Tag Archives: Nashville

Listeria – Going to the Picture Show

2 Jul

The folks at Entertainment Weekly just came out with a bunch of lists. The 100 greatest television shows. The 100 greatest novels. The 100 greatest albums. The 100 greatest lists of great things in popular culture. It is perfect fodder for “Listeria”, the ongoing examination of our fascination with lists.

This is an examination of the magazine’s list of the 100 greatest movies, or, as my dad used to call them, the picture show. When I was a kid, he would ask if I wanted to go to the picture show because he knew it drove me crazy. For those who don’t know, the picture show was a southern term for the movies. He said a lot of other things to drive me crazy, but that one was a sure thing.

Never fear, I am not going to write about 100 movies. I am going to list the ones that I have seen. To add some texture, I think I will include my favorite thing about each one.

Oh, there will also be a little trivia at the end.Ward Bond

1. Citizen Kane (1941) – The line, “A toast, Jedediah, to love on my terms. Those are the only terms anybody ever knows – his own.”

2. The GodFather (1972) – The line, “Leave the gun. Take the cannoli.”

3. Casablanca (1942) – Rick’s Cafe

6. It’s a Wonderful Life (1946) – The floor that separates to form an indoor swimming pool

9. Nashville (1975) – The song, “It Don’t Worry Me”

10. Gone With the Wind (1939) – The coolness of Rhett Butler

12. The Searchers (1956) – Monument Valley

14. Bambi (1942) – Thumper

18. Jaws (1975) – Quint’s story about being on the USS Indianapolis

19. Pulp Fiction (1994) – The path of the righteous man is beset on all sides by the inequities of the selfish and the tyranny of evil men. Blessed is he who, in the name of charity and good will, shepherds the weak through the valley of darkness, for he is truly his brother’s keeper and the finder of lost children. And I will strike down upon thee with great vengeance and furious anger those who would attempt to poison and destroy My brothers. And you will know My name is the Lord when I lay My vengeance upon thee.

24. The Sound of Music (1965) – When it was over

25. 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) – The music

28. The Wizard of Oz (1939) – The Red Brick Road (where does it go?)

29. North by Northwest (1959) – Mount Rushmore

33. The Graduate (1967) – Katharine Ross

41. The Road Warrior (1981) – The kid with the decapitating boomerang

43. The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003) – Gandalf

49. Goldfinger (1964) – The Kentucky Fried Chicken in one of the scenes

52. Titanic (1997) – The wreck

53. Star Wars – Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back (1980) – Darth Vader

56. Schindler’s List (1993) – The last scene in the cemetery

59. All the President’s Men (1976) – Jason Robards

61. The Silence of the Lambs (1991) – Hannibal Lecter’s cell

62. E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial (1982) – The flying bicycle

63. Network (1976) – The line, “I’M AS MAD AS HELL, AND I’M NOT GOING TO TAKE THIS ANYMORE!”

68. GoodFellas (1990) – The music

69. Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964) – Slim Pickens riding the bomb.

78. Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) – The melting face of the Nazi

81. Blade Runner (1982) – Pris

83. The Wild Bunch (1969) – The Front Porch Massacre

85. Dirty Harry (1971) – The line, “I know what you’re thinking. “Did he fire six shots or only five?” Well, to tell you the truth, in all this excitement I kind of lost track myself. But being as this is a .44 Magnum, the most powerful handgun in the world, and would blow your head clean off, you’ve got to ask yourself one question: Do I feel lucky? Well, do ya, punk?”

88. The Dark Knight (2008) – Batman riding away at the end

89. Woodstock (1970) – The crowd shots

93. A Face in the Crowd (1957) – All of it

94. Brokeback Mountain (2005) – Randy Quaid

99. There WIll Be Blood (2007) – The line, “Drainage! Drainage, Eli, you boy. Drained dry. I’m so sorry. Here, if you have a milkshake, and I have a milkshake, and I have a straw. There it is, that’s a straw, you see? You watching?. And my straw reaches acroooooooss the room, and starts to drink your milkshake… I… drink… your… milkshake!”

Trivia – Ward Bond (pictured above) was in at least 5 of the top 1oo movies. This includes 3 of the top 12.

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Seeing Stars Once Again

18 Jun

A long time ago, I wrote a post about seeing famous people around town. It’s something that happens around here, and it happened again today.

