Hillary Jordan in the House

Last night was the second event in the Baby Got Book Reading Series and the last night of Wordsmiths Books at the old post office building. About 50-60 hardy souls braved the unseasonably cold weather (there were snow flurries earlier in the day, for crying out loud) and hung around for over three hours on a Monday night. Zach, the owner of Wordsmiths, had to start turning off the light to make people go home. By all accounts, it was an amazing evening.

Hillary Jordan kicked things off with a reading from her novel, Mudbound. Claire from Hope for Agoldensummer described the novel thusly: “it’s tragic and it’s Southern – my two favorite things.” Amen, sister. After the reading, Jordan took several questions from the crowd, signed books, and hung out while the musicians prepared to do their thing.

The musical accoutrement included the coolest guitar rack ever, on which hung a saw that would later be used for musical purposes.

Wayne and Big Peaches of the Wayne Fishell Experience took the stage. While talking up the band’s local roots, Wayne pointed out that the WFX are “Decatur’s only gay acoustic duo.” That’s HIGH-larious if you know Decatur at all.

Hope for Agoldensummer closed out the evening with a spellbinding set. Their last song was one of the coolest things I’ve ever seen performed live. I can’t even describe it. If you weren’t there, you’ll just have to suffer with the fact that you missed it. If there is ever an O Brother, Where Art Thou 2, rest assured that these ladies will be providing the bulk of the soundtrack. (And they played the saw.) See this band live in a non-rowdy setting ASAP.

Mark your calendars now. BGB3 goes down on April 24th. Much more to come on that one, so stay tuned.

Tags: baby got books reading series, hillary jordan, hope for agoldensummer, mudbound, wayne fishell

Authors, Books, Happenings | Tim | March 25, 2008 12:26 pm

3 Comments

By flavawheel, March 25, 2008 @ 6:11 pm

Hmmm, not hard on the eyes, the women of Hope for Agoldensummer. Glad they’re not hard on the ears, either.