The architect of shock rock, Alice Cooper, brings his show to the Orpheum on Tuesday, September 27. Tickets are $39.50-$125 and go on sale to the general public today at 10 AM.
The South Main Association’s monthly South Main Social happens tonight at South Point Grocery. Members will enjoy bites from the grocery store’s deli while sipping a beer from Wiseacre. Speakers are Chuck Mitchell and Cynthia Ham. The event kicks off at 6 PM. Free for SMA members, $20 for non-members.
The Memphis Songwriters Association will hold a Songwriters’ Showdown Thursday at 7 PM at the Halloran Centre. The top 8 finalists in MSA’s annual songwriters’ competition will face off. There will be a featured performance by Brian Blake, MSA’s 2021 Songwriter of the Year.
The Memphis Police Department has created a Memphis’ Most Wanted website to encourage tips to CrimeStoppers. Tips can be delivered by phone, website, or text, and if your tip helps lead to an arrest and conviction, you could be eligible for a reward up to $2000.
Soul & Spirits Brewery has released Hound Dog Hefeweizen, a wheat beer with hints of clove, apricot, and banana bread. Pick up a 6-pack of cans in the brewery taproom’s grab & go.
Southeast African country Malawi will be celebrated at the Africa in April festival next week. The festival will be held at Robert Church Park on Beale just east of Fourth.
The County Commission approved annual payments to the Memphis Grizzlies that will keep them in town through 2029. The payments replace a controversial plan that would have required the city to buy and distribute tickets if certain average attendance thresholds were not met. Hopefully, by 2029 an NBA championship banner will hang from the rafters at FedExForum and negotiating a new lease will be a no-brainer.
Mane, Memphis doesn’t even get respect from computer simulations. Statistics site FiveThirtyEight has updated its NBA predictions. The computer model gives the Memphis Grizzlies a 41% of appearing in the Western Conference semifinals. That means it sees Memphis as an underdog in the first round, giving whoever is the 7 seed (Minnesota or L.A. Clippers) a 59% chance to advance.
Now, I get it to some extent. Teams with a lot of players with extensive playoff experience have a distinct advantage this time of year. But the Timberwolves and Clippers are mediocre teams. I might give the ‘wolves a 45% chance of winning the first round vs. the Grizzlies and the Clippers 35%. But to call either team a favorite against Memphis? No.
If you’re curious, the rest of the predictions have Memphis
- 20% to appear in the Western Conference finals – so the model thinks there’s an 80% chance the Grizzlies will be upset in one of the first two rounds. No. Respect. At. All.
- 7% to appear in the NBA Finals
- 2% to win the championship
The team the model likes the best is the Boston Celtics, who it gives a 35% chance of winning the NBA title. No other team got even 20%.
Don’t forget to tune into TNT tonight at 8:30 to watch the play-in game that will determine Memphis’ first-round opponent. Go Clippers!
Mayor Jimbo from Mempho questions whether Beale Street bar and club hours need to run as late as they currently do. Currently, bars and clubs in the entertainment district can stay open until 5 AM, and all other bars and clubs in the city until 3 AM. A shooting Sunday morning about 2:20 outside Green Room/Tin Roof prompted those comments from the mayor.
The victim in Sunday’s shooting who died has been identified as Tacquan Smith, a local rapper. He was out with about a dozen other family members on Beale celebrating his late father’s birthday. Smith’s mother claims that he was an innocent bystander and that police in the area were more interested in talking with women than monitoring the street.
Canopy by Hilton is looking to hire an overnight maintenance engineer.
Oh, for crying out loud… Philadelphia has reinstated its indoor mask mandate as the Omicron BA.3 variant spreads. Its rolling 7-day new cases per day rate? 10.1 per 100k according to COVID Act Now. That’s way, way, WAY low to be telling people, even vaccinated and boosted people, they must wear masks.
The 2021 rankings for world’s businest airports are out. Memphis is number 2 behind Hong Kong for cargo. Passenger-wise, Atlanta, Dallas, and (this is kind of a surprise) Denver are the top three. For international passengers, the top airports are Dubai, Istanbul, and Amsterdam, with no U.S. airport breaking the top ten.
It’s National Grilled Cheese Day. Can’t go wrong with Majestic Grille or Bardog Tavern if you want to celebrate the holiday.
I *think* the Blind Bear is going to make that pop culture trivia they did last Tuesday a weekly thing, although I’m not 100% positive because I have not seen a Facebook event listing for tonight. If it happens, it starts at 7:30, it’s very fast-paced, and it’s loads of fun. If it doesn’t happen, you can stick around and watch the play-in game that will determine the Grizzlies’ opponent. That’s my plan for tonight. Back tomorrow with more news.