My fiance and I were roaming around Nashville and went to Green Hills Mall, which sits in one of the more affluent parts of town. On the way, we were talking about Nicole Kidman, who has a residence here. Anyway, we made our way to the mall. She was browsing as I was playing with my phone. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed someone walk around the corner.

That’s when I turned to my fiance and said, “Speak of the devil.”

It was Nicole Kidman, the very person who we had been talking about. My fiance glanced up and continued shopping. I continued to play around with my phone. Essentially, we did everything we could not to stare. That was hard because the famous actress stopped right behind us to text someone.

Still, we were not going to gawk, and we were not alone. The people working the counter didn’t stare. The other shoppers didn’t stare. Although, I know they all wanted to. That’s not the way things are done around here. There are no paparazzi.Paparazzi

We leave stars alone to shop, eat, and whatever else they do. We wouldn’t want people staring at us every time we went out, and it’s only courteous that we don’t stare at them. I think that’s why famous people can be readily seen in Nashville. They are comfortable here because they can be regular for a while.

However, I must admit that when she turned her head and walked off we watched her leave. No matter how polite we want to be, it’s difficult to completely ignore Nicole Kidman.

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Musical Journey

14 May

In a few days, we will be leaving on our annual field trip to Santa Fe, New Mexico. I will return with stories from the Wild West, but, until then, I will be out-of-pocket for a while.

The trip to Santa Fe is an adventurous one. Four teachers and ten students jump into a couple of vans and journey from one end of the continent to the other. It’s a long way, but the directions are easy. My town sits on Interstate 40. That means we stay on one road through Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Texas and part of New Mexico. Like Bugs Bunny, we take a right at Albuquerque.

Or maybe it was left.

Or maybe it was left.

The stretch of Interstate 40 between Nashville and Memphis has been dubbed the “Music Highway”, but the entire road to pretty musical. It seems that a lot of the places we pass have songs written about them.

Nashville has a bunch of songs written about it, but one of my favorites is “Nashville Cats” by The Lovin’ Spoonful.

Not long after Nashville, we go through Jackson. Now, I don’t know if June and Johnny Cash were singing about the Jackson in Tennessee or the Jackson in Mississippi. However, this is my blog, so it’s going to be Tennessee.

Next, we go through Memphis, a city of Blues and Rock n’ Roll. Like Nashville, there are a lot of songs about Memphis, but one of the best was by Johnny Rivers.

I guess Little Rock has some songs about it, but we don’t really go through that town. This means that Oklahoma is the next musical place we hit. Obviously, there is a musical about this state, but Three Dog Night recorded my favorite Oklahoma song. It’s a weird tune that talks about Spain and the Beatles.

We stop in Oklahoma City, but I can’t think of a good Oklahoma City song. However, Carrie Underwood has a song about her hometown of Checotah.

From Oklahoma, we venture into the panhandle of Texas. There’s not much in the panhandle of Texas but the city of Amarillo. George Strait has a great song about Amarillo.

That’s about it for Texas, but there is one more song. When we get close to Albuquerque, I always think about a song that is about a guy driving on Interstate 40. However, he is traveling the opposite direction. Instead of going west, he is going east through all of the towns that we have passed. He is leaving a bad woman, and “by the time I make Albuquerque she’ll be workin’“.

So, that’s the musical journey I will be making this week.

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Sing a Sad Song

29 Apr

Thursday night, Necole and I went to the Schermerhorn Symphony Center to see B.B. King. Her Christmas present to me was a pair of fourth row seats, and I couldn’t have been happier with the gift. As we walked to the venue, I heard a George Jones song drifting from one of the honky tonks nearby. Only in Nashville will you find a symphony hall and honky tonks in the same vicinity.

The song made me think of the upcoming concert at Bridgestone Arena, which sits a block away, that was supposed to be the last for George Jones. Dozens of performers were coming to send the Possum into retirement. Knowing that he was in the hospital, I told Necole that I hoped he would make it through this final tour.

We made it to our awesome seats and watched an opening act before B.B. King came to the stage. He performs well for someone who is 87-years-old, but there were a few things that I noticed.

The band does the heavy lifting of the concert. They performed for ten minutes before he was helped to his chair at the front of the stage.

