We’re back from Nashville. I didn’t post again, obviously, but I did update the photo album.
On Friday, we slept in since we still hadn’t gotten much sleep after the drive down. First thing we did that day was head to Grimey’s, which is a brilliant record store. I’m sorta kicking myself for not buying a t-shirt from them, but I’ll get it next time I’m there.
We went to the Loveless Cafe for lunch, which was fantastic. We took a picture of what we ate, although you’ll pardon us for remembering to shoot the shot after we started eating.
That night, we went to The Bluebird Cafe to see Tim Bays, Cindy Greene, Richard Berman, and James Nihan. Of the four, Jen and I both liked Greene the best.
After that show was over, we headed to The Basement (below Grimey’s) to see Umbrella Tree. They’re not country, because you can’t live off of country alone. Well, I can’t. Anyway, they are amazing, and they have energy to spare live. It’s hard to explain their sound, so just click the link and listen. They came into the audience with a bass drum, an acoustic guitar, and a mini-keyboard for “A Horse That Will Come When I Whistle.” It was swell.
Their opening act was Finnish and awful, not in that order.
The next day, we got up early so we could hit the Country Music Hall of Fame. I wore my brand new Umbrella Tree shirt. When we bought our tickets, the guy behind the counter asked me about the shirt. As it turns out, the band’s keyboardist, Jillian Leigh, works there, as does her boyfriend. We met up with him shortly thereafter; we recognized him because he was the guy who sold us the CD and the shirt the night before. This is them.
The museum was excellent, by the way, although they need work on the likenesses on the plaques of the folks they’ve inducted into the Hall of Fame. The Elvis picture looked more like Buddy Hackett.
After the museum, we went to lower Broadway, where all the bars are. Jen said that bands start doing shows as early as 10 am. There’s no cover; you just walk in and if you like the band, you tip them. It has to be unsettling for the bands to have people walk in, listen to a couple of songs, then walk out. Although I suppose you get used to it.
The most famous of the clubs is probably Tootsies Orchid Lounge. We actually didn’t spend a lot of time there because it was always really crowded, and we weren’t into the bands that were playing. They have an upstairs and a downstairs stage, but even with double the chance, we never found a reason to stick around.
The first band of note that we saw was Jypsi, who were playing at Layla’s. They’re a super-tight bluegrass band. In general, the people came in stayed to be a part of the audience, which says a lot about them as performers.
We saw a decent cover band at The Stage on Broadway, but after their third Merle Haggard cover in six songs, we wandered off.
After stops at Hatch Show Print, the Lawrence Record Shop and the Ernest Tubb Record Shop, we headed over to the Nashville Crossroads.
On the window of the bar, there was a poster advertising Jewels Hanson, a contestant on season four of Nashville Star, performing on Thursday nights. When we walked in, we saw that she was also tending the bar that afternoon as well.
Performing was Deirdre Reilly, who was a hoot. She’s a great performer, very engaging. We walked in around three, I think, and we ended up staying until six. She was on stage the entire time. She does Celtic music in addition to country, although I can’t imagine her doing Irish folk music after hearing her blast through “Folsom Prison Blues.”
Jewels told Jen that someone offered to switch shifts with her, but there was no way she was going to miss working while Deirdre was playing. I can understand that.
We left Broadway for dinner. We ended up at Sylvan Park Restaurant, which is in the middle of nowhere. The room is tiny, and you had to go through the kitchen to use the bathroom. But the food was generally great. We were there near closing time, and as we were getting ready to leave, one of the waitresses asked if we liked chocolate pie. We said yes, and they gave us a whole pie. You know, for the trip home.
We went back to Broadway after dinner and caught Mason Griffin at Legends Corner. Galen Griffin is an up-and-coming songwriter in Nashville; he co-wrote “I’m Country” with Craig Morgan. He’s got a knack for funny lyrics and stomping riffs. We sat through a couple of sets with the full band, and that was enough for us to buy their CD.
After that, we went to bed, then left Sunday morning to come home. Mason Griffin’s CD got stuck in our CD player. We were able to fish it out, fortunately.