Majestic folks to take over Brass Door + more Saturday news

Big news on Madison Avenue, as reported by Hungry Memphis: The Majestic Grille folks are taking over the Brass Door. The deal was recently finalized for Patrick and Deni Reilly, owners of the Majestic Grille and the folks responsible for the recent success of the restaurant in Beale Street Landing, to take over operations. The Irish pub will retain its name, and they hope to have the side bar open for sports watching in as little as a couple of weeks. The Brass Door itself will be open by the end of 2017.

Hmmm I don’t know about this. Has Patrick Reilly ever been in an Irish pub in his life? What does he know about fine Irish whiskys? Or Irish stouts? Can you really see him designing a menu of authentic pub food? Man… this could be the biggest flop since Ricky Martin released “She Bang.”

Just kidding, of course. :mrgreen: The Reillys are the perfect people to offer their perspective on how to make the Brass Door prosper. It is a beautiful pub with a beautiful bar and three stories. It’s just slightly hidden away in a Downtown district where most people incorrectly think of Monroe as the northern boundary of the bar and restaurant scene.

I will offer one piece of advice: You have got to be consistent with the hours. If your posted closing time is 11, you can’t shut down at 8:15 because it’s a 35-degree misty November night and you currently have no customers. You have got to stay open until 11. If someone walks up to your door at 9 and sees the “closed” sign, guess what: They’re probably never coming back.

Truth:

There will be a Goldcrest bock party tonight at Westy’s starting at 7 PM. Free tastings of Bock, the latest addition to Goldcrest 51’s family of beers. Live music on the patio by The Breeze featuring Jerry Lucas of the Country Music Hall of Fame. Southern rock, country and bluegrass.

The Circuit Market pop-up market returns to Peabody Place at Main Street today 11-3. Here’s a look at some of the vendors.

The Flyer is back with more tumbleweaves spotted around Memphis.

Photos from the Memphis Farmers Market’s Farm Fest are now online.

Politico recently did an article about controversial Nashville radio host Clay Travis. If that name sounds familiar, he is the one whose recent commentary on CNN was cut short after he said the two things he believes in are “the First Amendment and boobs.” After months of wondering “why would anybody tune in to this guy’s show?”, I’ve figured out his audience: People who will go on and on about sports for hours because they lack the intellectual and emotional depth to discuss topics of substance. When a topic comes up that requires thought and introspection and examination of one’s inner values, they go, “Hey, did you see that Ortiz hit in the top of the ninth?” to return the conversation to waters that are sufficiently shallow. Those are the kind of people who are fans of Clay Travis.

Bardog is once again having a burlesque show on Halloween night. Start time is 9 PM.

Business Insider has a comparison of “cheap” domestic beers. See which beer won. Technically, Yuengling had a higher score than the winner, but it isn’t a beer you can drink a lot of in a short time, and it’s not a cheap beer except on the east coast.

Memphis Type History has a podcast about the histories of the Peabody and Hotel Pontotoc.

Bracketology!

The New York Times has an article on how Rick Pitino can’t escape being held accountable this time. I can’t stand people who see lying as just a normal part of day-to-day life.

Time to kick things off at Bardog! Best Bartender winner Bloom has the day off, so I guess it will be Panda Time. After that I’ll walk over to Blind Bear for D-RANKS with B-RAD. Yep, he’s working Saturdays now, and they have Hung Over Like a Bear brunch until 6 PM, with $3 cinnamon whiskey, moonshine, mimosas, and Bloody Marys, as well as $15 bottles of bubbly. Come see him. B-RAD, I have a story for you today that is going to blow your mind.

Back tomorrow with more news and possibly a photo or two of the troll.

Friday update

The final event in the event in the Fall Concert Series happens tonight at the pocket park at 151 Madison across from the Brass Door. Tonya Dyson and Thomas Crivens will perform and beer will be available for purchase. 4-6 PM.