He tells a lot of stories between songs, which gives him an opportunity to rest.B.B. King II

Also, the songs are usually cut short of their original length, and he doesn’t play all the way through.

Please understand that these are not critiques. I was happy to see the King of the Blues and was happy that he is still able to perform. I just wondered why he is still performing. Does he need the money? Does he do it so the members of his band can have a steady income? Does he do it because he needs the music and the audience?

It could be the latter because he stayed on stage long after he was scheduled to leave. The bodyguards came to get him, and, eventually, the band stopped playing. All along he talked to the audience and greeted fans who came to the stage. He needed the experience to continue.

We, along with most of the audience, left while he was still there. We had seen the great B.B. King and heard his best known song, “The Thrill Is Gone“. As you can tell, it is a sad song, as most Blues songs tend to be. That’s one thing that connects Blues with Country, Nashville’s predominant sound.

Friday morning, news came across the wire that George Jones had passed away. Tributes immediately hit the Internet and other ways of getting the word out. I thought of the conversation that Necole and I had the night before and about the singer that the world had lost. It has been documented that George Jones lived a turbulent life and that he was, through the opinion of many people, the greatest Country singer who ever lived.George Jones

I don’t know where he ranks in the pantheon of Country, but I know that he epitomized the genre. He lived it, and he sang it. He sang the sadness that Country songs are supposed to be. The song that I heard coming from the honky tonk is considered by many to be the greatest Country song ever recorded. “He Stopped Loving Her Today“, written by a man in my hometown, is sung hauntingly by George Jones. You can hear the sorrow and the pain come through. Perhaps, he could sing that way because he could feel that way.

Last night, Necole and I went to Bridgestone Arena to see Jimmy Buffett.Jimmy Buffett

The Parrotheads were out in the finest grass skirts, sailor hats and coconut bras. As it is with every Buffett concert, the atmosphere was tropical and festive. As Necole said, it’s like he brings vacation to the people rather than the people going on vacation. He went through all of the favorites, and everyone sang along with him.

However, I noticed that several of Jimmy Buffett’s songs have festive music that covers up less than festive words. “Margaritaville” is about a man trying to forget a lost love. “He Went to Paris” is about the tragedies that an old man has seen in his life.

Even Jimmy Buffett sings sad songs, but he can also sing the sad songs of others. Near the end of a concert designed to be a beach party, he sang one of George Jones’, and he sang it in the arena where the Possum was going to have his last concert. That arena sits by dozens of honky tonks where sad songs by George Jones are sung every night.

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Expanding the Palate

10 Apr

In my last post, I mentioned an episode at F. Scott’s, a very nice restaurant in Nashville. This post goes into a little more detail.

For a couple of years, I dated Anna, a professional woman who considered herself an expert of fine cuisine. Now that I think about it, she considered herself a wine expert, as well. She always wanted us to dine at the best restaurants and always said that I should expand my palate. I am always up for a good meal, and my palate was already well expanded. I’ll eat anything that doesn’t involve mushrooms.

Anyway, she was no more of a food and wine expert than I was. In fact, I would classify her as a food snob, and there was nothing better than to watch her stumble over her perceived expertise. However, it was embarrassing at times. She once made the wine guy bring out ten tastings before she found one that paired well with her meal.

Another time, we were at a new restaurant, and Anna kept going on and on about the Charleston influence in dishes. She asked to meet the chef and asked him where he worked in Charleston. He said that he had never been to Charleston. He earned his chef’s hat in Los Angeles.

Speaking of Los Angeles, Anna used to live there and always talked about the wine collection that she left behind. One night, we went to a wine tasting and were seated with some other folks. I learned that the man next to me once owned one of Nashville’s most famous restaurants. During our conversation, he asked what I thought about the wines. I was honest when I said that I didn’t like wine and they all tasted the same to me.

Anna quickly stepped in and said that I was new to wine and had not developed the proper appreciation. Then, he asked her about her favorite. She started a monologue about how she used to live in L.A. and had a wine collection. He interrupted her and said, “I don’t give a damn where you lived. I only want to know which wine you like the best.” Apparently, he liked my answer better.

I write all of that to set up what happened at F. Scott’s.F Scott's

Anna had been wanting to go forever, and we finally got the opportunity. We were seated and the waiter arrived to take care of us. In the process, he described the evening’s special appetizer – sweetbread covered with honey.

