We decided to spend Friday night in Virgilina, Virginia on August 26, 2022. While there on Memorial Day for Kirke’s family reunion, I heard that The Switch, a band who I performed with many times, was going to be there for a concert to help raise money for the local volunteer fire department. The concert series is called “6 to 9 at the State Line!”
Kirke and I finished work on Friday afternoon and headed up Hwy 96 about one hour to her mom’s house in Virgilina. It is an old house that has been in the family for more than a century and it was the first time we had stayed there since we had been dating and we thought it would be a fun way to celebrate our two-month anniversary.
We arrived and got to spend some time with Kirke’s mom, Kit Hooper and Kirke’s aunt, Luanna Bowen. After some chit chat (that’s southern for talking on the front porch), we went to Sam Torian’s house. Sam is Kit’s “sidekick” as he refers to himself. The two of them are celebrities in Virgilina and as close to a “power couple” you can get in the small town.
We grabbed dinner at a food truck that was set up next to the lawn on which the concert would be done.
The Switch is a band anchored by two brothers, Larry and Artie Davis. I met them in 1995 when I was DJing one night for friend at a bar in Wake Forest called “Doodles.” It was a hole in the wall joint and I had a blast getting to know the brothers and we were all wide open as we were still in our twenties. I have jokingly said many times, “I was told I had a great time,” when referring to those days.
From there, we performed together at multiple festivals and club gigs all over North Carolina and as a result, got to know each other very well. Performers have a lot of time to talk while setting up equipment and then downtime between finishing set up and starting the show. Therefore, we get to know folks working around us in the business.
Kirke went with me to say hello to Larry before they finished setting up. I hopped out of the Jeep and hollered, “I heard there was a little redneck lounge band playing here tonight!” He gave me that big smile he has and said, “How in the world are you?” It was like we had seen each other yesterday. I introduced him to Kirke and we started catching up. I kept the conversation short as I knew he was busy getting set up so we headed on to give him his space.
Before we parted, I told him, “You know I want to hear my favorite song that you guys do.”
Larry said, “Remind me which one.” I replied, “Enter Sandman!” He said, “You will have to stay up past your bedtime for that one because it will be the last song of the night.” I now had a goal!
The show was awesome and it was a crowd of 350 to 400 folks. If you ever get the chance to go to one of these concerts, it is worth the drive to do so. There are also a bunch of AirBnbs close by for you to rent in Clarksville or South Boston so you can make a weekend of it.
They took the stage and as usual, they were great at getting the dance floor going. We made sure to get a picture of the whole family in attendance and had an absolute ball.
Larry is great on the bass guitar and fronts the band for most of the show. Artie plays keyboard and guitar and comes out front for some of their songs.
With covers of Bon Jovi, Wild Cherry, Walker Hayes and many others, they went through a vast repertoire of music. That has always been one of the best things about them; they play hits that people can sing along with and will dance to. Kirke and I even shag danced to a couple of them including Uptown Funk.
The rest of the family left as the last set started so Kirke and I went down front closer to the stage to get a better look and watch the crowd. We believe “People Watching” is the greatest sport on earth and we love to see the different types of people who attend the same events we go to.
It came time for the last song of the night and Larry announced from the stage, “Here’s one for Brian Pate since he stayed up so late,” and they turned up the volume and unloaded the first couple of guitar riffs from Enter Sandman and the crowd jumped!
Artie came out front and the two brothers shared responsibilities singing lead. Here is a video of them singing, “Enter Sandman” from my Tiktok account. While they were jamming on the stage, I snuck up and got my “front row selfie” that I like to do and they obliged and it turned into a great shot.
At the end of the show, they tossed out the broken drumsticks and after the last note, they invited those who caught the sticks to come up and the band would sign them.
It was an awesome night that brought back many memories of my days in the nightclub and DJ business. The Switch plays all over North Carolina so if you get a chance to see them, you won’t be disappointed!
