Three Ring Circle, The Station Inn, Nashville, TN - 4/20/2011

We had had dinner at Virago in/near the Gulch for a professional event and, being the neighborhood, decided to pay a spur of the moment visit to the Station Inn.  I had read about a sort of bluegrass all star band called Three Ring Circle doing a show, so we figured we'd check it out.

The Station Inn has the coolest vibe and history-soaked feeling of almost any venue in the city.  We got a pitcher of Bud Light and settled in.  It was about half full.  The band came on just after 9:00 and played a pretty killer newgrass set (we only stayed for the first set, as it was a "school night").  The dobro player was especially ridiculous.  It's definitely a Nashville perk to be able to see world class bluegrass players on a random Wednesday night with about 100 other folks, no big deal, just hanging out and enjoying it.

Rush, Bridgestone Arena, Nashville, TN - 4/3/2011

We had just flown in from South Carolina where we had been for an engagement party (and amazing meals at FIG, Hominy Grill and the Marina Variety Store [see photo of softshell crab, eggs, hashbrowns, etc. to the right - amazing]) a few hours before heading downtown to see Rush.  We had time for a quick meal at the Local Taco and made it down to the Bridgestone in time to see many dudes filing into the venue.  We grabbed some beers and made it to our seats with time to spare.  The stage was pretty geeked out with tons of lights and odd contraptions.

The band came out to a very odd, somewhat overlong video intro (again, super geeky) and launched into a killer opening twofer of "The Spirit of Radio" and "Time Stand Still," a somewhat boring middle of the first set, and then a fantastic ending of the set with an especially great "Marathon" (not one of my favorites of theirs).  The second set, with Moving Pictures played in its entirety, was a real highlight.  The band sounded super tight to me.  We made it to "2112" when fatigue set in.  We made it out during that song, and it pains me to have missed "La Villa Strangiato," but after "YYZ," I think I'll live.

It was a fun, tight show, though this is a band followed by obsessives who are going to love all the new songs (some of which are dreadful) and basically go bananas for every single part of the show.  What's most impressive to me is that, as far as I can tell, it really is just the 3 guys on stage making all this insanely complex, precise racket.  And seeing Neil Peart do his drum solo is something to behold ...

A fun, geeked out good time ...

 

Video Intro (Rash: The Real History of Rush Act 1)
The Spirit of Radio
Time Stand Still
Presto
Stick It Out
Workin' Them Angels
Leave That Thing Alone
Faithless
BU2B

Freewill

Marathon

Subdivisions

Intermission

Set 2:

Video Intro (Rash: The Real History of Rush Act 2)

Tom Sawyer

Red Barchetta

YYZ

Limelight

The Camera Eye

Witch Hunt

Vital Signs

Caravan

Drum Solo (Love 4 Sale)

Closer to the Heart (with Alex acoustic intro)

2112 Overture/Temples of Syrinx

Far Cry

Encore:

La Villa Strangiato

Working Man

Video Outro (I Still Love You Man)

Prairie Home Companion, Ryman Auditorium, Nashville, TN - 3/26/2011

Going to this show definitely entailed a certain acceptance of getting older, hopefully graying gracefully and with dignity. I've sporadically enjoyed the Prairie Home Companion radio show for years, somewhat secretively, and knowing that Garrison Keillor is planning retirement in 2013, I felt like this was quite a chance to see the show live.

Much to our surprise, there were a lot of young faces at this sold out show on a rainy, gusty Saturday. It was interesting to be in the Ryman during daylight hours with sunshine pouring through the stained glass windows.  They were actually selling beer (another shocker for me), so we grabbed some drinks and made it to our seats.

The musical numbers spread throughout the evening included Sam Bush, the Civil Wars (who sounded great live, though their album is a bit slick for my taste), Sara Watkins and Emmylou Harris.  The comedy bits included some of the musicians, Keillor sang with the various artists as he is wont to do, the news from Lake Woebegon was pretty enchanting but on the lighter side.  Keillor called Broadway a National Park of honkeytonks, which I think is a pretty cool descriptoin.  It was pretty magical to see these performers (including the PHC regulars) put on such a production and keep it old-timey yet very relevant and fun.

We capped this off with a trip to Robert's, which as always did not disappoint ...

Guilty Pleasures, Mercy Lounge, Nashville, TN - 3/5/2011

This evening found us heading out to the Mercy Lounge en masse in party mode (meaning we were up for a night out past midnight).  The Guilty Pleasures always put on a fun show with a totally oddball mix of 80's songs, from the obvious to the sublimely obscure.  This was no exception, and it again really showed off the talent of these guys.

The coolest part, though, and the super memorable aspect of the show, was when Jonathon Cain of Journey joined the band for "Faithfully," "Touchin' Lovin' Squeezin'," "Separate Ways," and "Don't Stop Believing." His daughter joined, as well, as she is an aspiring singer.  He sounded great and took lead vocals along with his daughter on "Faithfully."  I didn't realize that he wrote/co-wrote all those songs.  Pretty cool to see him in such a tiny venue when Journey still plans arena gigs.

Definitely an "only in Nashville" type of thing ...