MY LAST WEEK OF GOOD FOOD AND FRIENDS FOR A WHILE

Monday evening was the last time I’ll have to “paint the town red” for a few weeks.  Judy and I accompanied her sister Neena, and her brother-in-law Ron to the “Crosby, Stills, and Nash” concert at the Tennessee Theatre in Knoxville.  It was a great time that brought back so many 60’s memories – of Vietnam, Woodstock, college, and just plain old partying! Their music was “right on” and sounded great.  Even though David Crosby hit those high notes, his words came through clear as a bell!  And, even though Steven Stills has a little “hitch in his get along”, he can still squeeze the notes out of his guitar!

We decided to try the “S&W Grand”, which is a makeover of the old “S&W Cafeteria” that used to be in that spot downtown years earlier.  The new owners took advantage of the old Art Deco styling, and updated it with a new fantastic menu, like my Flat Top Pastrami “Pittsburgh Style”, piled high with coleslaw, French fries, Swiss cheese, and smoked tomato dressing on Brioche!  Or, like Ron’s “Slim’s” Burger with a fresh ground Angus patty, lettuce, tomato, tobacco onions, and truffled herbed mayo.  He opted out of the fried egg, which sounded yummy to me! (see photos)

I loved the bar too.  You can see into the kitchen while you nurse your libation and await your tasty food!

The girls opted for the Certified Angus Roast Beef & Provolone, topped with melted provolone, horseradish mayo, and natural jus.

Ron ordered a “Dead Guy Ale” and a “Sierra Nevada”, while I splurged on a shot of “Woodford Reserve” on the rocks, and later a second round of “Basil Hayden”!  Beer bloats me too badly anymore, so I leave the beer drinking to when I’m home where I can properly vent myself!

After eating, we went outside and ran into Tim and Andy, two guys Ron used to work with, and the same two that traveled to the Roger Waters concert with us a couple of years back.  Tim is amazingly gifted at getting hard to get tickets, so he was with Ron and I in Nashville in ‘09 for the AC/DC concert.  He worked his magic and got us great seats together at the last moment! 

We all strolled along Gay Street to the Tennessee and compared notes at the break and after the last song.  (Sorry no concert shots!) It was a great time. (pictured left to right: Me, Judy, Tim, Andy, Ron, and Neena)

The good times actually started earlier in the week when Corey and I watched half of the Tennessee/Florida game at Wild Wings.  The food was as good as usual; topped only by the company!  As you can see in the attached photo of the place, it was packed with “big orange” everywhere and the table all decked out with large containers of draft beer! 

Corey had his usual cheesecake, and I tried the pictured chocolate brownie and ice cream.  I have to admit I left over half, but it was only because I could not hold it all!

Sunday came and Judy and I visited with Katie Bug who was in from college.  We talked a while and then moved on to Los Primos in Harriman.  For our money, it’s the best Mexican food in Roane County.  Here is a shot of my usual “Chicken Fajita Nachos”!   

Katie was a little homesick and was really dreading going back to school, but she actually loves her new life on campus and her new sisters at Phi Mu!  As the weeks and months roll on, she will probably come home less and less.  Right now, we’re taking advantage of the homesickness!

Monday mornings is always the day we pick Lily up from her pre-school and keep her until Corey gets off work.  We don’t always take her out, but sometimes she says hungrier than normal, so we take her out.  It’s not always fancy for us.  Sometimes it’s just for her, like this week it was McDonalds.  She had her “happy meal” and a small chocolate shake that “Granny Judy” always helps her with!  Not sure who gets the most, but rest assured they both get satisfied.

So, this was a good week and one that will sure make me miss the action while I’m down and out for my surgery.  It’s expected that it will take me 4 to 8 weeks to recover, but with these memories as an incentive, I’ll try to make it as short as possible.

SHERYL CROW AND DOYLE BRAMHALL II ROCKED MY WORLD!

The thing I like about living outside of Knoxville, about 35 miles, is that we avoid the "big city" traffic and other similar congestions. We, however, live close enough to drive there in about 40 minutes to eat at fine restaurants, shop at larger department stores, and enjoy the occasional "night on the town"!

