The Day the Music Died

Well maybe all the music didn't die. But Haunting Oboe Music's did. That is the band that Emily's husband, George, is in. Since they are moving (way too soon for my liking) and for a few other reasons, the band decided to call it quits.

Haunting Oboe Music has been a staple to my living in Austin. As long as I have been here they have been playing here. Their shows were what Emily and I had to look forward to back before we had friends here. Now that we have friends, they are what we all look forward to for a fun night out. If it wasn't for them, I would not have experienced witnessing small unknown bands play in this town. And if you don't know what it's like to hear a small band play, you are missing out on a life experience. To watch a band grow from it's beginning stages to the point of having followers and news articles about them is something I may never experience again. Watching the band grow in numbers and followers, watching their presentation get better and listening to their music with pure enthusiasm. These are all things I will forever remember from Haunting Oboe Music, and I will forever miss.

If you think I am near tears now, you are correct. I was also near tears during their final show. I thought I was the only one that wasn't just enjoying the show and instead getting sad. But Emily mentioned she was feeling the same and said George even felt sad.

For their last show, they decided to go with Hole in the Wall as their venue (not "A" hole in the wall, that is it's actual name). It's located on Guadalupe Street on the main shopping street just across from the UT campus. They've played there a couple of times, but definitely have played at other venues more. But this place is a famous place, Johnny Cash, as well as several other people, have played here.

And to make it even more sad, they choose to play on the small stage rather than the larger one. As George said, it feels more personal and intimate to play on that stage, and that's how we want to end this.

(I swear, before the end of this post I am going to make myself or someone else cry over this...though that is not my intention.)

We'll just move on to the actual show. I was VERY close and up front. So I couldn't really get any pictures of the entire band, just close ups of a few.

One of the coolest things, a homeless man (that I should've taken the time to actually remember his name) that is famous for writing and reading poems before some very famous band's (like Spoon!) shows, came to Haunting Oboe Music's last show and read one of his poems. I never would've thought I would be saying this, but it is a great honor to have this homeless man read a poem before your show.


And here is my three favorite members of the band; (from left) David, Jared and George.


On several of the songs they let the fans come up and sing the songs. The guy on the right, Anthony, used to be a member of the band and made several re-appearances for the last show.


And here is George singing directly to the homeless man. Interesting fact, after my camera flashed for this picture the man spent the rest of the song hiding his face under his jacket. Apparently, George later informed me he is not a fan of pictures or bright lights.


How do you end a blog about a band that you never want to end?

The only thing I can think of, is to leave you with this YouTube video of them playing for a local TV show. It still isn't the perfect ending, but sometimes there just isn't one.