George Terry and The Zealots

We saw George Terry and the Zealots last night at the Evening Muse in NoDa. They were a real surprise! We met Mr. Terry at the opening to the Bechtler Museum here in Charlotte 2 weeks ago. He invited us to the concert.

With an energetic mixture of pop, rock and a hint of reggae the bands original songs and lyrics make for a cerebral and rocking listening experience. Mr. Terry is an excellent rhythm guitarist and doubles on his own leads. He is backed perfectly by Aaron James on Bass and I did not get the drummers name, but he provided the solid backing that lent an insistent energy to the bands sound. That energy and enthusiasm is easily transmitted to the audience.

The songs are rollicking and danceable with lyrics that range from the mildy amusing to wry social commentary. In short, he covers a wide range of the emotions and thoughts that plague us all.

Also an artist, Mr. Terry has some fine paintings. The best place to view them is on his myspace page http://www.myspace.com/borndreamin where there are paintings and music posted. A local talent, Mr. Terry has been active in the arts in the Charlotte area for a number of years. The band is based out of Asheville, NC and it is well worth the trip to see them perform.

The Bechtler Museum of Modern Art- and George Terry's Shirt

Sue and I went to the grand opening of the new Bechtler Museum of Modern Art here in Charlotte today. I'm not much of a modern art fan, being more receptive to the traditional landscape artists and early impressionists. But art is always interesting in any form- even if I don't "get it" I can usually have a good time. And art should have a funny side, so laughing at some of it is, in my opinion, a valid reaction.

The place is large- 4 levels including the Lobby area. The main route takes you up a cage like stairwell with an annoying metal sculpture at the base. The annoying part of it was the electronic beeping at variable intervals and tempos. The flashing lights were just tacky.

The third level was interesting- I remarked to Sue that it was nothing more than a living room set from IKEA. When we got home and read about the exhibit, guess what? The furniture is from Mr. Bechtlers Swedish home! Who says I don't understand modern art?

There were some things by Degas and other more traditional artists as well as the modern works. Of course the Andy Warhol stuff was cool to see. It's so prominent in our lives- on posters, in movies, etc. It was even on the shirt of a guy in line to go down one level to sculptures. His shirt was a print of the old artist himself- Andy Warhol. It drew as much attention as the exhibits- people were even taking pictures of it.

The shirt was worn by George Terry of The Zealots, a band out of Asheville, North Carolina. We had a pleasant chat on the way down. He got the shirt as a gift 12 years ago and still wears it regulary. See how art brings people together? We will be going to see him play on the 15th at the Muse here in NoDa.

The place was crowded for opening day- it was free. We'll have to go back again when it's not as frenetic to give it a fair assessment. But all in all it was an enjoyable experience and it's nice to have an Art Museum downtown where it is accessible to all.