Memphis Music & Heritage Festival day 2

Yesterday I walked down to the Blind Bear about 1:30. The Bear is opening at noon this weekend (including Monday) to accommodate festival-goers for the Memphis Music & Heritage Festival. I planned to have a few beers, then go outside at 3 to hear Mouserocket. About 2:50 I was finishing up, sitting in front of the far TV at the bar. Colin grabbed the remote.

“You wouldn’t mind if I changed this to the Arkansas game, would you?” he asked.

Would I MIND??? That change of the channel managed to keep me at the Blind Bear for an additional three and a half hours and six PBRs. The Hogs looked good in their 34-14 victory over Louisiana, and the Bret Bielema era started off with a bang. I’m looking over Arkansas’ schedule as I type this, and I’m thinking it’s going to be a really good year for the team if they get to 7-5 and a bowl appearance. It’s not that the Hogs aren’t very good; it’s that they’re in the SEC West, the toughest division in college football. They can get to 7-5 if they sweep the nonconference schedule (Rutgers isn’t going to be easy though), beat Auburn and State, and upset one of the following three: A&M, Ole Piss, or LSU.

Later in the day, I finally made it out to the festival, and got these:

central bbq nachos

BBQ nachos from Central BBQ! Their food truck is parked at the festival and will be serving nachos, pulled pork and other yummy BBQ treats today.

I still haven’t seen a cooking demo schedule, so I never tweeted it yesterday. I heard that the Nuh-Uh Girl showed up for a free sample as the chicken fried rice demo concluded.

Here are a few music recommendations for today.

  • Banjo workshop, Folklore Store stage, 1 PM
  • The Sheiks, garage punk, Peabody Place at Main stage, 4:45 PM
  • Tonya Dyson, neo-soul, Folklore Store stage, 6:15 PM
  • Sonny Burgess and the Pacers, rockabily, Peabody Place at Main stage, 6:45 PM
  • Swamp Katz, rock, Union at Main stage, 8:30 PM
  • Joyce Cobb, honored performer, Peabody Place at Main stage, 9:45 PM
  • FreeWorld, although not at the festival; go see them in their native habitat at Blues City Cafe, 10:30 PM

With no meaningful football games on today, I plan to spend considerably more time outside.

Watching past episodes of WWE NXT while waiting for the bars to open. That’s the WWE’s developmental territory where the stars of tomorrow learn their craft. It’s really good, especially the women’s division. When I first watched Emma I thought she sucked but I’ve since come to the conclusion that she’s hilarious and I am enjoying her feud with Summer Rae, who is Fandango’s dance partner on the main roster. Check it out if you get a chance. They moved it from Hulu Plus to regular Hulu, so you can watch for free.

Good move by the New England Patriots on retaining Arkansas alum Ryan Mallett at backup QB while cutting Tim Tebow. Mallett is a true NFL quarterback who just needs a little seasoning. Tebow is a sideshow act. Have fun playing in Canada, Tim, and you might want to buy a winter coat, I hear it gets cold up there.

I’m not going to make it to the Majestic’s new Sunday brunch time of 10:30 very often, but this week I’m up early enough. I want to catch up on the latest WordPress news from my friend Otto, who has been traveling to a lot of WordCamps the past month. And of course my “DAWG” John D will be there too. Rest of the day TBD, but I plan on spending a lot of time at the music festival and Blind Bear. I will not be playing poker tonight at 6:30 though. Time to enjoy a Sunday without a Monday behind it!