Happy Friday, YOGA! Downtown Yoga is holding free yoga classes all day today. They will be collecting donations for hurricane relief.

Memphis Pride Fest kicks off today at Handy Park near Fourth and Beale.

Don’t forget that Fridays in the fall are Fourth Bluff Dance Parties. From 6 to 9 this evening there will be a dance floor set up just west of the University of Memphis law school at 1 N. Front. The dance parties are free to attend. Beer and wine will be sold on site, and the Arepa 901 food truck will be there to sell food.

Important: Depending on your phone and your provider, you have options for thwarting scam calls.

Tonight at South Main Trolley Night, Stock & Belle (387 S. Main) will have a meet and greet with Dil & Kali of The Ekata Collection. Ekata teaches refugee women how to make jewelry. At this event, two refugee women from Nepal will show off the skills they have learned. They will have a bead bar and will make custom pieces for you. Light refreshments will be served and the Sushicide Squad food truck will be outside.

Down the street at South Main Book Juggler (548 S. Main) there will be The End of Healing book signing. I’m just going to paste in the description from Facebook: “DR. JIM BAILEY has dedicated his career to empowering people to take charge of their health. But after working as a physician, professor, community health advocate, and healthcare researcher for ten years, he realized that his scientific papers on improving health care quality were not likely to reach the general public. For Americans to get safe, effective and affordable health care, they first had to know why and how they were getting scammed. An avid reader of novels and lover of the classics, Dr. Bailey became convinced that America needed a story to point the way to the true healing Americans need most.”

From ESPN: Find out where Grizzlies guard Mike Conley gets his sense of style

Off to work for a half day, then an afternoon and evening of mischief! I am in a no-filter kind of mood, so we shall see where the day takes me. Back tomorrow with more news.

Shout-outs to BOM winners and Thursday news

Before I start with the news, I have to give a couple of shout-outs to winners of the Memphis Flyer’s Best of Memphis poll. The BOM issue hit the stands yesterday, and the winners will be put on the Flyer website today.

Congratulations to Brittany Bloom Leach on her first place win in Best Bartender. I start the weekend at Bloom’s bar at Bardog Tavern at 11 most Saturday mornings for their weekend brunch. They have brunch on Sunday too. On Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays you can visit Bloom starting at 8 AM for breakfast at Bardog. It can be very therapeutic to sit there and watch the Today Show and play the jukebox and sip a PBR and chat with Bloom early in the morning.

I also want to congratulate Mike Mustapha at Max’s Sports Bar. He didn’t make the top three but just being nominated in a city full of great bartenders is an honor. Go see him for chocolate salty balls in the evening Wednesday-Sunday. Also, congratulations to Max’s Sports Bar for making the Readers’ Choice list for Best Sports Bar. I’m going to speculate here that going nonsmoking indoors was the tipping point that brought Max’s back into the winners’ circle.

You like us, you really like us! was what Ghost River posted to their Instagram account yesterday. The brewery and taproom at Main and Crump finished second in Best Local Brewery. They put out a consistent product (love that Grindhouse Cream Ale) and it is always a treat when I am able to make it all the way south to the taproom. Let’s see what they’ve got coming up this week.

  • Today: Cornhole tournament and Memphis Mojo food truck
  • Friday: Ono Poke pop-up lunch 12-3, with the Memphis Mojo food truck returning at 4
  • Saturday: Small Shop featuring Replinish Kombucha (wait a minute, that wasn’t what I blogged yesterday; I need to check on this) with the Sushiside Squad food truck at 5
  • Sunday: Flying Sobies food truck serving fried Cornish game hens and waffles. Bloody beers, beer-itas, and Gose-mosas. Songwriter Night 5-7:30 with host Tiffany Harmon and this week’s guest Ben Ricketts.

Wiseacre took the top spot in Best Local Brewery and Memphis Made rounded out the top three. If you’re visiting Memphis, or if you have yet to put a toe in the waters of local craft beer, you cannot go wrong with any of the three winners. Congratulations to all of them.

