The Alternate Routes

For those Jack fans out there who are waiting (im)patiently for my next chapter, please indulge me while I tell you about the greatest band I've ever seen. This may seem strange but Seth & I drove to Minneapolis on Tuesday to see a band called Alternate Routes, a band who is still an opening act I will add. I've never before bought tickets specifically for an opening band. We happened upon them a few years ago when they opened for Marc Broussard. (Another musician I urge you to check out!) I've never had much luck with opening bands so I didn't expect what I heard. They were, well, just a damn good, hard working rock band! They didn't act like an opening band. They didn't play like an opening band. These guys are too good to be an opening band. Since then we've seen them twice more. The second time we saw them was in front of a crowd of maybe 50 people. Once again they were not the headlining band and even though they were in front of a ridiculouly small crowd they played like we were a crowd of 10,000. I think I was more disappointed about the number of people in the club than they were. I think they were just happy to be playing their music. It was amazing to see. Someday the Alternate Routes won't be an opening band and I can't wait to see it!

They opened for Carbon Leaf- a folk rock band from Virginia. Great stage presence but I'm not big on flute music at a rock concert. There were several hundred people at this theater though so I was clearly in the minority this night.
And even though this picture isn't very clear, having a lead singer that resembles Josh Lucas (think Sweet Home Alabama) doesn't hurt. They're a cross between the Wall Flowers and the Goo Goo Dolls with a bit of the Beatles thrown in. Mick, Mom seems to think you'd really like them.

And the Varsity Theater in Minneapolis is a great place to see a show. Big enough to get a good crowd in. Small enough to be able to enjoy the bands playing. And the bartenders know how to share the liquor! So check out the Alternate Routes for me and if I can make someone else a fan I'll feel like I've done my job. www.thealternateroutes.com was their website but now it just brings you to their MySpace site. I don't use MySpace so it's kind of annoying but I guess they want to use their money for food and gas and not a website. Buy a cd and help out a great band!