Off the Couch: Catch four consecutive show this week at The Signal

Catch Switchfoot at The Signal, 1810 Chestnut St., on Tuesday, Aug. 6, when the alt-rock band from San Diego, California, plays an 8 p.m. show. Switchfoot is touring in support of "Native Tongue," released in January. Tickets are $30 and $60. For more information: 423-498-4700. / Red Light Management Contributed Photo
Catch Switchfoot at The Signal, 1810 Chestnut St., on Tuesday, Aug. 6, when the alt-rock band from San Diego, California, plays an 8 p.m. show. Switchfoot is touring in support of "Native Tongue," released in January. Tickets are $30 and $60. For more information: 423-498-4700. / Red Light Management Contributed Photo

BARRY COURTER: Lisa, Aug. 5! Are you kidding me? Where has the summer gone? I'll be raking the danged ol' leaves before we know.

LISA DENTON: I don't think I ever finished my spring cleaning. Truth be told, I'm not sure I ever started my spring cleaning. But that's another story.

BARRY: At least we have some good music to get us through these dog days. Did you know that expression came from the Greeks and their belief that the star Sirius, which they believed meant "scorching" or "searing," was responsible for it being the hottest part of the year?

I would have bet the farm it had more to do with the number of dogs under the porch trying to find shade.

LISA: I don't know about dogs under the porch, but I did hear about a sheepdog that was so smart he could count his master's sheep. The man told the dog to go count, and the dog ran around the field and back to report there were 40. The man said, "But I only bought 38." And the sheepdog said, "I rounded them up."

photo Lisa Denton and Barry Courter

BARRY: You must have had a lifetime's supply of Bazooka bubble gum to keep coming up with these jokes, and I use the term loosely.

LISA: They make me laugh. But it is a low threshold.

I mention such things because county fairs are already starting. Rhea County's continues through Saturday, and Bledsoe and Meigs will have theirs next week.

BARRY: I bet everybody at each of those fairs thinks "dog days" has something to do with a front porch.

LISA: I bet you're right.

BARRY: The Signal picks up the pace this week with four consecutive shows. Switchfoot is there on Tuesday, Gin Blossoms on Wednesday, Get the Led Out on Thursday and Frank Foster on Friday.

LISA: As long as we're talking music, there's a Johnny Cash tribute show Saturday in LaFayette, Georgia. Cash played there on Aug. 13, 1970, to help pay off what was then the LaFayette High School football stadium. Johnny Cash Now is the headlining band, and Dennis Brown and Friends, a local band, will open with some Merle Haggard favorites.

And there's a home tour Saturday in Dalton that should be interesting. The Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation will have 23 historic homes and other sites, including a historic railroad tunnel, open for tours. It starts at the Wink Theatre, which I have learned was built to be a smaller version of Atlanta's Fox Theatre.

BARRY: Another beautiful theater, the Princess in South Pittsburg, is hosting The Ultimate Oldies stage show on Saturday.

Get event details every Thursday in ChattanoogaNow or online anytime at www.ChattanoogaNow.com.

Contact Lisa Denton at ldenton@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6281. Contact Barry Courter at bcourter@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6354.

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