Trampled By Turtles Goes North

Trampled By Turtles, a popular bluegrass band, made a stop in Juneau this week! We don't see an abundance of live entrainment in this area so this was a huge deal for all of the locals. The extent of live entertainment in Juneau generally looks like this…

Yes, that is Cody singing karaoke at a local bar.  He actually got a standing ovation from a few patrons.

Trampled By Turtles coming to Juneau was such a neat thing for the community. I've never seen so many people from our little capital stuffed into one building.  There were fellow teachers, families, friends from throughout and the community, and innumerable people that we didn't know.  They put on a truly amazing show and I can't say enough good things about this band. This isn't the first time that I have seen them live (Wakarusa 2010) and they've seriously impressed me on both occasions!

 It was also pretty funny for Cody and I to compare how concerts in Lower 48 operate compared to this tiny production.  One big difference was the opening band.  Here in Juneau, the opening band for this nationally popular band was the school counselor! He and a few other guys covered some Zeppelin and Black Keys songs.  They were pretty darn good!  The way to buy tickets/security was also pretty hilarious.  The tickets were being sold right before the show out of a shortbus…and security was non-exsistent.  Nobody even checked our tickets! The thing that was craziest to me though was the parking.  I got there AFTER 8pm (when the doors opened) and still got to park about 200feet from the entrance of the building.  After spending most of my life attending concerts in Chicago, I was amazed!

Overall, it was an amazing show. I really commend Trampled By Turtles so much for being willing to come to Juneau and all of the other smaller Alaskan communities they visited this week.  More bands should make the effort to include smaller communities in their tours.  So, thanks you TBT for putting on an awesome show for all of us here in Alaska!

Questions:
Have you seen any good concerts this summer?
What is your favorite concert venue?