(the above photo is from college days; Will Hoge played Duke’s Joe College Day in ’07, and I’d interviewed him for The Chronicle.  I should go find that paper (which his signed) and frame it.)

over the weekend, i took J to his first Will Hoge concert.  i’ve lost count, i don’t know how many times i’ve seen him (Will Hoge, that is, not my husband).  after this particular show, i conceived of a new goal (a past goal having been: see Edwin McCain four times in one year.  i did.): see Will Hoge play Nashville.  it’s his home town, and though we love him here in Raleigh, I can only imagine what he/the crowd/the experience is like at home.  Collective effervescence all over the place (because if you’re aware of what you’re complicit in, it’s okay, right?). 

I was turned on to him in high school. his music is the soundtrack to my college years, and now that i listen more closely to his words, i’m starting to appreciate his wisdom (though, like his wife–i can’t find the link to the interview–i wonder when he’s going to write a song about a happy relationship).  I’ve gotten hooked on “No Man’s Land” from his new album, “Number Seven;” i’m trying to grow into the rest of it.  Here, i’m still a die-hard Blackbird on a Lonely Wire fan.  In concert, though, we get the best of all worlds–they play the longest set list of anyone I know.  Look out for Will Hoge–the concerts are cheap (literally, and) in comparison to the musical experience.