Anna jumped right in and said we would order that. It suited me. I had no problem trying it and was sure that she knew what she was ordering. After all, she was a food expert. He brought a sweetbread for each of us, and we dug in. I thought it was good. Sure, it was a little chewy, but that was fine. The look on Anna’s face told me that she didn’t think it was so fine.

“Are you ok?”

“This isn’t what I thought it would be.”

“You mean that you don’t know what it is?”

“No, do you?”

“It’s pancreas or something. I figured you have had it before since you have dined all over the world.”

That’s when the hives began to appear. They started at her neck and spread from there. It was all I could do not to laugh.

“Mine’s good. Do you not like it?”

“I can’t eat this.”

With that, Anna spit out the pancreas into her napkin. That was pretty much the end of her meal. However, I was determined. I ate mine and the rest of hers. Then, I went on to the enjoy the rest of my meal.

It took forever for the hives to go away. On the way home, Anna kept talking about how I knew something about food that she didn’t. She really couldn’t believe it.

“How did you know what that was?”

“I heard Hannibal Lecter talk about eating sweetbreads in one of his movies.”Hannibal Lecter

Anna’s hives came back.

“Why didn’t you tell me what it was?”

“You’ve dined all over the world. I thought you knew. Besides, you need to expand your palate.”

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Listeria – Nashville Eats

9 Apr

The latest issue of Nashville Lifestyles lists the 50 best restaurants in Nashville, and it is an impressive grouping. In the past couple of years, the city’s food scene has exploded.

This is the city - the Nashville city.

This is the city – the Nashville city.

People may think that this area is all about Cracker Barrel and collard greens, but some of the nation’s top chefs work their craft around here. I don’t consider myself a foodie, but I like food. That means that I have been to several on the list.

The magazine ranks the Top 10 and offers the next 40 in alphabetical order. For the purposes of this post, I will write a few sentences about my experiences at the Top 10 and give a three word synopsis for the rest.

2. The Catbird Seat – I wrote and entire post about my experience at The Catbird Seat, so I will just go ahead and link it. This is a place that everyone should experience at least once.

4. F. Scott’s Restaurant and Jazz Bar – An ex-girlfriend and I had an interesting experience at F. Scott’s. There was an appetizer that I liked, but she didn’t. It’s a story that needs a post all its own. I promise that it will be coming next.

5. City House – This is a great restaurant with an industrial atmosphere. I have been once and want to go back as soon as I can.

6. Capitol Grille – Located in the historic Hermitage Hotel, this restaurant is a classic dining experience. The food is great, and you are surrounded by history. When the Tennessee legislature approved the 19th Amendment, women got the right to vote. This is where the politicians met to work out that decision.

7. Margot Cafe & Bar – Great food. However, the best part is dessert that is served on dishes that belonged to the owner’s grandmother.

10. Kayne Prime – I am a fan of the M Street experience. Whiskey Kitchen is great. Virago is great. I am even a member of Citizen, the private club in the area. However, Kayne Prime is not my favorite steak place.

And now, the rest of the restaurants.

Eastland Cafe – my favorite one.

Firefly Grille – small but great.

Germantown Cafe – I’ve had better.

Loveless Cafe – overrated country food.

The Mad Platter – books for decor.

Merchants – duck fried tots.

Midtown Cafe – small but good.

The Palm – the steak place.

Park Cafe – just like Eastland.

Prime 108 – company ruined it.

Red Pony – cool little place.

Sunset Grill – Henley’s song better.

Tin Angel – fantastic Angel Wings.

Virago – best sushi place.

Watermark – not so good.

If you are ever in Nashville, then you should check out a few of these places. There are other great restaurants not on the list, so you can’t go wrong. Just stay away from the chains. Like all cities, Nashville has some great locally owned restaurants. As I said, I am not a foodie, but one of my co-workers is. For great reading about food, click on her blog at Nashville Fork. Be warned, it will make you hungry.

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Grand Ole Opry Song

29 Mar

Most people probably know that Nashville is known as “Music City”, and those same people probably know that it is called that because of the country music industry. Nashville actually has been a hotbed of several musical genres. At one time, there was a strong R&B scene, and Jimi Hendrix honed his craft in the clubs on Jefferson Street. Bob Dylan spent a great deal of time in the city, and Elvis Presley recorded here all the time. Heck, the Black Keys and Jack White currently call Nashville home.

