Stumblin’ Elvis 2013

Special guest post by The Annoying Elvis Tourist

Photo Aug 17, 6 45 18 PM

Note from Paul: Last night I was in the Silly Goose about 6:30. This guy came in asking how to get to Graceland, saying how excited he was to be in the home of the King, Elvis Presley, and the birthplace of rock and roll. He had on a pink bedazzled Elvis hat, an “Elvis 35th” T-shirt (even though this is the 36th), and was accessorized with Elvis arm band and coin purse. He had his camera around his neck, so I told him there was an Elvis Pub crawl happening next door and asked if he’d like to cover it for my blog. He was very excited and said yes immediately. I got a photo of him (above, with Katie Mac) before he took off.

Last night was so exciting! There were Elvises, Elvises everywhere congregating at the Flying Saucer. Here are a few photos I took:

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After the Flying Saucer, the Elvises stumbled to the Blind Bear. Did you know what Elvis likes Mason jars full of PBR?

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Then we made our way to the Peabody to walk through the lobby. On the way, this happened.

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It seemed like the Elvises got stopped every 10 feet by tourists wanting a photo. That’s part of the fun of the pub crawl though.

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In the past the Peabody wasn’t very happy to have us there. This year things were different. They let us take all the photos that we wanted with tourists and even the staff. One of the security guys in a dark suit came over and told us we were welcome to be there and they were happy to have us. I really appreciated that.

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Beale Street. More tourists, more photos. My friends who were in costume told me it took them 45 minutes to walk from Third to Second, which is about par for the course for the pub crawl.

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Meanwhile, back at the Saucer, we dressed Alissa up in Blue Hawaii scarves and leis.

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Even the door guy got in on the fun.

Full album (25 photos) here. We even got media coverage, with a local TV station sending a reporter to interview the organizers and the Elvises. If I can find a link to the story I will post it. (Edit: Found it. View it here.)

The highlight of the evening for me was discussing Stumblin’ Elvis with Nate, a new manager at the Saucer who got handed the project at the very last minute. Nate sees a lot of potential in the event for future years and hopes to grow it. He told me, “You have to start planning for Stumblin’ Elvis 2014 the day after the 2013 one is over.” YES! I’m glad to see people are thinking that way. This event could get huge if planned far enough in advance.

Fun times. The Annoying Elvis Tourist will be back for 2014.

Sat update: New CY Regional Beerfest location, Abita Andygator, Orpheum raffle, 666 Riverside, films about the future of Downtown and more

As longtime readers of this blog know, I consider the Cooper-Young Regional Beerfest to be the best Memphis beer festival of the year. No social scene, no RSVP Magazine taking photos, just lots of beer and lots of ways to learn more about beer. Many of the brewers appear personally in the booths where you can chat with them, and there’s an education tent. In the past three years the festival has been in a parking lot on Walker. This year, however, they are moving it to Midtown Autowerks at 795 S. Cooper. The larger space will accommodate more brewers and more booths. It will also be conveniently located across the street from Memphis Made Brewery, which local brewer Drew Barton should have open by then. Tickets will go on sale September 13 and the event date is Saturday, October 19. Keep up with Beerfest news on their website, Facebook, Twitter, or subscribe to their email list.

In other beer news, I was told by several people last night that my “Paul’s PBR Review” post about the Silly Goose was very well received. Glad to hear it. I’m working on a second post about Max’s Sports Bar that is about two-thirds done. Not all the posts will be as serious as the one about the Goose – I plan on having some fun with this series – but I’m glad people find them useful and informative. By the time the series has had its run, I hope to show that you can find a good PBR in the most unexpected places.

In beer news that isn’t about PBR, when I went to Beale Street yesterday, I noticed a beer deal that is worth mentioning. Blues City Cafe has a 32 oz. cup of Abita Andygator for only $8.50. That is a delicious craft beer and it used to be one of my go-to beers at the Flying Saucer. At 8% ABV, it’s really an equally good value for the money as a $5 32 oz. Bud, and you’ll actually be drinking a good beer as you walk around Beale or sit at the bar at George Paul’s Last Call.

