Memphis in May - A Tale in Three Parts
Okay kids, it's finally here. Feast your eyes on the first installment of my Memphis in May chronicles.
Part I: It's Friday, I Am Drunk.
I won't bother you with any particular details of the drive from Columbia, MO to Memphis, TN except to say it included the Lovely Brook and I stopping in St. Charles to pick up our good pal Mr. Tippit, my first experience eating a Lion's Choice, rain and dark clouds provided a portent of unpleasant weather and we didn't make quite as good of time as I might have hoped.
This last point is key as one of the first bands to play Friday evening was the North Mississippi All-Stars, a band I enjoy and wanted very much to see. If you've never heard these guys play you need to go online or some such thing and check 'em out. Sometimes they're blues, sometimes they're a jam-rock band and sometimes they're even bluegrass.
Anyway, by the time we checked into our Days Inn that I'm told was actually still within the city limits of Memphis, we made the long trip back to the riverfront and Tom Lee Park for the Beale Street Music Festival. Now, as I said we were running behind, but I did get to hear several songs from the NM All-Stars as we waited in line to get into the park, so that made me happy.
Our group was also treated to a free roll of Mentos as we entered the park. Fruit Mentos to be precise and it was a treat repeated each of the three days we were in town.
Also saw "The Killer" on stage Friday night. That's right Mr. Jerry Lee Lewis treated the hometown fans to some classic tunes. He's not quite the Jerry Lee as played by Dennis Quaid anymore, but the old guy could still belt it out a bit.
Now the rest of the night is...kind of an in and out thing for me memory-wise. We had only eaten lunch since our late arrival precluded us from eating dinner. I was not wise enough to eat inside the park so those Budweiser tallboys started sneaking up on me fairly quickly. We did get to see So-Cal punk legends Social Distortion. Now I had seen Social D several times in concert prior, so I knew the greatness about to hit the stage. The Lovely Brook is familiar with their stuff, but had never seen them live. Mr. Tippit knew one or two songs and that was it. So it delighted me they were able to see just how great this punk outfit of the late 80's and early 90's really is. The band is releasing a Greatest Hits on June 26th. I highly recommend it for each and every one of you.
Mr. Tippit has since informed me he found Social D to be one of the two best performances he saw over the weekend. He celebrated their show by prancing about and waving his Bryant Heating and Air Conditioning fan with pride. Now I'm pretty sure he knew the band wasn't called Bryant so I don't know why he kept yelling that particular word. The guys standing in front of him didn't really now either and didn't find it one tenth as amusing as the Lovely Brook and I did. Oh well...the set from Social D kicked ass.
Now the band I really wanted to see Friday night was Iggy and the Stooges. For those unaware, Iggy would be Iggy Pop and the Stooges would be his old band from back in the day, newly re-formed. These guys are the Godfathers of Punk Rock and seeing them in concert meant seeing an actual living legend. Anyway, like I said what I recall of their set rocked. Iggy invited all those lucky enough to have backstage passes onto the stage with him as the band played. It was a nice mix of their great old stuff and their pretty good new stuff.
Yeah, the boys in the band sounded pretty good. You'd think 30 years of hard living would take it out of a guy, but Iggy still has got what it takes to rock out. Of course at this point in the show I was a little less discerning.
Also playing on Friday night were the hometown heroes of the Three 6 Mafia. You might know these guys from their Academy Award winning ditty "It's Hard Out Here for a Pimp." (Which I did end up hearing live along with one other tune) This is where the trouble started. I wanted to see Iggy Pop more than anything. The Lovely Brook had become a little perturbed with me because I missed seeing two guys bump into here, rather hard I'm told, and then laugh about it. She was pretty pissed at me over this, so she decided to leave me and Tippit and go see the Three 6 Mafia. So this pissed me off, and I was not at the level of intoxication to take being pissed off very well. I said some things that weren't very nice.
Incidentally, we're establishing a Today's Motherfucker first by applying said title to myself for the Friday night I spent in Memphis, Tennessee. I got way too drunk in the not nice way and acted completely inappropriately and hopefully completely out of character.
And the night didn't end with the events described. Mr. Tippit was able to make the peace long enough to get us up on Beale Street, before Brook and I argued again over...something. I don't recall and it's probably not important anyway. What is important is at this point I apparently disappeared. My cellie had not been charged so I couldn't be reached by phone. I was for all intents and purposes lost in the City of Memphis.
Actually, I was sleeping in my car. But Brook and Chris didn't know that, so after some futile searching they called a cab to take them back to the hotel. At that point they attempted to find out if I'd perhaps been....I don't know, arrested maybe. (DID NOT HAPPEN!) They also called some hospitals to see if I'd turned up there, but I hadn't...since I was in my car.
Oooh, another thing from this night. Apparently around 2 p.m. I called Brook and tried to make nice-nice by suggesting I "take her to bed." Only problem was I had cruised one spot beyond BROOK in my speed dial and landed on BROOK'S FOLKS. Yeah, Brook's mom heard something I would just as soon have not had her hear. Thankfully I did not curse and Charlotte is a nice lady and good sport who likes me.
Anyway, that was Friday for the most part. I woke up in my car around 7:30 a.m. and made my way back to the hotel. Apologies were profuse and I assure you the rest of the story is much more pleasant. Sadly, the rest of the story will have to wait for another time as I have to be at work soon.
FRIDAY SUMMARY
Bands Seen or Heard:
North Mississippi All-Stars
Gov't Mule
Jerry Lee Lewis
Social Distortion
Iggy and the Stooges
Three 6 Mafia
Products/Establishments Gaining Endorsement:
Lion's Choice
Budweiser
Silky o' Sullivan's
Bryant Heating and Air
Mentos
Okay kids, catch ya later.