Despite a diverse history, country music was and continues to be the dominating form, and, these days, it is dominated by performers like Keith Urban, Carrie Underwood, Zac Brown. I can’t name them all because I don’t really like what they do. Today’s country seems like a Frankenstein’s monster to me. Take a little bit of country. Take a little bit of rock. Throw in a few more things. Once, you are finished a monstrosity has been created. Personally, I blame Garth Brooks.

Nashville didn’t become “Music City” because of today’s stars. It became “Music City” in the early part of the 20th Century because of a radio show, the Grand Ole Opry. It could be heard every Saturday night on WSM, a powerful AM station that took its signal throughout the United States. In the days before nationwide concert tours, artists could get their music to the masses over the radio. Since the performers gathered in Nashville to perform on the Opry, it made sense for record companies to set up studios nearby. As years passed, Nashville became the destination for those who wanted to get in the country music business.

Sometimes, I think that story gets lost in the glitz and glamor of the modern country music industry. In the old days, country artists didn’t have laser shows at their concerts. They definitely didn’t run around the stage and shake their asses. They stood behind the microphone and sang about heartbreak and trains.

Jimmy Martin was one of the old-time singers.

Jimmy Martin

Jimmy Martin

Known as the “King of Bluegrass”, he performed on the Opry many times. Unfortunately, he faced the demons of alcohol abuse, and uncertainty kept him from becoming a full member of the Opry. Despite that, he recorded “Grand Ole Opry Song“, an ode to the show and the people who made it special. I thought it would be interesting to use that song to introduce (or remind) the blogosphere to some of the people who turned Nashville into “Music City”.

Come and listen to my story if you will I’m gonna tell

About a gang of fellers from down at Nashville

First I’ll start with old Red Foley doin’ the ‘Chattanooga Shoe’

Red Foley

Red Foley

We can’t forget Hank Williams with them good old ‘Lovesick Blues’

Hank WIlliams

Hank Williams

It’s time for Roy Acuff to go to Memphis on his train

Roy Acuff

Roy Acuff

With Minnie Pearl and Rod Brasfield and Lazy Jim Day

Minnie Pearl

Minnie Pearl

Rod Brasfield

Rod Brasfield

Jim Day

Jim Day

Turn on all your radios I know that you will wait

Hear Little Jimmy Dickens sing ‘Take an Old Cold Tater and Wait’

Little Jimmy Dickens

Little Jimmy Dickens

There’ll be guitars and fiddles, Earl Scruggs and his banjo too

Earl Scruggs

Earl Scruggs

Bill Monroe singing out them ole ‘Kentucky Blues’

Bill Monroe

Bill Monroe

Ernest Tubb’s number, ‘Two Wrongs Won’t Make a Right’

Ernest Tubb

Ernest Tubb

At the Grand Ole Opry every Saturday night

There  was Uncle Dave Macon his gold tooth and plug hat

Uncle Dave Macon

Uncle Dave Macon

Cowboy Copas singing ‘Tragic Romance’

Cowboy Copas

Cowboy Copas

Signed sealed and delivered with Sam and Kirk McGee

Sam and Kirk McGee

Sam and Kirk McGee

And the master of ceremony was Mr. George D Hay

George D. Hay

George D. Hay

There was Lonzo and Oscar a-poppin’ bubble gum

Lonzo and Oscar

Lonzo and Oscar

George Morgan singin’ ‘Candy Kisses’ yum, yum

George Morgan

George Morgan

‘Got a Hole in My Bucket’ ‘Bringin’ in that Georgia Mail’

We’ll sing ‘The Sunny Side of the Mountain’

And dance to the ‘Chicken Reel’

You can talk about your singers in all kinds of way

But none could sing the old songs like Bradley Kincaid

Bradley Kincaid

Bradley Kincaid

With his old hound dog ‘Guitar’ and the famous ‘Blue Tail Fly’

Stringbean with Hank Snow and old fiddlin’ Chubby Wise

Stringbean

Stringbean

Hank Snow

Hank Snow

Chubby Wise

Chubby Wise

Now, that’s country.