Last evening six of us, 3 dragons and 3 knights, had a nice grilled burger with locally brewed micro-beer at the Downtown Grille and Bar on Gay Street in Downtown Knoxville, TN.  It just so happened that the six of us were the six retirees of the bunch.  I've included Charlotte and Gary, even though they still work at training Labs, and failed to include Linda and Noel because they work part-time.

Terri and Steve still work, but we can't get Steve to attend concerts in Knoxville during anytime but Friday or Saturdays nights.  It's a "work night" for him Monday through Thursday, and Sunday's are reserved for preparing to return to work Monday morning.  To quote him, "It's a rule!"

Even though, Ron and I have proven many a concert, that you can attend the concert and be home by 11:30!  That wasn't too late for us, even when we worked!

So, last night was no exception.  We ate and drank, walked down the street to see Sheryl Crow, accompanied by Doyle Bramhall II on lead guitar, at the beautiful Tennessee Theater, and...were home by 11:30!  It would have been 11, but someone had the bright idea to stop for a McDonald's chocolate dipped ice cream cone!  Neena!

See 'Teve!

Sheryl seemed very pleased with the current concert tour, telling us this first week of the tour had been the best week of the tour thus far!

She was looking "mighty fine", in her black leather pants and 6" heels!  Her voice was in great shape and the added brass section made the music sound great!

To be honest though, Ron and I spent most of our time watching the left-handed licks Doyle was making.  Yeah, I know, we're old, but we are "music commonsewers"!  

Ron and I have been admirers of Bramhall since we first saw him play with Roger Waters on the "In The Flesh" DVD.  The dude is a slide-blues guitarist from Texas!  We couldn't figure out how he got together with Roger Waters!  Waters is a perfectionists, so Bramhall had to be flawless in order to play with him, especially on the old "Pink Floyd" tunes.

The only kink in the concert was that Doyle didn't get to play more slide!

The show as "sold out", an indication of the following Sheryl has.  However, besides Doyle, the Tennessee Theater is a terrific venue, with over a thousand seats, bars on three levels, and restrooms just outside the auditorium doors.  

I guess what I'm saying is, I love a night on the town like last night was!  It rocks my world!

I can't wait for our hometown Princess to also be a good drawing venue to at least mid-level groups.  I will be able to get my world rocked for many years yet to come.

ZZ TOP PLAYS THE TENNESSEE THEATER

“We’ve been here before,” Billy Gibbons said, “…the same three guys, playin’ the same three cords!”

ZZ Top has played Knoxville, Tennessee several times in the past, but back then it was to larger crowds at the coliseum. Tuesday night they played to a packed house of around 1600 at the grand Tennessee Theater. Ron, Gary, and I were three of the best entertained ol’ rockers there!

Prior to the concert, which started at 8 PM, we dined at the Downtown Grill and Brewery, which is a tradition with most concert goers. Ron always goes for the White Mule and I go for the Downtown Alt pale ale! Gary tries them, but loves his Miller Lite more.

Ron went for the big burger and fries, Gary and, for the first time, I tried the “Burro,” a gigantic burrito with beans and rice that repeated on me all night long! I didn’t mind though, it just served to remind me of the delicious meal I had!

After a little walk around Market Square, and another beer at the Preservation Pub we made it to the Tennessee Theater and ordered another round before taking our seats in the balcony.

The seats offered me the advantage of being able to steady my pocket Nikon on the railing, and use my zoom. I think they turned out pretty well for a little camera that easily hides in any pocket! Note the one with the shadow of Billy Gibbons on the wall. Ron pointed this out to me and I just had to get it. It you notice, there is a larger shadow that appears to be a cowboy wearing a hit! I don’t think this was intentional, just a coincidence of the lighting setup.

“Blackberry Smoke,” a very good “southern rock” band kicked things off with about 45 minutes to an hour of hard hitting rock, sounding very much like early Lynyrd Skynyrd. I really enjoyed them and will be downloading some of their songs soon!