Excited to read that the Memphis Grizzlies have signed JaMychal Green to a 2-year, $17 million deal. It’s a major and deserved pay upgrade for Green. It’s also a short-term deal, giving the Grizzlies and Green the right to explore the market in 2019. Here’s hoping he makes a big impact at power forward in the coming year and establishes himself as Z-bo’s rightful successor.

The Grizzlies, by the way, are signing kids 7-16 up for a Fall Break Clinic on Friday, October 13. Attendees will develop their shooting, dribbling, and defensive skills. They will receive a ticket to the Grizzlies-Pelicans game that night and will have the ability to watch top stars like Marc Gasol, Mike Conley, and Chandler Parsons practice before the game.

The Downtown Memphis Commission has opened its search for president/CEO following the departure of Terence Patterson.

The MBJ reports that progress on a new hotel at Jefferson and B.B. King is finally moving forward.

The bus system in Memphis gets a badly needed review as part of the Memphis 3.0 plan. I will say it one more time: This will not be a great city until all of its residents have access to reliable and prompt public transportation.

Job news: The Overton Park Conservancy is hiring a Director of Development.

That’s it for now. Back tomorrow with more.

Wed update #2: Trolley Night and more news

Friday night of this week is the last Friday of the month, and you know what that means… it’ll be South Main Trolley Night with most shops in the neighborhood open until 9 or later. The South Main Association will be having their Oktoberfest celebration with food and beer in their usual spot next to Bluff City Coffee. If you’re a member, the celebration is free… even if you’re not a member, the $10 they are charging for all-you-can-drink beer is a very reasonable price point compared to other Oktoberfest celebrations. Come on out and join your neighbors!

If you want to check out some live music that night, it will be Trolley Night Shakedown at 550 S. Main from 7 to 9. Singer-songwriters Sean Apple, Maria Spence, Guy Venable, and Massimo Bevilacqua will perform.

Also that evening, Bailey Bigger will play outside Guiding Point Financial at 465 S. Main. Karen Brown will play the MLK 50 concert at the National Civil Rights Museum Amphitheater. Opera Memphis will conclude its 30 Days of Opera celebration with performances on South Main.

From AP: A lot of other nervous people are waiting for the other shoe to drop as an investigation into corruption in college basketball continues. Already, four college basketball assistant coaches have been named, along with a shoe company, financial advisers, agents, and the Universities of Louisville and Miami. Let me make this clear – this is not the NCAA investigating and handing down slap-on-the-wrist sanctions. This is the FBI investigating and people will likely be going to prison. The underlying issue here is systemic exploitation of student-athletes that the NCAA never had the authority or the balls to prevent.

Sports writers report that Rick Pitino was fired as Louisville’s men’s head basketball coach this morning (or, put on administrative leave, meaning effectively fired). Buh-bye, Rick! Also, AD Tom Jurich was fired (or placed on leave, but again, effectively fired) after refusing to fire Pitino. Hmmm, I would not be surprised to see another head coach at Louisville (whose last name rhymes with Pitino) implicated in this before all is said and done.

Josh Pastner and Tubby Smith may not have taken Memphis to any Final Fours the past 8 years, but you can damn sure bet they have steered the university away from getting caught up in this mess.

The City of Memphis is offering Manhood University for six Saturdays this fall.

The America, a cruise ship operated by American Cruise Lines, will be docked at Greenbelt Park from 8:30 AM to 6 PM tomorrow.

Bluff City Soap will be the featured vendor at Small Shop Saturday at the Ghost River taproom this Saturday. This is a chance for you to get to know one of our local makers while drinking great craft beer. Bluff City Soap makes all-natural soaps that contain no animal products or detergents. Their soaps are safe for your skin and contain ingredients that you can actually pronounce.

The City of Memphis is looking to hire a Recreation Program Manager – Parks & Neighborhoods.

That’s it for now. Back tomorrow with more.

