too much time

Every once in a while I like taking a drive down the coast to see a show in Santa Cruz, visit my old stomping grounds and note that the college kids seem to be getting younger with each passing year.  Friday night John Vanderslice and Horse Feathers played at the Crepe Place, and it was an incredible treat to see both of them within the restaurant's intimate environs.  Portland's Horse Feathers are simply gorgeous live, all strings and harmonies, and they included a cover of Gillian Welch's "Orphan Girl" in their set that took my breath away (I wonder if they know that Welch was a Porter girl too).  When it was John Vanderslice's turn to play his genuinely warm nature came shining through both in how appreciative he was to be in Santa Cruz after not performing for a few months and in his songs themselves.  He played solo, just him and his Harmony acoustic guitar, and when he sang "Trance Manual" near the end of the evening I confess my heart might have stopped for a moment.  That song gets me every damn time.