it for me, nor did Spinal Tap outside the auspices of the movie. So I approached the Unknown Hinson show last night with some trepidation. After all, this is a guy who dresses like a rockabilly vampire, croons in a faux-Hillbilly dialect and errs on the side of the politically incorrect. It would, I believed, take an enormous amount of quality to counter-balance the sheer quantity of schtick at work.

Quality is what I wanted and quality is what I got.

What I'll remember about this show is not the high concept and low comedy, but the sight and sound of an airtight trio bringing the bang and twang to a surprisingly diverse range of rock and country tunes. Unknown Hinson is a musical act of quality. Yes, there are those novelty aspects tobe considered, but the good news is they enhance the positive rather than mask the negative. It was also very cool to see that on what could have been just another sleepy Wednesday evening, Augusta turned out for the show, filling up Sky City and proving that there is a real thirst for quality entertainment in the Garden City.

Take me down to the Paradise Cit...er...Best Buy

Dr. Pepper, you better start bottling. Guns N Roses today announced that the famously unreleased album Chinese Democracy, some 14 years in the making, will finally be released on Nov. 23. The 14 track release will be for sale at Best Buy, BestBuy.com and iTunes.

Earlier this year, Dr. Pepper promised a can of soda to every person in America if GnR managed to get the oft-postponed release to consumers by the end of this year. Drink up American. Drink up.

The Unknown Hinson Experiment

Monday, I'll be interviewing the self-proclaimed (and who am I to argue) King of the Country Western Troubadours Unknown Hinson. I thought it might be interesting to have local fans pose some questions for the hard living hero of Twangtown. I, as an example, plan to ask him which is more important -- girls, guitars or guns. Let's hear what you might ask the great Unknown. I'll pick out my favorites and ask him on Monday.

Dead rising

Augusta-bred rock combo Dead Confederate continues its scorched earth assault on the music industry with a set on tomorrow night's Conan O'Brien show.

Hole in the Soul

When Coco Rubio, his brother Jayson and Eric Kinlaw popped the cork on Sky City, fans of the former Rubio venture Soul Bar were assured that while Sky City was being opened with live music in mind, the Soul Bar stage would not be going dark.
I sure hope that’s true.
While there have been a (very) few shows at Soul Bar, for the most part the Broad Street fixture has become home to dance nights and drink specials.
That is a bummer.
Yes, it is true that the narrow space and small stage make shows at Soul Bar far more challenging than the artist-and-audience friendly Sky City, but that’s also part of the appeal. I love Sky City. I love seeing shows there. I also love Soul bar. Please, tell me why I can’t have both.

Westobou - An idea or two

This column, which ran today in the paper, is probably not my last word on the subject of the inaugural Westobou Festival -- but we are getting closer. Let's hear you ideas.

After 10 days of performances and three days of recuperation, I can finally look at the inaugural Westobou Festival objectively.

First the good. Crowds came out. Venues sold well. Local arts organizations offered enhanced versions of their usual products and productions -- all excellent and all as it should be.

But Westobou, Version 1.0 was not a perfect event. Truthfully, there was little chance it would be. A large-scale event like this, with hundreds of moving parts and thousands of things that might go wrong -- such as a high-profile artist canceling a Wednesday performance -- cannot and will not run without mishap.

Here are some observations and ideas (completely unsolicited) of changes I might make:

1. Have Westobou the organization act as a clearinghouse for event tickets. Organizations should still sell tickets to their events, but set aside tickets for patrons who might want to attend several events. A one-stop shop would streamline that process. Might that complicate things for both Westobou and the presenting organization? Sure. But the customer is always right.

2. Keep something in reserve. This year the funk concert by Wycliffe Gordon, a big event, was canceled just as the festival got under way. There was some scramble to find an event to fill the slot -- both a movie night and local music showcase were suggested -- but cost and the complication of planning an event on short notice made that impossible. If there was a nominal fund and perhaps an event held in reserve, venues could be kept active throughout the week. Speaking of venues ...

3. Venues are an issue. There is already a premium on performance space during Westobou, particularly among the arts groups that use the Imperial Theatre. While it certainly isn't going to be possible to erect a new venue in 12 months, it might be possible to arrange for an expansion of the event into South Carolina or to devise more innovative ways to stage productions. Perhaps Shakespeare in the (Ball)Park? At least, let's make sure that the Imperial isn't vacant for a single night during the festival.

4. Promote, promote, promote. Promotion was difficult this year because Westobou was essentially unknown. Now there are absolutes that can be cited, examples of stellar performance to be rolled out not only for Augusta audiences but also the region. Could the John Hiatt/Lyle Lovett show have done better? Certainly. But that doesn't mean we can't use the show as an example of what Westobou wants to be.

Reach Steven Uhles at (706) 823-3626 or steven.uhles@augustachronicle.com.