http://www.twofeetthick.com/2009/06/two-feet-thick-ev-in-nashville/
http://www.twofeetthick.com/2009/06/twofeetthick-ev-nashville-2/
... Kathy was with me, and she gets all the details, so I'll just give my impressions... Since I stupidly forgot my camera, all the pics here in this post are Kathy's...
First of all, it was fucking hot. Jesus, how do people live through summers in much of the country? It was in the upper 90s and humid; I'm used to dry heat in California (and not so much of it)...
Nashville was a surprise, the main drag being rather run down and small. I suppose if you like what passes for country music these days, it could have been fun bar hopping.
The Ryman was indeed lovely, and we sat in church pews, listening to Ed sing, laugh, tell stories, and share parts of himself with those of us lucky to be there. The shows were better than previous shows I've seen... he seems more relaxed, and has figured out how to shut up the loud drunks. Two lovely shows there, the first one with a great setlist, and the second with more stories, including a very funny one about skeet shooting with the Kings of Leon. He was talking about the boys, and how committed they were to their skintight jeans and boots, even playing basketball in these outfits... After getting drunk and high, they decided to take Eddie skeet shooting... Ed held his guitar like a shotgun to demonstrate... On the first pull, he shot all 3 shots without hitting the thing. They reloaded and advised him to take his time, use one shot, and aim... So he did, and sure enough, the disc exploded! Everyone was cheering behind him, and so he turned around, still holding the loaded gun, and "skinny jeans and boots went flying everywhere"...
The second show brought us Ed singing "The End" which is supposed to be on their new album coming out in September, a very, very sad song about someone dying (the song is sung in first person) and leaving his wife with the kids... I was crying by the end, and Ed also wiped away his tears... then channeled that energy into the best Arc I've ever heard. For those who aren't familiar, Ed uses a loop pedal to layer harmonies and wails in a very spiritual concoction.
The drive to Memphis was pretty uneventful, except for stopping at a truck stop which had miles and miles of aisles of every kind of junk you might want to buy...
We had to stop and eat at a Waffle House, since we had a Waffle House virgin with us... gotta love those hash browns!
After we got to Memphis, we checked in, and went to Graceland at the end of the day. It was far more interesting than I had imagined... and there was literally about 10 other people there while we were. After we finished, and were looking at the cars and planes, a few tour buses pulled up and hordes poured out... my friends recognized Steven Van Zandt amongst the tour people...
That night, I had to have Memphis barbeque, so we ventured the one block to Beale street and had the best ribs I've had in my life! (Course, I don't eat much meat anymore...) Then we wandered a couple doors down to an outdoor beer garden with a live band playing R&B, and had a Big Ass Beer. It was a lot of fun, with people dancing, good music, and two girls doing an ass-off (competing to see who could ass-dance the most sexily)... only to discover that one was a guy...
The next day, I pretty much stayed in the hotel, except to venture out to eat and go to the show.... By the time I walked the 2 blocks to the Orpheum, I was dripping in sweat anyway. The Orpheum is quite simply, the most gorgeous theatre I've been to. Very tastefully done; ornate, but not gaudy. There was a late release of tickets on the front side sections, and scalpers got stuck with most of them outside, and security was lax, so my friends and I all got to sit together in the 4th and 5th rows. They even let our friend in a wheelchair come down and sit next to me. It was a blast. Right in front of the speakers, and the bass was turned up high, so every time Ed sang deep, we literally felt it. The deep notes of Arc just made us vibrate, and when Ed went into "Can't Help Falling In Love", I lost it. The emotion of seeing Graceland, Elvis' grave, and his untimely death, and then hearing/feeling Ed sing that beautiful song in his deepest register, well, that was clearly the highlight.