Wed update: Maciel’s to reopen next week and more news

Recently I have been asked several times, “When is Maciel’s Tortas and Tacos going to reopen?” The much-loved authentic Mexican restaurant on the Main Street Mall had to close July 15 after a ceiling collapse. Around that time the owner said it would be about five weeks to get open again. However, five weeks came and went and I heard nothing, leading me to wonder if the question should be changed to “Is Maciel’s going to reopen?”

Hungry Memphis has an answer to that question: Yes. Maciel’s plans to open toward the end of next week. Same menu, same decor. This news will make a lot of people very happy.

Ghost River is hiring an Assistant Brewer. They’re looking for someone who wants to learn everything about the brewing process, including fermentation, sanitation, quality control, packaging and more. They want someone with an eye for detail who works well as part of a team, and if you have an interest in the science of beer, that’s a bonus. Also a bonus if you have experience working with lab or technical equipment. They have full- and part-time positions available. Send cover letters and resumes to info@ghostriverbrewing.com.

In other Ghost River news, the Ono Poke Pop-up Shop is back for lunch this Friday noon to 3.

Hmmm interesting, because you know who’s off Friday afternoon? Me! I put in a request for that half-day I had been thinking about, and it was approved. Gonna be in the mood for some good food followed by some mischief! Ghost River, you just might see me at the taproom.

Memphis Made Brewing Co. is hosting the Memphis Bigfoot Festival on Saturday, October 21 from 5 to 8 PM. 50 years ago that day, the famous film footage presenting evidence of the existence of Bigfoot was taken. Panel discussion with Bigfoot footage shown, and a Bigfoot town hall. Festival organizer Toby Sells will be there recording the very first episode of his podcast, The Southern Dark, with Bigfoot as the topic.

A movie is being filmed in Downtown Memphis. It’s a film about Brian Banks, a football player who went to prison for a crime he didn’t commit. The film site is near Main and Jefferson and the director is Tom Shadyac.

That’s it for now. Off to work. Possibly a second post at lunchtime.

Wednesday update: Important PBR and Fireball news, Blessing of the Animals, and more

Got more information on specials at Max’s Sports Bar:

$5 for a PBR and a Fireball during happy hour? That’s a special with “Paul Ryburn” written all over it. Think of it this way – pay full price for a PBR (a very reasonable $2.50 all the time at Max’s) and get a Fireball for $2.50. Hmmm I’m thinking about taking a half-day on Friday… perhaps I will roll up to Max’s right when it opens at 4:30 and give the new special a try. $30 bar tab by 6:30? Very, very possible.

I really ljke the way Jerry Jones and the Dallas Cowboys handled the playing of the national anthem last night. Prior to the start of the anthem, they locked arms and knelt together as a team. Then they stood, united as a team with arms locked, out of respect to the flag as the anthem played. That’s an action that brings everyone together and says “we respect each other’s points of view.” We need more of that at a time when so many are seeking to divide this country rather than unite it.

There will be a Blessing of the Animals in Court Square at 4 PM Saturday, in an event organized by Calvary Episcopal Church. There will be a procession from Calvary to Court Square, songs by a choir, a prayer, and a reading. Bring your pets and join Rockey Redbird, MPD K-9s and mounted patrols, and MFD Dalmatians.

Teachers: The honored country curriculum guide has been released by Memphis in May for the 2017-18 school year. Help your students learn all about 2018’s honored country, the Czech Republic.

Well this is not good: A man was allegedly beaten unconscious with a stool inside Purple Haze nightclub about 4 in the morning Sunday, Action News 5 reports.

Explore Bike Share, a 600-bike bike sharing nonprofit that will begin operations in Memphis in 2018, is seeking an executive director.

Following an investigation by the FBI, fraud and corruption charges have been brought on 10 people involved with men’s college basketball, including four assistant coaches and the director of global sports marketing for Adidas. Hmmm one of the assistant coaches is from Auburn… wouldn’t it be nice to see Bruce Pearl dragged into this?