Advice for PR people: When you’re requesting media placement, check to see if your event has already been mentioned before you ask. I say this because I got an email from the PR firm the Flying Saucer contracts with at 4:37 PM yesterday telling me about Stumblin’ Elvis and asking if I could mention the pub crawl on my blog, or maybe on social media or an event calendar. If they had looked at my blog, they would have seen that I had posted about my costume a mere two hours earlier, and that I’d been talking about Stumblin’ Elvis all week. They also would have learned that I don’t have an event calendar. FAIL.

The Orpheum is holding a raffle and the grand prize is a 1995 Ferrari 348 Spider with less than 27,000 miles. Tickets are $100, drawing will be November 16, and you will not need to be present to win. Other prizes include two Orpheum Broadway suite season tickets, a Broadway Evening with 4 luxury suite tickets to a show and an invite to the cast party, and a movie night for 20 at one of the 2014 Summer Movie Series nights. More info here.

The MBJ reports that the zoning board approved a variance for 666 S. Riverside to allow a storage facility and drive-thru there. I know that a number of the building’s neighbors were against this variance and even set up a website in protest. I hope the property owner will do something in keeping with the character of the neighborhood. The fact that the property owner is in Germantown worries me a good bit.

Two informative 3-D animated short films about the future of Downtown will be shown next week. Inside Bass Pro Shops and Across the Harahan Bridge will be 20 minutes long apiece, and will show you what the two projects will be like AFTER they have been completed. The films were announced by the Downtown Neighborhood Association, but you do not have to be a member to attend, so come get your virtual walkthrough of these places. Showtime is 6 PM at the Calliope Room, 456 Tennessee Street, Tuesday, August 20. Cash bar, free popcorn. Free popcorn? Wonder if the Nuh-Uh Girl will show up.

Classy Nails Spa at 8 S. Main has closed and there are For Rent signs on the doors.

Thanks to Jeremy who invited me to his fourth plate party at the Flying Saucer last night. I had a couple of Dos Equis Lagers on his $125 tab. It’s nice to be an invited guest at plate parties. One more trip through the Ring of Honor and Jeremy will receive his Master of the Universe (M.O.U.) card.

Expect lots of photos on the blog over the next two days. Tonight I’ll get plenty of Stumblin’ Elvis photos, and tomorrow I’ll be taking lots of pics of the Bardog Alley Party. The schedule of events lists the start time as (Edit: noon). That means I will be skipping Majestic brunch tomorrow. That new All Around the World beer tent sounds like something of interest. On the other hand, I’m going to skip the poker tournament because I want to be out taking lots of photos like I do every year (I’ll go down there for a few minutes and get some photos of the tournament though). Fun, fun weekend ahead and I’m kicking it off at Panda’s bar at Bardog at 11 today as usual. Thanks for reading and I hope you’ll come stumble with us tonight.

My Stumblin’ Elvis costume is going to be EPIC this year

Folks, I just got back from doing some shopping at A. Schwab and Blues City General Store. Tomorrow is the annual Stumblin’ Elvis pub crawl, to raise food donations for the Ronald McDonald House. I took my Elvis costume out of the closet this morning and I got ready to wash it to wear again this year. As I looked it over, I realized I wasn’t that enthusiastic about Stumblin’ Elvis for several reasons:

1) Ninety bazillion people want to take your picture when you’re Elvis. Last year, when I arrived at the Flying Saucer, the first stop on the pub crawl, I had to stop for four photos before I even made it to the bar to get a beer. And walking up Beale from Silky’s to Second… we were stopped every ten feet. As I explained before, you have to go along with it, because as Elvis, you are the spectacle. But it gets really tiresome after a while.

2) The other thing is, I have never been able to take good photos for my blog of all the Elvii. My hands have always been full, and having to get my camera in and out of an improvised pocket of an Elvis jumpsuit just doesn’t work. Sooner or later I knew I would break the camera. So I just left it in my pocket and left my blog readers without photos. I’ve never been happy about that.

3) I’m one Elvis among many. I don’t stand out in any way. I’m one Elvis among Elvii, and there are many Elvii who go to much greater lengths preparing their costume than I do mine. I’ve always had a problem with being “supporting cast” at events like this.

