Ayron Jones Solo Acoustic at High Dive 04.04.2015

For those of you not familiar with Seattle’s Ayron Jones and The Way, I thought I’d share this powerful video (and others) above. He played a fantastic acousitc show last night at The High Dive as part of their 10th anniversary celebration. Check out the videos and get a little taste of his talent on electric guitar as well as his soulful voice that can rock with the best of ’em. He just got back from SXSW and be starring on the Mainstage at Sasquatch Festival at The Gorge Memorial Day weekend. Check out his bio and more info here: http://ajandtheway.com/

Jackrabbit, The Swearengens and The Outlaws at The High Dive 1.28.12

Jackrabbit at The High Dive

P and I finally enjoyed an overnighter in Seattle this weekend.  We made our escape about 4:30 and headed to Hotel Deca, in the heart of Huskyland, near the UW campus.  As Cougs, we normally steer clear of all things UW, but this little art deco hotel suits us.  It’s small, clean, and the price is right.  It’s also close to Fremont, our destination for a great night of country rock, Americana and some old school outlaw country.

After we settled in to our discounted junior suite with a mountain view (if it weren’t 45 and cloudy, we could have seen them), we took a taxi to Fremont and found a restaurant.  We tried El Camino again, since we usually get right in without waiting.  It was just down the block from The High Dive, too.  We walked in and were served almost immediately.  Their food is not typical Mexican.  They incorporate more traditional spices in dishes like enchiladas mole and serve it up with wilted chard and an order of fried plantains on a bed of fresh guacamole instead of the usual chips.

We headed over to Simply Desserts for a mouth-watering piece of fudge chocolate cake and espresso.  We still had time to kill, so we went Brouwers for some ale and whiskey.

The High Dive is another favorite small club to see quality music.  It’s a smidge cleaner than The Tractor in Ballard, and has more seating and larger bar area.  The sound system is clean and crisp.  A variety of genres play there, but tonight it was all about the Country.  Tony Fulgham was out to celebrate his birthday and brought along a few friends.  The place was absolutely packed by the time he hit the stage.  When we first arrived just after 9:00, there were only a couple of seats available and groups of people standing around the floor in front of the stage and bar area.  We weighed our options and decided to ask a couple if we could join them at their table.  They had the bench against the wall, but there were two stools opposite them.  The politely agreed, and we were thankful we had a place to rest, since it was going to be a long night.

After a shy introduction with our new table mates, we quickly bonded when we learned we had similar tastes in music.  The woman, C, was a huge Tom Petty fan, so we spent many minutes comparing shows and our love for Tom.  T was also into lots of music, and we all had a laugh reminiscing about the Bob Dylan show at The Paramount several years ago, and how opener Merle Haggard was such a class act.

The Swearengens

The Swearengens soon took the stage.  They borrowed a few people for the live act, including Jason Montgomery from Jackrabbit on pedal steel.  I knew it was going to be a great night when they started the set with a Ryan Adams/Whiskeytown cover: “Dancing With The Women At The Bar”.  It sounded so nice with the whine of the pedal steel and backup vocals.  They followed with a humorous country heartbreaker called “You Pissed on My Heart” and “Devil’s Gonna Get Her Own Way.”

I didn’t get a setlist, but here’s a rundown of either the titles or partial lyrics of songs they played in their rich and energetic opening set:

A local song, listing things he’s seen in the lyrics, including Cascade Pass and Shi Shi Beach

If I Remain

For A While – which included a nice fiddle solo

Eyes of Angels

Bloody Gloves

Always Get the Woman Off First – Yes, a little dirty, and a lot of fun

The last song was about Seattle and included the lyric, “If you come around here/we’ll drive you away”

The Swearengens

By this time, the packed audience was shoulder to shoulder throughout the venue.  It was tough to just work over to the other side to use the restroom.  I did manage to get a few pictures from the left side of the stage.

The Swearengens

The Swearengens

After a short break and more bonding with our neighbors, Jackrabbit performed to the roar of many friends, family and fans.  Tony Fulgham, founder of Jackrabbit, celebrated his birthday by hosting this party and invited all of us to join him.  Being big fans, we gladly obliged.  This is the third time we’ve seen Jackrabbit in the past 6 months or so; they included many more great new songs in addition to their  current EP.  See a previous review of their show on Randomville.  P and I agreed they sounded better than ever.  I’m excited to see what their next album has in store.  The show was energized, and got me off my feet and over to the side of the stage to take pictures.

The Outlaws, a Waylon Jennings tribute band, played last; by that time, we were wiped out.  We hung around for three or for songs then split for the hotel.

Jackrabbit

The Outlaws