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Birmingham! Birmingham! -THANKS, BIRMINGHAM!;
Topic Started: Sep 24 2009, 05:00 PM (1,693 Views)
san
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Hi, from evancol and san in Birmingham!

Grease last night was incredible. Taylor had fun in his hometown. He was over the top. Can't wait to see him again tonight in Grease.

Looking forward to WorkPlay!

Had lunch at Irondale Cafe today--the inspiration for Fried Green Tomatoes--which I ate for lunch along with fried okra, fried chicken and banana pudding. It doesn't get much better. Went to see Vulcan--biggest star in Birmingham. Everything is bigger in Alabama! Have pictures but can't upload here.

We had an adventuous trip to McDonalds for an iced mocha. I was almost left there on purpose. I could be working at McDonald's in Birmingham! Will try to explain if I get home.

We also went to see the 16th Avenue Baptist Church.

More if and when I get home!



Edited by san, Sep 29 2009, 08:53 PM.
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mouser
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Would you be staying in B'ham of your own free will or would you be a victim of a kidnapping?

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Oldiebutgoodie
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Girls-don't forget to eat at Golden Rule-and make sure you put the SWEET original BBQ sauce on your baked potato-its good-weird sounding but it works!!!

Jazzy, Tinkerbell and I will arrive tomorrow mid-afternoon-staying at the Hampton Inn on Lakeshore Drive (that's in Hoover near Ross Bridge) off I-65 at exit 255-come say Hi!!
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mouser
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A nice interview :


90.3 Tapestry 9/2009


http://www.wbhm.org/Tapestry/ Click on the extended version link


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mouser
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WADE ON BIRMINGHAM

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Taylor Hicks performs all over Birmingham
this weekend, in “Grease” (shown above)
and at WorkPlay. Photo by Joan Marcus
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san
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Some things I learned touring Birmingham...some frivilous and some not so.

Those Garmin (navigational) things were made for Birmingham. I'll bet they sell a lot there.

Navigating Birmingham without a Garmin is good for the brain...it must calculate ahead the correct one way street to go the other way and prepare for right and left turns with the traffic rather than into it.

Speak kindly to the driver of a vehicle when you are locked out. Do not use inappriopriate language to express your feelings. Do not hesitate to plead forgiveness when it starts to rain.

There is NOT a McDonalds on every corner in Birmingham. (We drove forever, perhaps in circles, but who knew?)

Birmingham is very proud of Vulcan, as well it should be. He is impressive and the views from his home are spectacular.

One can become addicted to iced mochas very quickly.

A walking tour is always the way to see a city...on the street. Downtown Birmingham has some beautiful streets.

Taylor always has another surprise for us!

Grease was special in Birmingham! Frenchy literally stopped the show with her "glory note" line--"I voted for you!" Birmingham REALLY understood this one!

Taylor can always outdo Taylor.

More about Taylor later.

I will add things here as they hit me. I will write a real recap when I come down from the Taylor and iced mocha highs!















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Oldiebutgoodie
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San let me guess-you must have gone to the Saturday matinee of Grease-right?????
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san
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No, I went Wednesday and Thursday nights. I'm sure every show was just as exciting though!

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san
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The biggest star in Birmingham...

One day has gone by without any iced mocha, so I will continue my journey in Birmingham.

Wednesday night I joined friends for "Grease" and with tickets bought separately and at different times, I was seated directly behind them on the second row. It seems that Ticketmaster sold out the "pit" area where the orchestra was. So their Row D tickets were actually front row seats!

After Taylor's over the top exaggerated gestures on entrance, Frenchy outdid herself with a grand announcement, "I VOTED FOR YOU!"...not the usual cooing and cuddly one she usually delivers.

It was literally a show stopper!

The lobby was full of people to meet Taylor and have him sign his CD. Thursday night there were even more. You could not walk through, and I found myself going against the flow. It was slow going!

Thursday was our day to see Birmingham. It started with lunch at the Irondale Cafe in very quaint Irondale, home of Studio By The Tracks. We drove around the small town as we waited for a train to clear the tracks. Studio really is by the tracks. It is a charming place of cozy homes. We saw the home of Fannie Flagg who wrote Fried Green Tomatoes and it is said that the Irondale Cafe was her inspiration.

I knew this would be a fried lunch with lots of sweet tea. And banana pudding for dessert! Nothing more southern than that! And it really is made with vanilla wafers...always what my mother used!

Next, we were our way to see the biggest star in Birmingham, and it wasn't Taylor Hicks.

I was told that Birmingham loves their Vulcan. He is perched high above the town on a peak between the U of A area and Homewood. The views from the park are spectacular and Vulcan is an impressive sight. He has a very interesting history that I am going to share (when I get it together) in a separate thread with my pictures. He is an important symbol of the history of the iron industry in Birmingham. He's had a long journey himself with some bumps along the way. More later!