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Experiencing the Catbird Seat

2 Feb

Wednesday night, my girlfriend and I had reservations at The Catbird Seat, a Nashville restaurant that has garnered international recognition for being on the culinary cutting edge. We had no idea what to expect but knew that we had to experience it. In fact, we were so anxious that we arrived thirty minutes early.

That was good because it gave us the opportunity to go to The Patterson House, a cool bar that is on all of the trendy lists.

The Patterson House

The Patterson House

It is known for unique cocktails, and ours were unique. I got an Old Fashioned infused with bacon, and my girlfriend got a drink called Daisy, which is also the name of her dog. The bacon drink was cool, but the really cool thing happened when the waiter brought our check. It was not in a regular check folder. It was in a book – a real book with words and chapters and everything.

After the drinks, we made our way next door to The Catbird Seat and entered a small room with a curtain on one side and an elevator on the other. When Dorothy looked behind the curtain, she found an old man. We didn’t look behind the curtain, but there wasn’t an old man back there. It was a young hostess. She took us on the elevator to the restaurant. No tables. No art on the wall. We were going to sit around the bar; watch the chefs work; and eat the art.

The Catbird Seat

The Catbird Seat

With everyone in close proximity, we people watched. It’s the natural thing to do. In one corner was a couple with a camera, and they were taking pictures of each offering. I was trying to be smooth, so any picture on this post were not made by me.

Next to them sat a couple who had that tattooed, retro, 1950s vibe going on. They were the coolest cats in the place.

The next couple was a guy getting liquored up and a woman who ended up with the check. The look on her face was priceless because the food was far from it.

A foursome sat on the other side of us. It looked to be a young couple dining out with her parents. They seemed to like the meal, but I am sure that her dad stopped at Waffle House on the way home. There is no way that he got enough to eat.

The last people looked to be a woman with her son, who was probably a student at Vanderbilt. Overall, the crowd had a little variety to it.

Anyway, here is how it works at The Catbird Seat. You don’t order. You eat what they prepare. There are a bunch of courses with small portions. Each plate is a carefully prepared edible experiment. Some of it you will like, and some of it you won’t. But, each will be a different experience. Also, you are given a different alcoholic beverage to compliment each course. I ended up sipping a little from each one because somebody had to drive home.

Oh, and a chef explains the ingredients of each course and what they are trying to create.

The first course contained three bite-sized offerings paired with a Jean Louis Denois Brut Classique, which comes from Languedoc, France. The first bite looked like a small ice cream cone but was made of scallop, potato and roe. We didn’t like it. However, the second bite was awesome because it was essentially a Rice Krispie treat filled with seaweed. The third bite was a play off hot chicken, a Nashville staple. Except, this was fried chicken skin with spices.

Course number two was a small salad made of king crab, broccoli, green tea, yuzu and togarashi. It was paired with a cocktail made from Sawa Sawa Sparkling Sake.

Course three was not my favorite because the chef said the word truffle three times while describing it. I have no idea why chefs love truffles. They could mess up a wet dream. Anyway, this was a soupy combination with the aforementioned truffles, chicken skin, green apple, celery, roe and a runny egg. I don’t like runny eggs, either. Also, I’m not a ig fan of beer, but that was the highlight of the course. They brought out an awesome beer from the KleinBrouwerij de Glazen Toren Brewery in Saison d’erpe-mere, Belgium. Man, it took me a while to get that typed.

The next course finally contained some meat. Sturgeon, clams and blood sausage made a great combination with Kuentz Bas Riesling to drink. We were informed that it comes from Alsace, France. It turns out that the French do something right after all.

The fifth course brought more meat with chicken breast from Wedge Oak Farm along with fennel, black olive, black garlic and parsnip. It was washed down with Lechthaler 2010 from Italy.

More meat came with the sixth course. This time it was veal cheeks with beet, horseradish, yogurt and dill along with the Austrian produced Kirchmayr Zweigelt 2011.

By this time, I was having a hard time keeping up, and the courses were running together. According to the menu they gave us open leaving, the next course was made up of fig preserves, queso de torta, finca pascualete, and a few other things that I can’t read at the moment. I know that we had La Gitana Manzanilla sherry.