That’s it for now. Back tomorrow with more news.

Miso Tonkatsu Ramen @ Oshi Asian Kitchen + Monday news

Yesterday I tried the Miso Tonkatsu Ramen at Oshi Asian Kitchen. It’s a creamy pork broth with sliced pork, boiled egg, seaweed, bamboo shoots, bean sprouts, spinach, kimchi, daikon, and red ginger. Very very good.

Oktoberfest season is upon us and this coming Saturday, September 30 you can celebrate Oktoberfest at Wiseacre Brewing Co. from 1 to 10. There will be plenty of singing of Ein Prost and The Mighty Souls Brass Band will be playing Polka. Discounts if you show up in costume. The taproom will be decorated, and Dave’s Bagels will be on site.

High Ground News has a great news story on Memphis pop-up food vendors.

Max’s Sports Bar has new bourbon and hot dog menus. Check ’em out (click to see a larger size):

There will be a Monster Market opening soon at 88 N. Main. Although the first day it will be open is October 4, they will have a grand opening celebration Friday, October 13. After work they will have spooky cocktails and light munchies, and they will stay open until 9 that evening.

No. 2 Vance will host Costumes & Cocktails on the Rriver – Happy Hour Edition from 6:30 to 11 PM Tuesday, October 31. Food, open bar, and one of Memphis’ hottest DJs. Tickets are $20 and you can buy them here.

Busy day at work, time to get back to it. Back tomorrow with more news.

Sacrifices

First of all, a very happy birthday to our friend Mary Pat, who along with her husband Dennis conquered Mount Kilimanjaro for St. Jude last year.

The Moody Ques got together yesterday for our third and final practice cook for Best Memphis Burger Fest.

A lot of planning goes into Burger Fest. We got out a notebook and started writing down all the things we need to make sure to bring to the festival – ingredients, equipment and of course, beer. We don’t want any last-minute scrambles at load-in.

A big part of the reason behind our success is a great team managing the grill. Drew and Mac took care of things out there yesterday. We did timed cooks yesterday since we have to turn in entries on time at Burger Fest.

John D bought an electric smoker and for some reason we were tasked with assembling it. Our teammate Kao who has a pedigree for manual labor unfortunately wasn’t there. Misty asked me to take this picture of her hard at work while the boys watched football.

Per agreement with the team, I promised not to post photos of the finished product. Other teams read this blog and I don’t want them stealing our ideas. However, I received permission to post this one. “Oooh… the Moody Ques are putting CHEESE on their burger… we need to step our game up.”

By the way – if you see me in person and are not on another team, I will be happy to show you burger photos on my phone.

We cooked our Traditional Cheeseburger and it was mighty tasty. We also held a runoff vote for our top two ideas for Anything Goes, and ended up picking a combination of the two. Totally solid. From my days of playing poker, I realize that you can’t win every hand, because there’s luck involved. However, win or lose, at the end of the hand if you feel you played it the best you possibly could, you have to feel good about your performance. The Moody Ques have earned the right to feel good at Burger Fest whether we finish first, last, or somewhere in between.

You can’t have a successful team without sacrifice, and there were were sacrifices to made yesterday. Specifically:

The Arkansas game. Arkansas played Texas A&M yesterday at 11, nationally televised on ESPN. Initially the practice cook was set for Sunday, and I was going to spend yesterday at my home away from home on the south side, Max’s Sports Bar, watching the game with fellow Razorback fans. The move to Saturday canceled those plans. Fortunately our inspirational leader/father figure had WatchESPN on his phone.

I can’t use “Can you blame us for going 6-6? We’re in the SEC West” as an excuse anymore. Arkansas is a mediocre team in a sea of other mediocre teams (and Alabama). They should never have let that game drag on to overtime. I’m still not in the “Fire Bielema” camp though. I think he’s capable of developing a winning program, especially given the current state of the SEC. He just needs a couple more years. I tell you one thing, if Arkansas makes it to the Liberty Bowl I am going to camp out at Max’s Sports Bar hoping Coach makes another visit.

