Saving Grace (and Gabriel Kelley)

Saving Grace is the name of a very good gourmet restaurant in Comer, GA (yes they have a restruant in Comer!!!). It also the name of a song by a very good and very promising local act currently going by the name of Gabriel Kelley. Members of Gabriel Kelley frequently play acoustic sets at the restaurant. I don't know if this was planned or some kind of happy accident. I do know that the song has been around longer than the restaurant, so the band did not name the song after it.

Saving Grace is a fairly new restaurant. I belive it opened sometime this past summer. They do not have an alcohol liscense yet, but you may bring in your own beer or wine. They have an excellent menu featuring fresh produce which I have been told comes mostly from the Comer Farmers Market (located next door). They serve a veriety of food including a vegitarian fare at reasonable prices ($8-15). They also serve coffee and excellent desserts. I had the spinach lasagne and the green beans, both were excellently prepared using fresh ingredents and just the right spices. The only complaint I had was that they did not serve bread, but the food was so good I did not miss it. As I mentioned they also serve coffee and excellent desserts. I had a carmel cake which may now be my new favorite. It was indescribably deliscious, especially with coffee.

Gabriel Kelley played two acoustic sets while we enjoyed our meal. I have to say I've enjoyed watching Gabe and his sound mature over the years. We got a special treat as Gabe's mom joined them on her mandolin at the beginging of the first set in the cover of a folk song. As you may or may not know Gabe got his start a young age playing at picking parties and the Hoot with the Athens Folk Music and Dance Society. They also played several originals, including the aformentioned "Saving Grace" "Daisies" and "Breathe". They bill them selves as a country/folk/pop group but I encourage you to decide for yourself how to catagorize them. Or you could forget about labels and listen to them either at thier website or (the better choice) live.
Gabriel Kelley will be playing two shows in the athens area next week. Tuesday night (October 17th) they will be at the Mercury Lounge and Thursday (October 19th) they will be the opening act at the Flicker Theater and Bar. I am interested in finding out what they sound like as a full band and plan on checking them out.

I'm Back!!!

Will be posting soon. Check back for updates.

Casino Royale

I finally saw this movie on what appears to be the last day it is showing in Athens on the big screen. Not because I didn't want to see it.. but because scrapping up the money and the cars and the gas to actually go see a movie seems to be a big ordeal for me (but I have no problem spending upwards of $12 on beverages or a crappy band.. or lousy live theater- not that they're isn't plenty of good music, theater, and free food and beverages to be had in this town or that I don't like movies- but ... anyway). It's actually the first movie I've seen in the actual movie theater since last July, but 14 of those months don't count because I wasn't anywhere near a movie theater so that should give you some idea of how badly I actually wanted to see this movie.
Casino Royale certainly lived up to my expectations. It's certainly a very different bond movie, at least plot and character wise, but it still has all the elements you would normally expect in a Bond movie. Wild chases, stunning effects, death defying stunts, spectacular kills, "the Bond girls", M, mad villains, an amazing soundtrack (featuring Chris Cornell- from Soundgarden and Audioslave)...with a few minor changes.
One of the things you frequently hear about Casino Royale is that it showcases a more human side of Bond. While I wouldn't entirely disagree, I would say that in other Bond films we see a more detached, cynical 007. In Casino Royale, Daniel Craig, portrays a Bond who is still quite naive and we are able to see why and how he became the stoic cynical womanizer and killing machine we all know him as.
One of my favorite things about this movie was that the beginning, before he becomes a double-o, is filmed in black in white. Originally I felt, that it would have been more appropriate to film the rest of the movie in black in white, and the beginning in color (because of the emotional difficulty and change he goes through), but I realized that it is not until after he becomes a double-o that Bond becomes who he truly is.

I highly recommend this movie and will probably see it many more times. It has quickly become my second favorite Bond movie (the living daylights being my favorite), and definitely not worth missing.