Seabass Says:: An audio Guide to...my night in Richmond

A week ago, my wife and I took a little road trip that I wouldn’t have thought twice about in the past. Drive down to Richmond to see a show and drive back in the same day/night? Sure, why not. Its only 2 and a half hours each way. I remember going to see Josh Rouse on a whim in college. My buddy (who was supposed to be the on-duty RA for the evening) and I got in my car, drove 3 hours, got to the venue in time to order food and beer, took in the show (very good, by the way), got back in the car and drove the 3 hours back to school. No sweat. This time, we needed to find someone to take care of the dog while we were gone, make sure we met up with friends for dinner, etc (and this was all after the initial debate over whether we even could spare the time to leave town for a night).

Well, we decided to go for it and we don’t regret anything about the decision. The show in question featured my friend Drew Kennedy and his friend Austin Collins. If you’ve stopped by Seabass Says before, then you already know how I feel about Drew’s music. After the show, I can definitively say that Drew keeps some good company down in Texas.

That's Drew talking and Austin tuning (with a giant flaming martini glass growing out of his head)

Instead of the typical opener/feature setup, Drew and Austin basically traded songs in what amounted to more of a songwriter showcase for the evening’s entertainment. I knew what I was getting into with Drew’s music: stories littered with cleverly turned phrases, framed by his big and bright guitar and some catchy melodies. On the other hand, Austin’s music was a bit of an unknown. After a few songs, I was happy to find it to be a great contrast to Drew’s music (the bitter to Drew’s sweet, if you will).

Austin’s music struck me as honest, introspective, and a little bit sad. To me, that’s a good combo. For some reason, I tend to lean toward songs that leave a heart on a sleeve and a rough edge or two. Austin’s songs had a feeling of yearning to them and a bit of anger bubbling under the surface. His music reminds me a little bit of Jay Farrar’s work with Son Volt. A couple of songs in particular stuck out, including "Unapology" which we took video of, but it turned out less than good (I blame the table full of chatty ladies next to us for the din). Instead of putting you through straining to hear Austin in our video, I'll post something I found poking around YouTube. Here's Austin with his band, The Rainbirds, playing "Roses are Black."

Austin Collins - Roses are Black