– We’ll start with a few items I noticed as I was flipping through the current issue of the Memphis Flyer. Styx and Foreigner are playing Mud Island on June 22, and tickets went on sale this morning. They’re available through Ticketmaster so you’ll no doubt have to pay a hefty convenience fee if you decide to go.
– I see that the Charlie Wood Trio will be playing the Madison rooftop for next Thursday, May 24’s party. Downtowners used to be able to listen to the smooth, mellow sounds of Charlie Wood anytime – he had a regular nightly gig at King’s Palace for years. He gave it up to move on to other projects though, so this is a rare chance to catch Charlie without leaving the 38103 zip code.
– As i perused the real estate listings in the Flyer, I came across what appears to be a great deal on a house in Cooper-Young… a 2 BR, 2BA house with central heat and air at 2044 Elzey for $87,500. You almost never see a house in probably the most desirable quadrant of CY for under six figures, especially one that doesn’t say anything about being a fixer-upper. So I MapQuested it and found that the location is either great or lousy, depending on how you look at it. It’s great because you’re about a 4-block walk away from Celtic Crossing, Cafe Ole, the Young Avenue Deli, Dish, Beauty Shop and all of CY’s other hotspots. It’s lousy because 2044 Elzey appears to be less than half a block from the train tracks. So this definitely isn’t a house to buy if you want quiet. But if you can handle a little noise, might be worth investigating – you’re not going to see a bargain like this in CY very often.
– BBQ Fest report: By mid-afternoon yesterday I felt like my old self again, and walked down to the tent. Hung out on the rooftop deck with Mikey and Clay for about an hour, then walked around the park and took pics of the most interesting tents. Made a quick trip to the Saucer to hand out some wristbands for access to our booth, then headed back. Last night was “Sponsor Night” so we had guests from Terex in the booth for much of the evening, where they enjoyed Willie’s smoked chicken, ribs, and beef brisket. About 9:30 my body just gave out – I just got a sense of, “you better get home right now or you’re going to be so exhausted that you have to call in sick again.” So I actually did the responsible thing and walked home. Hard to believe, right? I hated it that I left so early, since I had invited a lot of VIP guests (meaning: hot girls) to the booth, and some of them surely showed up after I left.
Willie’s pulling the first of the pork shoulder off the grill for lunch at the booth, and I hate it that I won’t be there… but I can’t make it until after work.
CA writer Skippy Blank continues to do his usual excellent job blogging about our booth. The guy definitely has a way with words.
Skippy also snapped a pic of me in my new T-shirt, which I’ll post later this weekend. Let’s just say it’s a very appropriate shirt for me to have on, although it has little to do with this year’s Memphis in May theme of Spain.
I’ll be down there a little after 5, and tonight I will have enough energy to keep going until the park closes. Happy BBQ Fest weekend everyone.