Nashville … the first six hours.
So we hit the streets 4:00ish. Hard to say because we forgot about Central time and neither of us had a watch. Then again, who cared?
Watching Dave approach Broadway was hysterical. Kid in a candy store! All of a sudden… bam! Lots of bars, all with live (great sounding!) music pouring from them at a time when we should have been toiling behind a desk — and he didn’t know where to go first.
We opted for Rippy’s because the food looked good there. Our waitress, Kat, was the best ever. Shame I didn’t get a shot of her. Too busy taking dumb pictures of us. Rippy’s was having happy hour when we got there. Two-for-one beers. Oh, yeah. We stayed there a bit. They had to call Belgium to restock the bar.
Next was Legends. Dave was amazed watching the break down/set up of the different bands. Night Shift was the six piece and without a sound check … BAM! We stayed for a few but knew there was more fun to be had.
So off to Tootsie’s next. Yes, Tootsie’s Orchid Lounge… home of one of the smallest stages ever but man, it has held a lot of talent. When we got there we were a bit confused… There was a guy singing along with the band. Open mic night? Well sort of. We hung around, joined the party, and learned that Josh Miller is with the Army. Getting ready to go back to Iraq this Tuesday. He wanted to have fun and the night turned into a salute/send off for our troops. The band was front man Jake Maurer on acoustic with three great players behind him (including a full drum kit on the smallest stage
ever!)
Jake was great at taking requests. And if your request had an Andrew Jackson attached to it and some talent in your back pocket, well, you too could sing at Tootsie’s. For my birthday, Jake said “C’mon” to Dave’s desire to sing “Wagon Wheel.” After sharing the mic on sweet harmonies in verse one, Jake got Dave a mic of his own and it was just bee-yoot-i-ful! 
Josh promised to keep America free and keep his buddies safe overseas. I whispered a little prayer into my bottle that he, and his friends, will come home.
There’s only so much beer you can drink (really!) so we decided to venture over to the record store. Again, Dave in a candy store! I was mesmerized by the 8 x 10 b/w photos of the C&W legends I remember as “sangers” of my childhood soundtrack. There was a particular shot of Dolly with the biggest hair ever. It was pure architecture. I lost track of Dave during this time, finding him a few minutes outside. Not sure what happened in the store… something about trying to order a beer and the guy just pointed and said “out there, son.”
So I took thirsty boy to Second Fiddle. We had a nightcap under the big banjo. Which reminded Dave that we never did wander into the guitar shop on the corner. Ah…. that’s for tomorrow before the concert.
Nashville or Bust 
“Dave was amazed watching the break down/set up of the different bands.”
Set up/tear down speed reminds me of one of Dave’s many stories about college.
Comment by Joe S | July 19, 2008 |