Skillets of Greatness. BreakFest 901 was yesterday, a celebration of breakfast and brunch. Teams competed in breakfast sandwich, breakfast sweets, bacon lovers, omelet, and Anything Goes. We were approached about competing but turned down the offer, not wanting to be distracted from our Burger Fest practices. The winning teams got Skillets of Greatness rather than trophies.

Anyone have a head count as to how many teams competed in BreakFest? I haven’t seen a number anywhere.

And now for the sacrifice that really hurt…

D-RANKS with B-RAD. Two months ago, our Sunday brunch Blind Bear bartender B-RAD tore his meniscus playing football with his son. He had to have surgery in August. I knew his return was imminent, but it turned out to be sooner than I thought. I got to John D’s house for the practice cook a little after 11 yesterday. With time to kill, I pulled out my phone and started surfing Facebook. I saw this:

I considered going “(cough)(cough) Hey John, I’m not feeling well, since this is a food event I better head back Downtown so I don’t infect anyone.” But I couldn’t do that to the team. At BBQ Fest, I have no role on the team outside maintaining the team website and email. I know nothing about BBQ. Burger Fest, however, is different. I’m a former judge. I have feedback to offer about how to get the scores up to 9s, especially in Appearance which is a factor many teams overlook. So I resigned myself to an afternoon of watching football with awesome people and sampling delicious burgers.

About 3 I got back Downtown and headed to the Blind Bear.

The gang was all there. I got the pleasure of hanging out with Katie (not Mac) and Wesley for a bit, and Rahul and Tony were there too. Rahul and Tony were discussing their plans for Halloween. “We’re going to go as butter and toast,” Rahul said.

“Butter goes on top of toast,” I replied. “So I guess Tony’s butter.”

B-RAD will be working Saturday brunch for a while, that being an easier shift than Sunday. So I guess Bardog then Bear is my plan from here on out on Saturdays. Wait, that was already my plan.

Attn Jeannette: Is there ANY chance someone can cover Brad’s shift Saturday, October 7 so he can come hang out with the Moody Ques at Burger Fest?

I’ll be back at the Bear for Sunday brunch action today. I’m currently about 50/50 on whether I will attend Memphis Farmers Market’s Farm Fest at Loflin Yard today at 5. Great event for a great cause and I want to go, but I will need to lay off the Fireball at brunch if that is to be a plan. We shall see. Outta here for now, back tomorrow with more.

 

Saturday update

Happy Saturday everyone! If you don’t have plans for today, check the past several days of my blog posts. It seems like I posted about a million things that are going on today. If none of those appeal to you, why not head down to Max’s Sports Bar today at 11 AM to watch Arkansas take on Texas A&M, and Tennessee take on UMass. Or hold off until the evening shift to watch the Salukis of Southern Illinois play your Memphis Tigers.

Or, if you’re not a football fan, there’s this:

The Halloran Centre has announced the cancellation of its Tuesday with Morrie series, following an announcement by Jamie Farr’s management team that he is pulling out of the production.

It’s been an offseason of innovation and facility upgrades for the Memphis Grizzlies. Check out the center-hung HD video board!

There will also be giant HD monitors in each corner of the arena. The Grizzlies won’t be suffering backstage either. A locker room has to feel like a home to the players, and they have taken steps to make that happen. They’ve expanded the weight room, enhanced the LED lighting, given the players more seating and storage space, and installed digital video screens. There are new luxury spa, sauna, and wet rooms, and for the players’ enjoyment there are new ping-pong and pool tables. The upgrades make FedExForum among the very best arenas in the NBA in terms of player facilities.

In other Grizzlies news, they are starting to take steps to get down to their regular-season roster limit of 15 players by trading Troy Daniels to Phoenix.