JeffRey
Part I: It's Friday, I Am Drunk.
I won't bother you with any particular details of the drive from Columbia, MO to Memphis, TN except to say it included the Lovely Brook and I stopping in St. Charles to pick up our good pal Mr. Tippit, my first experience eating a Lion's Choice, rain and dark clouds provided a portent of unpleasant weather and we didn't make quite as good of time as I might have hoped.
This last point is key as one of the first bands to play Friday evening was the North Mississippi All-Stars, a band I enjoy and wanted very much to see. If you've never heard these guys play you need to go online or some such thing and check 'em out. Sometimes they're blues, sometimes they're a jam-rock band and sometimes they're even bluegrass.
Anyway, by the time we checked into our Days Inn that I'm told was actually still within the city limits of Memphis, we made the long trip back to the riverfront and Tom Lee Park for the Beale Street Music Festival. Now, as I said we were running behind, but I did get to hear several songs from the NM All-Stars as we waited in line to get into the park, so that made me happy.
Our group was also treated to a free roll of Mentos as we entered the park. Fruit Mentos to be precise and it was a treat repeated each of the three days we were in town.
Also saw "The Killer" on stage Friday night. That's right Mr. Jerry Lee Lewis treated the hometown fans to some classic tunes. He's not quite the Jerry Lee as played by Dennis Quaid anymore, but the old guy could still belt it out a bit.
Now the rest of the night is...kind of an in and out thing for me memory-wise. We had only eaten lunch since our late arrival precluded us from eating dinner. I was not wise enough to eat inside the park so those Budweiser tallboys started sneaking up on me fairly quickly. We did get to see So-Cal punk legends Social Distortion. Now I had seen Social D several times in concert prior, so I knew the greatness about to hit the stage. The Lovely Brook is familiar with their stuff, but had never seen them live. Mr. Tippit knew one or two songs and that was it. So it delighted me they were able to see just how great this punk outfit of the late 80's and early 90's really is. The band is releasing a Greatest Hits on June 26th. I highly recommend it for each and every one of you.
Mr. Tippit has since informed me he found Social D to be one of the two best performances he saw over the weekend. He celebrated their show by prancing about and waving his Bryant Heating and Air Conditioning fan with pride. Now I'm pretty sure he knew the band wasn't called Bryant so I don't know why he kept yelling that particular word. The guys standing in front of him didn't really now either and didn't find it one tenth as amusing as the Lovely Brook and I did. Oh well...the set from Social D kicked ass.
Now the band I really wanted to see Friday night was Iggy and the Stooges. For those unaware, Iggy would be Iggy Pop and the Stooges would be his old band from back in the day, newly re-formed. These guys are the Godfathers of Punk Rock and seeing them in concert meant seeing an actual living legend. Anyway, like I said what I recall of their set rocked. Iggy invited all those lucky enough to have backstage passes onto the stage with him as the band played. It was a nice mix of their great old stuff and their pretty good new stuff.
Yeah, the boys in the band sounded pretty good. You'd think 30 years of hard living would take it out of a guy, but Iggy still has got what it takes to rock out. Of course at this point in the show I was a little less discerning.
Also playing on Friday night were the hometown heroes of the Three 6 Mafia. You might know these guys from their Academy Award winning ditty "It's Hard Out Here for a Pimp." (Which I did end up hearing live along with one other tune) This is where the trouble started. I wanted to see Iggy Pop more than anything. The Lovely Brook had become a little perturbed with me because I missed seeing two guys bump into here, rather hard I'm told, and then laugh about it. She was pretty pissed at me over this, so she decided to leave me and Tippit and go see the Three 6 Mafia. So this pissed me off, and I was not at the level of intoxication to take being pissed off very well. I said some things that weren't very nice.
Incidentally, we're establishing a Today's Motherfucker first by applying said title to myself for the Friday night I spent in Memphis, Tennessee. I got way too drunk in the not nice way and acted completely inappropriately and hopefully completely out of character.
And the night didn't end with the events described. Mr. Tippit was able to make the peace long enough to get us up on Beale Street, before Brook and I argued again over...something. I don't recall and it's probably not important anyway. What is important is at this point I apparently disappeared. My cellie had not been charged so I couldn't be reached by phone. I was for all intents and purposes lost in the City of Memphis.
Actually, I was sleeping in my car. But Brook and Chris didn't know that, so after some futile searching they called a cab to take them back to the hotel. At that point they attempted to find out if I'd perhaps been....I don't know, arrested maybe. (DID NOT HAPPEN!) They also called some hospitals to see if I'd turned up there, but I hadn't...since I was in my car.
Oooh, another thing from this night. Apparently around 2 p.m. I called Brook and tried to make nice-nice by suggesting I "take her to bed." Only problem was I had cruised one spot beyond BROOK in my speed dial and landed on BROOK'S FOLKS. Yeah, Brook's mom heard something I would just as soon have not had her hear. Thankfully I did not curse and Charlotte is a nice lady and good sport who likes me.
Anyway, that was Friday for the most part. I woke up in my car around 7:30 a.m. and made my way back to the hotel. Apologies were profuse and I assure you the rest of the story is much more pleasant. Sadly, the rest of the story will have to wait for another time as I have to be at work soon.
FRIDAY SUMMARY
Bands Seen or Heard:
North Mississippi All-Stars
Gov't Mule
Jerry Lee Lewis
Social Distortion
Iggy and the Stooges
Three 6 Mafia
Products/Establishments Gaining Endorsement:
Lion's Choice
Budweiser
Silky o' Sullivan's
Bryant Heating and Air
Mentos
Okay kids, catch ya later.
JeffRey
posted by The Crazy Leftist at 7:19 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home