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Being a big live music fan, I am always mindful of local concert schedules and I try to fit as many live shows into my calendar as both time and money will allow. Since moving to
,
this past summer, the number of shows that I see on a weekly basis has grown exponentially, as the city boasts a very vibrant music scene with a number of great clubs, bars, and venues featuring everything from jazz, blues, acoustic, and rock. But every once and awhile it�s nice to take a little road trip and check out some live tunes in someone else�s backyard. Ashland Coffee and Tea�s concert schedule has caught my eye a number of times but for one reason or another, I�ve never seemed to make it down there to catch a show. That all changed a little over a week ago, when I saw that Chris Knight, one of my longtime favorite singer-songwriters, was going to be performing there�.well�I just had to pack up the old black pick-up, pull her out on the interstate, and head south and east to see both Mr. Knight as well as one of Virginia�s best kept musical secrets�the intimate listening room located in the heart of historic Ashland, Virginia.
Just to give you, the reader, an idea of the caliber of artists that Ashland Coffee and Tea brings to the stage let me give you a brief, and somewhat incomplete list of who has actually performed there�I�m hoping some of these artists will ring a bell with many of you. Here goes: Todd Snider, BR549, Will Kimbrough, Slaid Cleaves, Adrienne Young, the Avett Brothers, Darrell Scott, Mary Gauthier, Rodney Crowell, Elizabeth Cook, Caitlin Cary, Thad Cockrell, Chris Smither, Tim O�Brien, Chip Taylor, Carrie Rodriguez, and Scott Miller just to name a few. Not a bad list at all, but really it�s just the tip of the iceberg. When it comes to great music these guys and gals know what they�re doing. And did I mention that I was going there to see Chris Knight? Onward we go�
When you walk in the front door at Ashland Coffee and Tea you really shouldn�t be surprised at what you find, after all, this is a coffeehouse. There are comfortable chairs and few tables, lots of books on the shelves, artwork hanging on the wall, and of course the coffee bar itself and the wonderful smells that accompany these cozy places. But as you walk in, head toward the back and veer off to the right and there you will find the entrance to the listening room.
For those of you unfamiliar with the listening room concept this is the general idea: It�s a place for serious music fans to sit and listen to serious music. It�s the kind of place where musicians go to be heard and where audiences sit down at tables to hear them. This is not a smoke-filled bar or clamoring roadhouse and if you�re hoping to get up and dance around or make some noise, it may not be your kind of place. But if it�s the music you love and the musicians you respect, then the listening room is a little slice of heaven and Ashland Coffee and Tea is just that.
Their listening room has about 30-35 sit -down tables, a small stage along the front center wall, and just in case you�re wondering, they do serve a nice, cold frothy beverage or two in addition to the obligatory coffee and tea. (Might I suggest a couple tall glasses of their brown ale. I was tempted to try the pale and the porter, but when you find something you really love, stick with it I always say.) The conversation is lively, but when the lights go down the place gets quiet and that�s when the magic begins.
On this particular night in November, the crowd is gathered to see Chris Knight and he takes the stage with guitar in hand and is joined only by his traveling road manager Ty Tyler on electric guitar and harmonica. Over the next two plus hours, Knight runs through songs from his entire catalog including six tunes from his new record Enough Rope. The highlights are plentiful and in between songs the crowd yells out a number of requests and by my count, they all get played. The venue and the setting are perfect for Chris Knight�s slow, dark tales and songs like �Enough Rope�, �
�, and �If I Were You� fill the room, each one living and breathing in every ear and every thought. And while it would have been nice to hear some of his more rocking numbers with a full band, Knight and Tyler manage to stomp out songs like �Framed�, �Love and a .45�, and �To Get Back Home� in fine stripped down fashion.
The real highlight of seeing someone perform in a listening room venue is that it gives the artist an opportunity to share the stories behind the songs�how they were written, as well as the feelings or experiences that provide the inspiration. On this particular night we find out how Knight and Fred Eaglesmith sat down to write �Pretty Good Guy� and we get to hear the somewhat hilarious story behind a pair of worn cowboy boots that were the jumping off point for the song �She Couldn�t Change Me�. These shows provide an opportunity for artist and audience to interact, playing off each other, laughing together, reaching out and touching the moment in song and at times in silence.
And finally, here�s one last thought on that recent chilly night in November. The audience that fills the seats at Ashland Coffee and Tea really know their music. The greater
really doesn�t have any local radio stations that program
per se, although I learned through conversation that a few folks check out X Country on XM Radio to get their
fix. But despite the lack of what I�ll call �quality� radio these concert goers really know their stuff. I talked to one couple during the intermission that said they spend over a thousand dollars a year at Ashland Coffee and Tea just on shows alone. (They also suggested that I come down and see the Mammals live�I�m gonna have to take them up on that one.) And I talked to another guy (I never did catch his name) who said he spent the entire afternoon listening to all four Chris Knight albums just to get ready for the evening�s show. We talked about Will Kimbrough and Rodney Crowell and at one point he looked at me and said��It sounds like you love this
music as much as I do�. Well that was the music to my ears and yes my friend I certainly do!
If you�re going to head out and see a show at Ashland Coffee and Tea, I suggest you get there early so you can get a table up close, although there�s really not a bad seat in the house. And you might not want to show up to some shows thinking that there will be tickets available. I heard that the recent Todd Snider show sold out fast! Call ahead or check them out online at www.ashlandcoffeeandtea.com. There you will find a complete concert listing and you can also order tickets online. They�ve got some great shows coming up including Scott Miller, Chris Hillman and Herb Pedersen, and Fred Eaglesmith. As for Chris Knight, he�s still on the road with a select number of shows still to come in Georgia, Kentucky, Texas, and Colorado before heading to Europe in January; find out more at www.chrisknight.com. Enjoy the shows and if you get a chance, order up a pale ale or porter and please let me know how they stack up with the brown ale�and should you have the opportunity to see Chris Knight live consider yourself lucky...he puts on a great show!
Shaun
lives in
,
and has been a joyous part of the AmericanaRoots team since February of 2006. When he�s not writing record reviews or traveling out to live shows, you can typically find him sitting in front of his stereo playing some of the meanest air guitar the world has ever seen. He suggests that you join the AmericanaRoots family by signing up and sharing some of your recent concert experiences in our forum section. Do it today! The real beauty of
music is sharing it with other folks who love it just as much as you do. Keep it Real, Keep it
!
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