Last night was the first night of the International Blues Challenge competition on Beale Street. I went down there with my friends Mikey and Chuck. We bought wristbands that got us into all the clubs, and proceeded down the street to listen to some good music.
We started at Handy Park, where we listened to Texas bluesman Jeff Strahan. I was worried about sitting out in the cold, but they had a heated tent! Nice! We had great seats right behind the judges. While Jeff was performing, I caught up on the latest BBQ news from our team captain Chuck.
Then we moved on to the Tap Room, where a bluesman with dreads (didn’t catch his name) was on the stage. It’s the first time in over a year I’ve visited my mug at the Tap Room. As a member of the Mug Club I was able to get 22 ounces of PBR for $2.25. Not bad. I used to be a regular at the Tap Room and realized last night how much I miss the place.
Then we went to the Old Daisy. Our interest there was not so much the band, but the fact that Chuck and I had never been inside the Old Daisy, and Mikey hadn’t in many years. We wanted to see what it looked like inside. Above is a pic of the main room with the band performing on stage.
We were particularly impressed with the Old Daisy’s back room, which had a full bar and memorabilia from past concerts all over the walls.
Chuck (in his “Elwood Que” persona from the Ques Brothers) and Mikey pose in front of the Old Daisy bar.
A view of the posters and records on the walls of the Old Daisy’s back room.
Me on the Old Daisy’s stairs with Gloria, Leigh, and Harmony. Yes, the “I Love Romanian Girls” shirt is still around.
The gang at a table at the Old Daisy. Leigh, Shane, Harmony, Mikey, Gloria.
We had one more stop on our schedule, a blues band from Australia playing at 11. By that point, though, all the Beale Street Big Ass Beers and Tap Room Mug Club PBRs had caught up with me. I headed to Bardog for to-go food (and what happened there is worthy of a separate post), then I was home for the evening.
The IBC continues tonight, with a $15 wristband to get you in all the clubs. More info on the IBC can be found on the Blues Foundation’s website.
I have a friend’s housewarming tonight so I don’t know if I’ll be at the second night of IBC… you never know though. Looks like a great night, with a low of only 48, followed by a weekend with highs in the 60s. This looks like a good weekend to come out of hibernation and be out and about.