Archive for the ‘Nashville Music’ Category

“Ruby, Ruby, Ruby, Ruby!”

English new-wave rockers Kaiser Chiefs (Wikipedia, MySpace) will *not* be stopping into Nashville tonight for a show at City Hall. White Rabbits and Datarock will *not* be opening. SHOW HAS BEEN CANCELLED!

Don’t fret… you can still catch LeAnn Rimes @ the Schermerhorn or Rascal Flatts @ the Sommet Center!

The legendary Bob Dylan wrapped up a two-night stand at the world’s famous Ryman Auditorium last night.

I was fortunate enough to attend the show on Wednesday night.  It was indeed a special evening of music.  Highlights included a surprise 45 minute opening set by a solo and half-plugged-in Elvis Costello AND a soon-to-be-legendary version of “Meet Me In The Morning” featuring relatively new Nashvillian Jack White.

I wasn’t able to attend last night’s show.  From what I understand, there was no Elvis opener this time around, however Jack White did join Bob on stage for two songs this time around, “One More Cup Of Coffee (Valley Below)” and “Outlaw Blues.”

Were any of you out there fortunate enough to attend both shows?  Which one was better?  Were they both incredible?  Share!

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.

Geez, I’ve noticed lately that most of the posts here at NiMH involve music.  Look, I’m a music freak, so that’s going to bleed over from time to time, but I fully realize that there’s a lot more to Nashville than music.

I’ve got posts in the works on topics like…

• The relatively new HD setup over at News Channel 5 (complete with behind the scenes video)
• Tri For Africa: a really cool non-profit recently founded by a native Nashvillian

And then there are some ideas for posts that really haven’t taken shape yet.  Ideas like…

• Profiling Stalking The Muse
• A video tour of Grimey’s, Nashville’s legendary record shop
• Profiling a local company each week (Griffin, Standard Candy, Hatch Show Print, Yazoo Brewing, etc.)

Here’s the deal: I really want NiMH to develop a deep sense of community.  I want to hear what you would like to read about on these pages.  Talk to me.  Please.  I’m begging you.  Okay, maybe not begging, because begging is totally not cool, but I’m at least asking nicely.

Fire away in the comments section with ideas for future NiMH posts, and the best idea (as subjectively judged my me) will win a really cool prize.

You know what would be great? If someone could put together a 5 day showcase featuring 130+ of Nashville’s finest up-and-coming musical talents playing on 10 of the hottest stages in town and charge like a ridiculously low $30 to see all of the shows. Geez, that would be awesome. Yeah, they could get bands like The Features, The Clutters, Ghostfiner, The Gabe Dixon Band, The Silver Seas and How I Became The Bomb and they could book them in venues like Exit/In, The Basement and Mercy Lounge/Cannery Ballroom. Wouldn’t that be the coolest?

Oh wait… that’s exactly what Next Big Nashville (MySpace) is. Good. I’m glad to see someone is finally listening to my brilliant ideas.

NBN kicks off tomorrow evening at 7:30 and will run through Sunday, September 9! Check out the complete schedule HERE and buy your wristband tickets HERE.

Ever seen the Brothers Robinson do their Southern rock thing on one of the grandest stages in music?  I have, and it was infreakingcredible.  If you get a chance to check out one of the greatest rock front men of this generation, see the Black Crowes tonight at The Ryman Auditorium.  Show starts around 7:30.

The facts:

• Ben Kweller headlined at the Exit/In last Friday night.
• Tim Fite opened.

The celebrity sightings:

• Again with the Brendan Benson!!! As I was pulling into the parking lot behind the Exit/In, I noticed ol’ Brendan parking his slick little scooter before hopping on to what I’m assuming was BK’s tour bus.

The observations:

• Tim Fite is another mad, mad man. Imagine Spanky (from Our Gang/The Little Rascals) in seersucker overalls, being backed by “his brother” (also in seersucker) on keyboard and himself (via a large video screen behind him) on a mean sounding resonator type instrument, rapping about “the system!” There was audience participation (eye exams!) and a power point introduction for each song by “the man with itchy legs.” Fite’s set was truly one of the strangest I’ve ever had the pleasure of witnessing. Very entertaining.

• It was hot in the ol’ Exit/In that night, but when BK took the stage, it only got hotter. The outstanding set included “Run,” “Penny on the Train Track” and “Sundress” as well as “Thirteen” and an incredible extended version of “Red Eye.” Brendan even got a shout out from his buddy before “Family Tree.” My only disappointment coming from the absence of “I Gotta Move” but BK totally made up for it by playing a new song called “Fight.” According to Ben, the tune will be appearing on his next album, one he called “country.” Check it out below. For more clips from the show (including a pretty sweet “Dueling Banjos” warm up, CLICK HERE.


The conclusion:

• Ben Kweller is a ultra-talented singer/songwriter who’s enthusiasm and passion for the music is so evident in his live show, it’s scary. I can’t wait until he comes back to Nashville. Long live BK.

The extra:

• After the show, I headed straight to my car that was parked right next to BK’s tour bus about 40 feet from the back door of the Exit/In. As I was getting into my car, I noticed Ben and his boys standing around the back door. I’ve never asked for an autograph in my entire life, but this was just too golden of an opportunity to pass up. I clicked my digital camera into the “on” position, sut my car door and headed towards Ben. As I approached him he looked up at me and I began my pitch: “Hey Ben, seriously, I’ve never done this in my entire life and I really hate to be ‘that guy’ (fully aware of the irony that’s taking shape) because I know you’re exhausted, but I’m a huge fan so is there any way I could get a quick picture with you?” Ben was extremely gracious but definitely let me know that it needed to be quick because he was indeed really tired. I handed the camera to lady who was hanging out with him and he put his arm around my shoulder. I saluted with the rock-common ‘devil horns’ (\../) as the lady raised my camera. “Say cheese!” she said right before she pushed the button down. It made a little noise and she quickly handed it back to me and said “Thanks a lot man. Have a good night.” I told Ben “Thanks” and headed to my car with a sick feeling in my stomach. I knew the picture hadn’t taken. No flash, no actual picture taking noises… just the very subtle noise that you hear when the camera is focusing. I prayed that somehow I was wrong and that the picture would miraculously be there despite my certainty that it wouldn’t. I got in my car and turned the camera on and… well, you know. It wasn’t there. He had been so gracious and I just didn’t have the heart to trouble him again. It’s totally my fault for assuming that all people know how to use my camera. Ben, if you happen to read this, please comment just to let people know that I’m not making this up. We shared a legit rock moment damnit!

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)

The very subdued (sarcasm implied) Irishman Ted Leo is bringing his band of prescription drug-fillers to the Exit/In tonight for their special brand of smart-rock. Show starts at 8:00. Here’s to hoping Ted does a little “Since U Been Gone…”

Geez… I hope John Mayer’s not waiting on Nashville to change, because if he is, it looks like he might have to hang around until September 11.

The good news is that at least he’s already in town! Yeah, John Mayer is bringing his badass guitar chops (and his impressive blogging skills) to The Sommet Center tonight. (Former?) local boy Ben Folds is one of the opening acts, so it should be a good time.  The show starts at 7:00 and some tickets are still available.