The Civil Rights Institute and the 16th Avenue Baptist Church was next on our tour. We saw the front of the church where three young Birmingham girls were killed in the civil rights struggle of the 1960s.

Now late in the afternoon, an iced mocha was just the perfect pick-me-up...if we could find a McDonalds we had passed earlier. The next part of the tour could be a story all by itself, but I will just say we knew a college freshman at U of A and he directed us to another McDonalds.

This was not my shining moment. I got out of the car to move an orange cone and when the car moved slightly I showed my dissatisfaction with unfortunate language, after which the doors locked instantly and I was out of a ride at a McDonalds in Birmingham. I managed my way back into the car but got out again to go inside for a moment. Now it was starting to rain a little and again I found the car doors locked and the nice young McDonalds employee said that my friends said to tell me that they hoped I liked working at McDonalds in Birmingham.

Let's just say I did some "fancy talking!" And I had my iced mocha. That started the addiction. I have been straight black REAL coffee all my life and turned up my nose at the fluffy frufru coffees!

Let's just say I changed my mind about coffee.

It was a fun day in and around Birmingham!

The next day if was down to the serious business of Taylor Hicks and WorkPlay and that GA line! It NEVER changes! Forget fancy clothes and shoes!

Did I tell you the humidity in Birmingham was 110%? And no, it was not raining....yet!











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san
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The Soul Patrol's Woodstock!


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Friday was serious! We had no idea how early the Soul Patrol would line up.

You have to make a commitment to spend the time it takes to have the position or table you want for a GA concert! Nevermind the temperature or humidity. A wonderful soul thought about us poor souls and brought water!

So, we waited to get inside the bar, waited to get inside the club, and waited for Taylor to arrive after Grease! That's a lot of diet pepsi!

The upside of waiting is visiting with fans you know or are just getting to know. WorkPlay was sold out and packed into the bar area. The crowd eventually poured outside where it was raining. It never dampened the spirits inside.

It has to be good when you can't describe it! I've read "I'm speechless," and another blogger could only say she would "give it my best shot." There is concensus that it was "the best." Many fans have seen more concerts than I have, so this is the highest praise for WorkPlay to be "the best."

I can only think that WorkPlay will be the Soul Patrol's Woodstock. We will look back for a long time with reference to WorkPlay.

I was at WorkPlay!

And there was yet another night of it!

Edited by san, Oct 3 2009, 02:02 PM.
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Gr8fulheart
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Here I go again! Even though I've been fighting a nasty cold for the past few days, I find myself glued to this thread in hopes of no ending! I Must be Nutz! :duh
Thanx for the details of the journey. Will be looking around for more adventures. :bls
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san
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Awwww...Gr8fulheart, I hope you feel better.

Can I assume that reading about Taylor makes you feel better? huh? :)

Eat chicken soup and listen to Taylor music!


Have you seen Wendy Garner's interview with Taylor? That will definitely make you feel better!


Edited by san, Oct 4 2009, 01:12 PM.
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san
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Rain, rain don't go away!

Probably not too many will write in their recaps about the rain on Saturday!

I love the rain, anywhere, anytime! I have lived in the arid Southwest for many years now and rain is precious. It's free water for your grass, it helps protect you from wildfires and it is just plain refreshing in the desert. Even though I live in the AZ high country now, rain is still something to celebrate.

When I looked out Saturday morning to the gray, rainy Birmingham skyscape, I was happy. Yes, we love "gray" days also. You can actually get tired of sun all the time. Really, you can!

I had even brought a rain coat although it didn't have a hood. No matter, the humidity on Friday had ruined the hair anyway. This wasn't about looking good anyway. It was about feeling good. I felt good on a rainy Saturday morning in Birmingham!

There was another WorkPlay that night!

Lunch was at Fire and Ice with a wonderful group of Soul Patrol. I prepared for a long night without dinner (a small price to pay for the WorkPlay experience) with piles of fruit, omelet and much sweet tea!

And the glorious rain continued!

Just before the GA line, with a frothy iced Starbucks and a thick slice of banana bread wrapped up in the purse, I was ready for WorkPLay again!

Birmingham was winding down...

But it was ending with an incredible WorkPlay2 concert Saturday night!
Yep! Taylor Hicks outdid Taylor Hicks!








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Oldiebutgoodie
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Hey san-since you're from the Southwest I can understand the fascination with rain-

But unfortunately here in Bama we've had just about a whole MONTH of it-so we weren't exactly happy to see it-PLUS none of the MSP brought raincoats-just umbrellas-

BUT we all survived the experience and witnessed a lot of great stuff didn't we??
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Gr8fulheart
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san
Oct 4 2009, 01:10 PM
Awwww...Gr8fulheart, I hope you feel better.

