Archive for the ‘Nashville Celebrities’ Category

The facts:

• The one and only Bob Dylan kicked off his two-night stand at The Ryman Auditorium last night.
• Amos Lee opened.
• The Rymanazis were in rare form, so no pictures or video. I like living too much to have tried.

The celebrity sightings:

• Predators head coach Barry Trotz was rocking out in the balcony with his lovely wife.
• Too many more to list. More on that later.

The observations:

• I caught the very last song of Amos Lee’s set. This dude is extremely talented. I did hear him say he was felt so honored to share the Ryman stage with two of the greatest songwriters ever. Only Amos and Bob were on the bill, so I thought that was weird.
• After Amos and his band shut down, the crew came out and began clearing away their gear. Some roadies came out and began setting up a microphone and a guitar stand with 4 or 5 different guitars. All of Bob’s gear was covered up and nobody was working on uncovering it. Then someone in front of me said he heard there was a second opener but he didn’t know who it was. I got on the phone with one of my buddies to see if he had heard anything but I was promptly shut down by the Rymanazis who asked me to put my phone away because the next act was taking the stage in 5 minutes. I asked who it was and he matter-of-factly told me “His birth name is Declan McManus. Just some Irish guy with a guitar. It’s not Bono.”
• Five minutes later the house lights went down and Elvis freaking Costello walked on stage. The crowd went nuts when they figured out what in the crap was going on. Elvis fired up what looked to be a Gibson J-160E with this cool half-acoustic/half-electric tone and played for the next 45 minutes or so. I didn’t love his song selection (like 4 protest songs!) but he sounded great. As this was the first time I’ve seen Elvis live, I now appreciate what a showman he is. Outstanding. Oh, and he has the shiniest shoes ever made. Seriously.
• Bob and his band took the stage about 15 minutes after Elvis’ guitars were cleared away. He played several songs I wanted to hear (”Masters of War,” “Leopard-Skin Pill-Box Hat,” “Desolation Row”). It was a very bluesy feeling show, and now that I look back on it, it may have been designed that way because those guys knew what was coming! The highlight of the night: After “Most Likely You Go Your Way (And I Go Mine),” the lights went down and when they came up a blistering version of “Meet Me In The Morning” had begun with freaking Jack White on lead guitar and vocals. The entire place erupted. Has Nashville embraced this kid or what???!?!?! It was beautiful and Jack seemed legitimately humbled. Side note: Geez, I just know that Jack and I could be best friends! Jack, call me! Jack was lights out on the guitar and it was great to see him coax Bob to the mic to share vocals later in the song. I didn’t realize until this morning that this was the first time the song had been performed live. Unreal. From now on when people ask me if I have a favorite Dylan song, I will have an answer.  Complete set list can be found HERE.
• Elvis showed up in the sound booth at the back of the balcony about half way through the show and stayed there until the end.

The conclusion:

• Being my first Dylan show, I have to say it wasn’t what I expected to see. It was very good though, and I wouldn’t have missed it for the world. Elvis and Jack were worth the price of admission alone. Seeing a living legend in Bob Dylan was just icing on the cake.

The facts:

• Modest Mouse headlined at The Ryman yesterday evening.
• Love as Laughter and Band of Horses co-opened, in that order.
• I totally missed Love as Laughter’s set.

The celebrity sightings:

• Nikki Taylor with her twin boys in the balcony. Did I see one of the kids flipping through an autographed copy of the liner notes from Modest Mouse’s We Were Dead?
• Jack White’s fellow Raconteur Brendan Benson in the balcony trying to sit on some cute blonde’s lap. Oh behave Brendan.
• Bobby Bare Jr. and Carl Broemel (My Morning Jacket guitarist) sitting together with their wives/better halves in the balcony. You know you’re in Nashville when the musicians in the audience don’t stand to watch the show. I love you Bobby, but get on your freaking feet son. Carl, if you’re reading this, we have a mutual friend so I really believe that entitles me to the opportunity of buying you a beer sometime in the not-so-distant future. Call me. We’ll be best friends. I just know it.

The observations:

• Ben Bridwell and his cowboy booted buddies have set the new standard for southeastern rock and roll. Their live sound is so tight and polished, and yet at the same time there is a raw energy that these guys play with that truly makes them a joy to watch. Ben is one hell of a front man too. Watching him reminds me of Chris Robinson, only with more talent. I’m a huge Chris Robinson/Black Crowes fan, so believe me, that’s saying something. Band of Horses played four tracks (I think) off of their upcoming album, and they were all excellent, especially the set closer. I didn’t catch the name of the song, so if anyone did, please chime in. I have a feeling they’ll be closing their next gig in Nashville with that one, and my bet is they’ll be headlining by that time. You could tell that the boys really appreciated the stage they were on, and it showed in their performance. Carl, I hope you were taking some notes, because as big a MMJ fan as I am, I have to say that the boys from South Carolina almost out-MMJed you on The Ryman hardwood last night.
• I’m not a huge Modest Mouse fan, although I am quite fond of their last two albums. That being said, Isaac Brock is truly a mad freaking genius, with an emphasis on mad. Seriously. Dude’s nuts. Sinister and nuts. I kept thinking Tom Peloso was going to slip in his cowboy boots (a tribute to Nashville maybe?); I’m glad he didn’t. Isaac’s screaming into his guitar pickups has to be one of the cooler rock and roll moves I’ve seen in a long time. Johnny Marr plays a mean guitar.

The conclusion:

• It was a good show, probably a great show if I were a hard core MM fan. The stage got stolen though, and I think the thieves were wearing western shirts and banging tambourines with drumsticks, kind of like this… (from an earlier BoH show this year)

USA Today has the details. Ms. McCready allegedly scratched her mom on the face during a scuffle and then resisted arrest when the sheriff deputies showed up. All of this is apparently in violation of her probation stemming from a 2004 prescription drug charge.

The article says that there is another potential probation violation on the way as a result of her 2005 arrest for drunk driving. Wait… if she was on probation in 2004 for illegal prescription drugs, how was a 2005 drunk driving charge not a violation of that probation? I don’t understand the freaking legal system, but I do understand that Mindy McCready is slowly but surely becoming country music’s Lindsay Lohan. God I hope she gets some serious help this time around.

Nashville is packed to the freaking gills with celebrities from all walks of the entertainment life.  Seen any lately?  Spill your guts people!