The Moody Ques public relations team is headed to Midtown this morning. Deputy Director Perjorie T. Roll and I will get in the car here in a bit and drive to team president John D’s house for our third practice cook for Best Memphis Burger Fest. Later today I will pay a visit to my home away from home on the south side, Max’s Sports Bar. All right, I can’t think of anything else to talk about, so I’m out. Back tomorrow with more.

Ghost River Dock Parties and more Friday news

Big news from Ghost River this morning: They will have a Dock Party Concert Series every Friday in October. They will be turning their shipping dock into a large musical stage. There will be a $5 cover charge for each concert (cash-only) and there will be a bar (card-only). Ghost River is family-friendly, and the patio is dog-friendly. Each night there will be a food truck on site. Here’s the lineup:

  • October 6: Kelley Anderson + Suavo J The Hip Hop Trombonist; food truck Just Wraps
  • October 13: HEELS + Faux Killas; food truck Yippie Trippie & the Porkstars
  • October 20: The Incredible Hook + The Infidelles; food truck Gourmade
  • October 27: Juju Bushman + The Neatos; food truck Memphis MoJo Cafe

In other Ghost River news, painting class with local artist Danny Broadway returns Thursday, October 12. $30 cash or check (make check payable to Danny Broadway) and all materials will be supplied. Reservations are preferred. Email emma@ghostriverbrewing.com to reserve your spot. Quasi halai Asian Street Food will be the food truck for this event.

Josh and Jeremy from Star and Micey will play the Concert Series at Madison Avenue Pocket Park, 151 Madison across from Brass Door, this afternoon 4-6 PM. Beer will be available for purchase.

Devin Crutcher will headline tonight’s MLK50 concert series on the lawn of the National Civil Rights Museum, 6 to 8 PM. There will also be food trucks, NCRM vendor booths, spoken word artists, a DJ, and more. Bring your lawn chair.

The Avett Brothers play the Mud Island Amphitheater tonight 6-9 PM.

Not a Downtown event but a friend is in one of the bands: No Love for Lions, No Comply, and Casiowares play Growlers, 1911 Poplar, tonight from 8 to midnight.

So there’s this:

Bobbie & Tasha play the Residence Inn rooftop tomorrow night from 6 to 9.

Laramie plays the Hard Rock a month from today, Sunday, October 22 from 7 to 10 PM. This is an indie rock band with multi-talented singers and musicians led by singer and songwriter Laramie Renae. This show is free and all ages.

Fall into Autumn is the theme of the Memphis Farmers Market this Saturday. Farmers will be there with the last of the summer crops and the first of the fall crops. Come talk with the people who grow your food. There will be live music all day and the Master Gardeners will be there to answer your questions. The Market runs every Saturday through the end of October from 7 AM to 1 PM under the pavilion at Front and G.E. Patterson.

Look what Jerry “The King” Lawler had to wake up to this morning:

Terry Funk used to refer to himself as “middle-aged and crazy,” but he’s 73 now (and still wrestling!) so I guess he can’t say that anymore. Perhaps we can find somebody else to adopt the moniker.

I like how Funk drew a picture of eyes and then drew an X through them, for the benefit of fans who can’t read. Which is probably the majority of fans attending this show.

CNN will host a debate Monday over the repeal of Obamacare. In the red corner, Senators Bill Cassidy and Lindsey Graham, authors of the repeal legislation. In the blue corner, Senators Bernie Sanders and Amy Kloubchar, opponents of the repeal.

I have mixed feelings about this. On one hand, I want to shout FEEL THE BERN!, thinking that Bernie is going to kill the Republicans in this debate, picking their cruel and harmful legislation apart piece by piece. However, I also feel like the GOP is playing Bernie here, knowing that his vision for healthcare is the opposite extreme. What we need is a bipartisan effort to meet in the middle. It seems like the Republicans are debating Bernie to help ensure we never get that.

That’s it for now. Back tomorrow.