Night 2 - Nashville, TN

We connected with Jenny and Stu who would be putting us up for the night, and they were busy until about 9, but recommended one hell of a good barbecue joint for dinner. I use the word "joint" to describe Jack's Barbecue because that's what you call a place with a rusty metal neon sign, the sticky-sweet smell of slow roasting animal parts, and a wood-paneled barn-like interior. As you would expect, the food was INCREDIBLE. For $13 you can stuff yourself with three kinds of meat, two vegetables, and some really tasty barbecue sauce. I recommend the ribs.



The main drag in Nashville is called Broadway, and for something like 10 blocks it is nothing but live music venues with powerful melodies and bar singing pouring out of every door. The street is lit up with neon light like downtown Vegas, and each place is the venue where someone in the Country Music Hall of Fame got discovered. The energy is just great.



We started at a bar called "Broadway Brewhouse and Mojo" which had a two for one special on draft beer- which in Nashville means if you order one, you get two. Mike and Jenny caught up on old times, we all shot the shit, and talked about the music industry and got a little drunk. Mike payed for 8 beers- a whopping $17 - and then we headed to the clubs around to absorb some of the local music scene.

After the Brewhouse, we moved on to The Stage, a country-themed bar with a large stage at the front and plenty of room to stand and watch the band play. The bar's theme didn't imply the type of band, though, as the night's group (the Chris Weaver Band) spend the night playing classic rock covers (along with some more recent stuff - I never thought I would enjoy a Maroon 5 cover so much). The lead singer had a wonderful gravelly voice - perfect for rock - and the band comprised a bunch of excellent musicians. After a couple hours of listening to Journey and Wilson Pickett covers, and loving every minute of it, we decided to move on to some other clubs. Before leaving, Jon had tipped the band $10 - the same price as the band's CD's, so he didn't feel guilty just getting a copy from Jenny.



After The Stage, we moved on to two other clubs: Tootsie's and Legend's Corner. Tootsie's had two floors, with one band on each floor. The upstairs band was a very decent country group, but we were ready to move along, so we only stayed for a couple of songs. Legend's Corner had another classic rock cover band, but nothing special. The last bar of the night was actually closed from the outside, so we snuck in the side through a neighboring bar which was closed for business, but unlocked. After a few more good country ballads, we retired to Jenny and Stu's place, and called it a night.