Nashville Confidential

the day the music died

Write it down, folks: This week I skipped not one but TWO concerts I had originally planned to attend. Why, you ask? The job, my friends. Yes, it's true. Sometimes Mapgirl is just too tired -- or dare I say, stressed -- to put aside the pressures of the workaday world and run off to the local concert hall. I know this is a surprise to everyone. But scary workaholic Mapgirl caught the bus to Music City soon after the holidays. She likes it here, of course -- everyone likes it here!

Any week in which you walk down the street to see Pretenders on Tuesday and Patty Griffin on Thursday is still a pretty well-balanced week. (I was going to see Will Kimbrough on Sunday and Cross Canadian Ragweed tonight, but I just want to go to sleep. I'll try to make it through the end of this post.)

I think the Ryman Auditorium is my own personal Happiest Place on Earth. On Tuesday night the usher who escorted us decided that our original seats were a little cramped, so he upgraded us by a row. Last night after the show the ushers pitched in to help me when, four steps outside the building, I had that terrifying realization of "Holy cow, my little change purse (with the key to my building) isn't in my coat pocket." Thank goodness (and some honest Patty Griffin fan) that it was discovered and returned; apparently it had fallen out as I put on the coat. We all did a little dance of joy and -- I am not kidding -- hugged one another.

The usher who got the purse back to me checked out my driver's license before handing it over. He said, "Hey, you live downtown. I think that would be fun!" 'Tis.

new life plan

My new three-pronged life strategy: take lessons in cool, move to London, start a band. I was in elementary school when "Brass in Pocket" came out, and Chrissie Hynde was cool then. Twenty-plus years later, she's still fabulous looking and sounding. Last night the Pretenders were at the Ryman, and after a slow start, they tore up the joint. Chrissie is PETA-crazy but I still wouldn't mind coming back as her in my next life. She grew up in Akron, crossed the pond, took up with Ray Davies, let her bangs grow long, and then the fun began. Today all I wanted to do was listen to the old stuff again and again (the concert version of "Precious" was unbelievable -- I can't think of any woman rocker who could have done any better). Read the Tennessean review and find out which stars were in the crowd.

Too bad the writer didn't mention the All Mighty Senators, a self-described "rock and soul" band from Baltimore who were strange and wonderful. The lead singer stood and played a hot-pink, fur-lined drum set. He had a great voice and sometimes sounded like Prince. They played a funkalicious version of "Rocky Top," which, as you might recall, is on my least-favorite-song list. But they had such panache, I was willing to overlook it. Just this once.

Happy birthday Edgar! Now 15 years old! Wow I'm old.

vince gill bought me a donut

With the snow and ice and free museum visits, I've been delayed in reporting on the very excellent Vince Gill concert. I have to be honest: I went because somebody gave me a free ticket. I know practically nothing about Vince except that he's Mr. Amy Grant, but I do know that good things come from the combination of small space, big star and free tix.

So off I went to Exit/In, which is probably my all-time favorite Nashville venue because Jason and the Scorchers often played there. No sooner had I moved to Nashville than the Department of Revenue closed it down for non-payment of taxes. Fortunately, a new owner has somehow smoothed things over, so its long and storied tradition continues. (Really, Exit/In does have a long and storied tradition; read all about it here.)

I also like Exit/In because it's a block from work, which means I can use the deck and therefore park with great peace of mind. When you go to shows alone, this is major. If you want my entire show strategy, I'll do an entry on that sometime, but trust me, it takes a fair amount of planning and forethought.

Vince's show was general admission, meaning first come, first seated, so people had lined up well in advance of the 8 p.m. door-opening. Once we got inside there was seating for about 60 people. I was probably 62nd in line, but to tell the truth, I was quite happy to stand. He really packed them in -- probably 400 people were there for the show, and six months from now people will pay more than $100 to be as close as I was.

wonder if the arkansas band played it for clinton?