The meal was coming to a close, and that always means dessert. This time it meant three desserts. The first one was an almond ice cream popsicle covered with citrus cells , campari gel and cinnamon. It was awesome and came with the Italian Amaro Segesta with soda.. Not so awesome was the second dessert, an egg shell filled with maple, bacon and thyme. I thought that bacon could make anything good. It doesn’t. Next, we had oak ice cream with vanilla cake, a cherry crisp, pineapple and bourbon balls.

As I wrote, we liked some of it and didn’t like some of it. But, that isn’t the point. The point is that we had a great experience and expanded our dining horizons.

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What? The Who?

4 Dec

Last night was another musical adventure in Nashville. However, it wasn’t Country. It was Classic Rock from a band that I had never seen before. The Who, what’s left of it anyway, performed in a “not quite sold out” Bridgestone Arena. I don’t know much about The Who but thought I should see them because they are a legendary group.

Roger and Pete

Roger and Pete

As a historian, I should know better than to believe in legends. Either, they aren’t real, or they are past their prime. This concert was an example of the latter. They are on the Quadrophenia Tour, which I thought was just a cool name for a tour. Actually, it is the name of one of their albums, and the concert was designed to play the entire album.

This is where I should say that I have been to album concerts before. I saw The Eagles open a concert with the Hotel California album. More recently, I saw Roger Waters reproduce The Wall, an album with a message about the condition of the world. The Who tried to convey the same message but did not live up to the challenge. I would call it a poor man’s version of The Wall.

As the concert progressed, I was surprised that I didn’t know any songs. While not a huge fan of The Who, I know a few of the hits. As I looked around the crowd, I noticed that most of the people were in the same boat that I was. Only the ones wearing vintage t-shirts were dancing and singing along.

At the end of the concert, the band played songs that people recognized and inspired them to dance. It was unfortunate that it took that long for this part of the concert to begin. Before the hits, the best part of the concert was footage of deceased members Keith Moon and John Entwistle. In fact, they played and sang better than Roger Daltrey and Pete Townshend.

All of this was very disappointing for a few reasons. First, the tickets were expensive. Second, The Who should be better. Third, the opening band was great. Vintage Trouble was a foursome that took the old and made it new. Think about James Brown being transported to the 21st Century to start his career. That’s Vintage Trouble.

Vintage Trouble

Vintage Trouble

The Who were not who I thought they would be. If they had started the British Invasion, then it would have been repelled immediately.

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My iPod Has Issues – The Great State of Tennessee

13 Nov

Tennessee, of which I am a native, has always been a musical state. Memphis has the Blues. Nashville has Country. The mountains have Appalachian Folk. It’s definitely a variety, and when it is thrown all together it turns into Rock ‘n Roll. As a historian who likes music, I have noticed a lot of songs about Tennessee. They either have the state in their names or as their subject.

Since I first heard a Tennessee song, I have wondered how many pieces of music are about this state. Yes, I was a weird kid. I still haven’t figured out all of the Tennessee songs, but I have collected a few on my iPod. To figure out what is there, I am putting the Tennessee playlist on shuffle and letting them fly.

“Roane County Prison” by Bill Monroe

“Nashville Jumps” by Cecil Grant

“Lebanon, Tennessee” by Ron Sexsmith

“Tennessee Waltz” by Jimmy Martin

“Tennessee Flat Top Box” by Johnny Cash

“Memphis Exorcism” by Squirrel Nut Zippers

“My Little Home in Tennessee” by Mac Wiseman

“Gene Nobles’ Boogie” by Richard Armstrong

“Rocky Top” by The Osbourne Brothers

“Tennessee Babe” by Dimitri Tiomkin

“My Little Girl in Tennessee” by Flatt and Scruggs

“East Tennessee Blues” by Tommy Jackson

“L&N Special” by Christine Kittrell

“Knoxville Girl” by Log Cabin Boys

“16th Avenue” by Lacy J. Dalton

“Team of Destiny” by Kenny Chesney

“Tennessee Whiskey” by David Allan Coe

Most of these songs are part of the Country genre, but a few come from the “Night Train to Nashville” album, which chronicles the history of Nashville’s R&B scene. If you want to hear some good Nashville music that is not Country, then you should check it out.

I will finish with a bit of Nashville trivia. When Jimi Hendrix was stationed at Fort Campbell, he played in the nightclubs along Jefferson Street. This is where he honed the guitar skills that would make him famous.

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