In almost every entertainment district in the world, great minds struggle to create something unique but appealing, to fill a void they first have to recognize and then figure out the construction materials needed to build it.
Mobile's Jim Pennington did just that beginning about eight years ago , and the result is The People's Room of Mobile.
The building was already there: it's what he made of it, that is the story. Nestled over in the second block of St. Francis Street, downtown, a few blocks from what I found to be off the chart busy as heck Dauphin Street on a recent Saturday night, is a small venue that manages to provide the ultimate performance experience for both the audience and the performer. There is probably no better performer in our area to show first hand how The People's Room of Mobile "works." than Eric Erdman. First, there's room for about 50 people, and the stage is right there with you - it's like he is in your living room...
You know how you attend some shows and a few guests are not really there to see the performer but rather to socialize, to chat throughout the show? Well, there's bars and restaurants for that now, but at this venue there's no chit-chat during the performance. What? The performer does not have to compete with someone's kind-of vocal replay of their parking experience or how many times they had to send the steak back at a restaurant to get it burnt? Afraid not: it's just the performer on stage, and in this case Eric Erdman, who blended his array of old and new songs with just enough conversation to make this more than just a concert, but rather a visit with him. All he needed was an acoustic guitar to make his Mobile grown lyrics come to life with this sold out crowd.
I would say he's another Bob Dylan except he didn't get stuck inside of Mobile - he's from here, from the D.I.P. and for those who are not from here that's Dauphin Island Parkway, that long strip of parkway that eventually leads to the beach, but in the city it's where a service station can be a gathering place and the neighborhoods are working-class and real...speaking of D.I.P., if you are one of the few Mobilians who have not heard Eric's DIP song, then you probably also don't know what the Azalea Trail is and never tasted turnip greens next to a scoop of lima beans neither...we've almost all heard of the band Ugli Stick (one of Eric's projects) and you can visit Apple Music to find The D.I.P. Song...
Another song that stood out for me was Overseas in Oklahoma...and the story behind it, ha! Eric updated us on his current projects and having just finished a recording session at Mobile's Dauphin Street Sound we can expect some super-quality engineering and talent coming together in what should certainly be a stellar album release soon. He's been helping out in the Muscle Shoals area, and just got back from Los Angeles where we can only guess music moguls were fighting over him...seriously, if he just stayed a hometown Mobile boy we'd all still be lucky as heck, but my talent radar tells me Eric will continue to go big places, which brings me to hey if you have not caught his for real act yet then maybe you should before you have to compete with everyone else to get a ticket at a much larger venue....His 90-Minute plus-an-encore set was a nice Saturday evening, allowing me to be back home by 10:30 ( I didn't "do" late night Dauphin Street because 1: I was by myself, 2. I did not have a designated driver 3. I didn't take Uber. One night I'm going to see how it works to take Uber to and from, and maybe get a little dizzy over several beers and my trademark vodka martini with extra bleu cheese olives...)
If I were you (and I know, I'm not but wish I could be) I'd check out The People's Room of Mobile - up next this Wednesday is An Evening with Pat Byrne...
And, as if meeting Jim and seeing Eric were not enough, I found myself sitting next to Mobile's Ryan Balthrop, another buzz-word songwriter name we happily continue to see all over the local music map...He's gearing up for what promises to be a one of a kind jam session called Eslava Creek Sessions on the weekend of March 23-24, 2024, with an array of performers including Corky Hughes, Grayson Capps, Cary Hudson, Katrina Miller, Rollin in the Hay, and the Krickets...and like the name says the party will be on Eslava Creek in Mobile...
What a Saturday evening...also got stopped by Bike with Mike (call, don't text 251-554-9910) who offered a free ride around downtown - there is no set fee you just give him a reasonable tip. I enjoyed the ride, it brought back old memories of being on a Tuk-Tuk in Bangkok,,, He said around 4:00 PM and after are the best times to call or stop him for a ride. His two seater is covered when it's cold outside...
I began Saturday night by attending the lighting of the Mardi Gras tree in Mardi Gras Park at Government and Royal...there was a brass band and hundreds of people there, proving once again there is absolutely nothing to do in Mobile...I ran into Mobile's one and only Gayrita Wright, reminding me that great minds do think alike...
If you are one of those who can't imagine a bookstore being crowded, then you haven't seen The Haunted Book Shop on Joachim Street on an early Saturday night. Tons of folks inside and there is of course an entire section dedicated to haunted books by Mobile writers...with over 300 years of worldly history there are bound to be a lot of ghosts hiding amongst the Spanish mossed oak streets...admit it, you've had that moment walking down a dimly-lit Mobile Street by yourself, towering oak trees and chirping cicadas, and thought perhaps you were not alone....
Are you sitting down with you seatbelt on just in case? Pulitzer Prize winning Mobile political cartoon satirist J.D. Crowe has announced to the world "I am Not Dead." He got a weird but nagging illness for a while but with witty, often searing pen in hand, he is back. Don't ask him to sketch you, he just might and you just might not like what you see...Tomorrow , Tuesday January 9th J.D. will be guest speaker at the Government Street Presbyterian Church at noon, $12.00 tickets and includes lunch...call 251-432-1749 for more info (free parking is in the Jackson Street lot...) but when I called they said no reservations required just show up in your hoops skirts and tuxedos...seriously, just wear some clothes (this ain't the Bass Pro Shop...) The location is 300 Government Street...
Welp folks, that's a wrap for today...if it's any consolation to the rest of the country our weather, like yours, will be turning foul in a day or so with either a whole lot of wind, a whole lot of rain, or one of the other or both. I say protect the fur babies and anythang that might blow around in the yard...and don't drive like this is the Daytona Speedway when the streets are wet...if you haven't seen a car hydroplane I can tell you I have - it spun like a top, around and around and lucky for me it regained composure before passing by me...the look on that driver's face: PRICELESS....
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