Can I assume that reading about Taylor makes you feel better? huh? :)

Eat chicken soup and listen to Taylor music!


Have you seen Wendy Garner's interview with Taylor? That will definitely make you feel better!


Are you standing outside my office window peeking in? :lm That's almost word-for-word what I've been doing all day. You forgot about the custard/tapioca pudding I made today to soothe my throat!

I watched the interview last night. Very Nice ~ but, was it 'choppy' for you?

Of Course, these all made me feel better. :whe
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san
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I know there is too much rain in other parts of the country. It's just something we never get enough of. And I am sure it didn't dampen any spirits in Birmingham...nothing could do that.

Gr8fulheart, you got the comfort food going on! I can't remember when I had tapioca pudding...not my favorite, but it does soothe the soul...
I'm more for the plain tomato soup when I'm feeling poorly. Tomato soup and grilled cheese AnYTIME, in fact!


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pat
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Just when I think I have finished with all the exciting Birmingham recaps, pictures, and videos, I find I have missed one of the most interesting recaps - and it is mostly about the city (while there for Taylor, of course)! :cp

Wow, san, what a fascinating view of Birmingham (I have never visited there - yet)! Thanks! I really enjoyed reading about your experiences!
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mouser
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Traveling to see Grease outside one's territory offers us the opportunity to see focal points of cities we may not have been able to see. I know many Soul Patrolers have taken advantage of this and broadened their horizons.

Birmingham has so much to offer............. The Iron Cafe was filled with memories from "Fried Green Tomatoes " and I had my first fried tomato there. Unfortunately, I have tried them twice more since 2007 and they were just not the same. No railroad in front of the Cafe. and not the same ambience. I am trying to remember whether there was anything in that cafeteria style "diner" that was not fried ..... don't think so. The desserts were not fried , but still fattening.

I do remember the Vulcan Statue and admittedly found it unattractive. However, I also admit I was not aware of the history and only saw it while passing in a car. Knowing a little bit about it and it's importance to the city of Birmingham , makes me review my initial impression.

The rain, I will never like ...It curls my hair, it stains my leather purses/clothing , it cause gray skies and I hate gray skies and it cancels tennis matches. Pretty superficial , huh. I refuse to look at rain as an environmental necessity. LOL

Thanks San............ fun , informative and not as feckless as my observations.
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san
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Well, Sunshine Girl, I'll bet you appreciate your shower after a tennis match...running freely out of the pipes from the ground.

Oh, wait! It got in the ground from the rain!!!

It is nice when a city has a focal point, and Vulcan is a nice one. I could see him flying out on Sunday morning. It's the history that he reppresents that is so cool, just as we saw places that represent Taylor's history in Birmingham.

There are still places to see that I didn't even this time.

Geees... guess I'll just have to go back!

:ld
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san
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WorkPlay Magic...

I went to Birmimgham this time with a less than glowing remembrance of WorkPlay...I had only been there a short time in 2007, and I just remembered crowds and music too loud to talk. We were upstairs and there was no way we could say anything to anyone.

I changed my mind!

First, we had lots of time before the show to get to know the place...the bar, and inside, a club with comfortable tables and chairs around a "pit" where you could get the closest view if you wanted to stand. We had chosen to sit and the view was still great. There really isn't a bad seat in the house. There was a friendly wait staff bringing drinks. There was room to walk around, even go down in the pit for a spell, if you wanted to, even though the house was sold out. WorkPlay became a favorite venue pretty quickly.

Then there was Taylor! The media says it all! He did what he does best and brought along a stage full of the best with him!

WorkPlay was so good it is hard to write about. Others have said they are speechless and can only give it their best shot.

I will tell you an endearing thing that I look for in concerts. It is that little connection that we all like to see--the "Soul Patrol" guitar strap. It appears often but not always as Taylor picks up his guitar. It's like that special, "Hello, I know you are out there!" and it brings the inner smile! It seems to not stay snapped on one end, and he had to place it on each time. I don't know how those things work, but it is probably getting worn out!

Everyone at WorkPlay knew Taylor was home and happy. It felt like a big spike on the meter of "I'm doing what I love to do!"

I hope we all have many more WorkPlays in our lives!

It was good!

I've borrowed this amazing picture by rajrae taken in the last few minutes of Saturday night's WorkPlay. It is so representative of the concert with Taylor sharing the stage with others and opening up himself with all that he has to give.

This is one of my favorite photos from WorkPlay. Thanks, rajrae!


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Edited by san, Oct 10 2009, 11:36 AM.
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