Good thing Midwesterners are of hearty stock, because when LHR came to visit this past weekend, the temperature was in the single digits. Fortunately more than a decade of Windy City living prepared her for her time in Music City. She was an excellent sport as I dragged her all over the Mid-South. (Guidance for future visitors: if you say, "I'm up for anything," I will take you at your word!)

So we went and saw singer-songwriters Tommy Womack and Darden Smith (both heartily recommended) and "Gangs of New York" (not recommended). We toured the Carnton Home and the Belle Meade Home. We ate Goo Goo Clusters and drove all over town (my hostessing specialty). And we went to church (the search continues), which I greatly appreciated. And of course we had fried green tomatoes at Tin Angel. We also had a prom dress at Jackson's, but you'll have to ask LHK about that.

pride goeth before a 3-hour commute

What usually took 15 minutes took 2 hours and 45 minutes. This is all there is to say about it right now. I am one humbled Northerner.

glad i went

And glad I went last night instead of tonight. Vince Gill is playing five nights at Exit/In, with the weekend shows sold out. Due to heavy snowfall it might be a sparse crowd -- I feel bad for the folks holding tickets tonight because it is an event worth seeing. More on this later.

My apologies to the Mid-South. My snarky comments about "oh yeah, nine flakes of snow will fall, what a blizzard" are probably what conjured all this white stuff. Sorry, but all the boy-who-cried-wolf just made me think there never was any snow here. The five inches already on the ground prove me wrong ... it's beautiful! Watching the giant, heavy flakes fall outside our office windows is like sitting inside a slow globe.

Most everyone's already gone home (or they're inching along in traffic). I'm staying put for now, and am contemplating riding the bus instead of taking my car out there amongst the amateurs.

girl with a reputation

Why I Love this Town, Reason 489: Someone in the building just called me and gave me -- GAVE ME -- two tickets to Vince Gill tonight at Exit/In. Oh yeah. Apparently word has spread that I'm the queen of concertgoing (and apparently he tried to give away these tickets without success on many other floors of the building). I'm not a Vince fan particularly, but seeing a megastar in small venue is not to be missed. And did I mention the tickets were free?

criminal element

From the New York Times today: "In one sweep, Illinois Governor George Ryan, a Republican, spared the lives of 163 men and 4 women who have served a collective 2,000 years for the murders of more than 250 people. His bold move was seen as the most significant statement questioning capital punishment since the Supreme Court struck down states' old death penalty laws in 1972. It seemed sure to secure Mr. Ryan's legacy as a leading critic of state-sponsored executions even as he faces possible indictment in a corruption scandal that stopped him from seeking re-election ..."

Never mind how you feel about the death penalty. This whole thing is a smoke screen. The cynical part of me notices that Ryan suddenly got more interested in the death penalty as his corruption scandal deepened. Read the allegations of what happened while Ryan was Secretary of State. It's the only thing that could make one more outraged and sickened than his activities during his whole two-faced governorship. The most cynical part of me believes Ryan knew all that his staff was doing, and he won't suffer one iota. Now he'll be lionized, for Pete's sake. I will be surprised (and, yes, delighted) if he gets convicted (much less indicted) on any bribery / abuse of power charges.

and the crowd goes wild

Here are the numbers, friends:

Nashville Titans 34, Pittsburgh Steelers 31 (thank you, officials)
Nashville Predators 4, Arizona Coyotes 3 (in OT)

A friend of mine went to both -- after the Titans won, he ran to the hockey arena and joined us to cheer on the Preds and see Webb Wilder's band perform between periods. Now that is dedication.

what are you doing saturday?

From the local paper today: "The Titans play at 3:30 p.m., the Predators at 7:30 p.m. and Vanderbilt's men's basketball team at 8 p.m. Add to that a Grand Ole Opry performance at 6:30 p.m. at the Ryman, an all-day boat show at the Nashville Convention Center and an 8 p.m. Nashville Symphony performance at the Tennessee Performing Arts Center, and downtown will be serving quite a brew on Saturday."

Glad I'm not driving! I'm walking to the hockey game Saturday night. 'Tis good to live downtown.