Sloan Wainwright and Kate Campbell have been touring together recently. I was fortunate enough to catch them at Eddie's Attic in Decatur. Eddie's is one of the best venues in the Atlanta area for folk music, and this was one of the finest shows I've seen there.

Both of these singers are outstanding performers who have inspired me to seek them out for their individual performances when they have been in town. When I saw that they were going to be performing together I simply couldn't pass it up.

Sloan had the opening set and was accompanied by Stephen Murphy on guitar and Cary Brown on keyboards. Her rich alto tones and hypnotic gestures make for a mesmerizing performance. Her songs cover a variety of topics and sometimes have an almost etherial quality. I think perhaps my favorite song of hers is Martha in which she tells of some of the many strong women who have meant a lot to her through the years who happen to have been named Martha. The fact that in my life my mother (Marty), my wife (Mary Martha), and my niece (Martha) are all named Martha (or variants as shown) is no doubt a factor in why this song speaks so powerfully to me. Kate joined Sloan to provide some harmonies which made it all the more enjoyable. I was thrilled to find that she has now released this song on her latest CD, which I immediately bought.

Kate's story songs about life in the south can inspire both laughter and tears. I try to catch her whenever I can and I have never been disappointed. With stories about idiosyncratic people, the civil rights movement, and her strong faith in God she is a truly inspiring performer. Having local fretless base wizard Don Porterfield accompanying her only added to the show. She also invited Sloan to sing with her on different songs which allowed Sloan to tease Kate behind her back as Kate had done to her during Sloan's set. The friendship between these two very different women was evident throughout the evening. I was pleased to find that Kate also had a new CD (again, bought without hesitation) and by seeing her live I was able to learn the story behind the song Corn in a Box (now I hope you'll go see her so you can learn that story, too).

This was one of very few concerts I've seen at Eddie's where the performers were called back for two encores, but I am glad that that was the case because midnight was just too soon for this magical evening to end.

I saw the Japanese Anime Spirited Away last Saturday. This week has been busy enough that I just haven't been able to focus enough to even bother with this brief comment.

This is an excellent movie. No doubt I am missing quite a bit of the meaning of the movie because of my ignorance of Japanese culture. However, even with that handicap this movie is an incredibly rich story. As other reviews have indicated, it is hard not to compare it to compare it to Alice in Wonderland. The basic plot of a little girl transported to a fantasy land is an obvious parallel to Carroll's classic story. However, outside of that practically unavoidable comparison based on that simplest plot summary, there is very little further similarity. (Possible spoilers in the extended entry.)

Carroll's fantasy world is almost completely non-sensical with many of the characters being deliberately illogical and contradictory in terms of helping Alice understand what she needs to do. However, Chihiro is confronted by a confusing but more or less organized fantasy land based on a bath house for spirits. She is able to demonstrate courage in the face of danger, vulnerability in the face seeminly insurmountable obstacles, love in the midst of attacks, and loyalty to her family above all else.

The movie made me laugh, cry, and cheer as Chihiro works her way into and out of trouble, making friends in unlikely places. Despite conflicting advice she is able to follow her instincts to help people who need her help while recognizing those who do not intend to help her.

The animation is beautifully complex and fluid. It provides an excellent example of just how good anime can be. Besides the smooth movement and complex backgrounds and textures, the direction was handled well enough to give a clear sense of the layout of the fantasy land so that it was easy to follow movement from one room to another without being chaotic.

This is only in limited distribution but with Disney helping to distribute it there is a good chance that it could come to a theater near to most major cities. I heartily recommend it if you get a chance to see it.