Billy recalled one of his first trips to Knoxville, explaining that he experienced an earthquake here worst than any he had in California. “I had a room up in the Hyatt House (called the Marriott today), but I slept in the bus that night! Then the next morning I learned that a garbage truck had backed into the building!”

“What do ya wa’na hear?” he asked, as the crowd began shouting out their favorites. “It don’t matter ‘cause yer go’na hear’em all tonight!” And we did!

There were two songs where the primary mics were over driven, but the rest of the song lyrics were easily discernable. The music, well, it was ZZ Top and it rocked us for about two hours.

The best part was that I was home in bed by 11:30, a little buzzy from the pale ales and the amplifiers! Life is grand.

Make these larger by clicking on them, and check out more photos on my Flickr page.

B. B. KING ROCKS THE TENNESSEE THEATER

Ron and I met Don and Cindy, Cindy, and Leslie at the Downtown Grill & Brewery Saturday night for drinks and food prior to the B. B. King concert at the beautiful Tennessee Theater. Last night was the third annual fundraiser for the Historic Tennessee Theatre Foundation, and B. B. was the headliner who packed the house.

Prior to the concert starting, there was an auction of guitars and other exciting prizes, and one Gibson electric resembling “Lucille” went for $25,000! I was only out bid by about $24,990!

Back at the pre-concert warm up, the Cindy’s and Leslie gulped down “Blow Job” shooters, while Don and I did a cowboy shooter (normally 3-fingers of Wild Turkey)! We were amped for blues and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves!

It was a great evening and a return to “doing the town” like Ron and are used to doing.

After the concert, we noticed the buses standing by a side door, which was on our way to the parking garage. However, we got tired of waiting for B. B. to come out, so after about 45 minutes, I took this shot of the license plate and we headed home.

B. B. King is 82 years old, so every time you see him you can’t help but think it might be the last time, so in a way, each concert is now part of history. He even joked on stage that he often sees banners advertising his concert as “B. B. King’s Last Concert!”

B. B.’s concert is really laid back, with stories from the past coming in between each tune. He is such a friendly personality that the stories draw you in just as much as his blues tunes. Any applause is followed by his trademark hands to heart gesture. He truly loves his fans!

He remembered living in Indianola, Mississippi, where he was born, and experiencing the prejudice of the Deep South. As he told it, “All small towns have a train track running through them and Indianola is no exception. They put us (pointing to himself) on one side, and the put you (pointing to the majority white audience) on the other side. I used to do my other job (moving his head as if watching girls walk by), which I did very well, sitting there across the tracks. Sometimes I would have me a beer, and then maybe I’d have me another one, and then I would get kind’a mischievous and want me a drink of water. Well, one of those fountains had a sign over it with the word ‘WHITE’ on it, and the other had ‘COLORED’ on it. So, I would run across those tracks and get me a drink from that ‘white’ fountain and run back across. You know, that ‘white’ water didn’t taste one bit better than that ‘colored’ water!”

He ended up thanking everyone for making the world a “whole lot better than it was when” he was a kid! Ain’t it the truth!

The concert ended with his theme song “The Trill is Gone!” The house stood and moved with the wonderful sounds of the band and ‘Lucille’. My hands were bright red and stinging from ‘keeping time’ even after I got home. It was such a wonderful night and I hope and pray “The King of the Blues” sings the blues for many years to come!

AN EVENING IN DOWNTOWN KNOXVILLE, TENNESSEE

The firm (Smith Barney and friends) that handles my and my brother-in-law’s retirement fortunes provided us with free tickets to see James Gregory at the beautiful Tennessee Theatre Friday (the 13th) evening! We enjoyed a very nice meal at the Downtown Grille and Brewery prior to the comedy concert. Go over to Mushy’s Cookings, for a closer look!

Once inside the beautifully restored theather, beer in hand, we settled in for a great show. Judy and I had seen James some 15 years ago, but he was even funnier Friday evening. However, the old boy had put on about a hundred pounds!

The event was in support of the West Knoxville Rotary Club, who does a lot of charitable work in the area.

Should you get an opportunity to see James Gregory, we recommend you go. He is a hilariously funny Georgia boy and he does not curse at all…I think there was one damn…but people can be funny without using foul language.