This morning, while typing my “Friday update” blog post, I came up with an idea for a new costume, one that would solve all three of these problems at once. The more I mulled it over, I thought to myself, “This could work!” and I began planning a Beale Street shopping spree. The result was a new costume which cost about $52 total, more than I paid for my original Elvis costume. I have six items total that make up the costume, and I may add one or two more before tomorrow evening. If you don’t come to the pub crawl, you are going to be missing out on an epic event.

After I took my new costume home, I had one more stop to make: Family Dollar, where I picked up some canned tuna, chicken, and vegetables to donate as part of the food drive tomorrow night.

The pub crawl starts at 7:30 PM at the Flying Saucer. Stops through the evening will include the Blind Bear, Silky O’Sullivan’s, and Purple Haze. It’s free to participate and you don’t have to dress up, although you are certainly encouraged to.

“Elvis, can I take your picture?”

Get ready.

Fri update: Elvis’ Aloha from Hawaii, still time to register for Bardog 5K, silly quotes about Indian food and cats, get your grilling food at Memphis Farmers Market

2013 is the 40th anniversary of Elvis’ live performance Aloha from Hawaii. The show was seen by more than a billion people when it was broadcast in 1973. The Orpheum is showing a special, enhanced version tonight at 7:30. HD video, rarely-seen footage, and a performance by former members of JD Sumner and the Stamps Quartet (Bill Baize, Donnie Sumner, Ed Hill, Larry Strickland).

Runners: There’s still time to register for the Breakaway-Bardog 5K which happens Sunday morning. Run a 5 kilometer course Downtown starting and ending at locals’ bar Bardog Tavern. Last year the race and alley party that followed raised more than $30,000 for St. Jude, and Aldo and the Salty Dogs runners hope to up the stakes again this year. Registration details here.

Not a Downtown restaurant, but I have to quote this because it’s the stupidest Groupon intro I’ve ever read. Groupon for Flavors Indian Cuisine: “Though India and Indiana are roughly the same word, their cuisine offerings are worlds apart. Find out the difference two letters make with this Groupon.” REALLY, Groupon? I wonder if all their marketing people called in sick, so they hired a temp who took 10 years to earn a 4-year general studies degree to write that.

And now that has turned out two be the second-craziest thing I have read online this morning, after one of the Flyer’s Who’s Who on Twitter remarked that her cat has been baptized and she has not.

The theme at the Memphis Farmers Market tomorrow is Fire Up the Grill. There will be plenty of items sold at MFM tomorrow that you can throw on the grill, including fish, pork, chicken, beef, and veggies like eggplant and squash. There will be a presentation by L’Ecole Culinare at 9:30 AM on gluten-free recipes, and at 10:30 AM there will be a kids’ watermelon roll. Adoptions by Streetdog Foundation from 8 AM to 1 PM. Live music by Kris Acklen 8:00-9:30 AM; John Oeth 9:30-11 AM; Chrissy Owens 11 AM-12:30 PM. The market is in the Central Station Pavilion near Front and G.E. Patterson and is open from 7:00 AM to 1:00 PM. If you want the pick of the best stuff, do what the local chefs do and get there at 7.

Second day of vacation. This morning I had a great idea for a new costume to wear to the Stumblin’ Elvis Pub Crawl tomorrow night, so I’m about to head to Beale Street to do some shopping. The Saucer is in between Beale Street and home, so I’ll probably stop in for a beer on the way back.

Thur update: Fredbird, Corked Carrot menu, Court Square gazebo, Peabody rooftop party, keep your children safe with Kids 360, and more

First day of vacation. I stayed out until 1:30 last night, and from what I could tell I’m not missing much by not staying out that late most Wednesdays. Downtown has been swarmed this week, not only with Elvis fans but with students returning to college. They made it hard to get a beer at times, but at least there were some nice tube top dresses.

The St. Louis Cardinals mascot Fredbird will make two appearances at Redbirds home games this weekend. He will be at AutoZone Park for the Friday game (7:05 first pitch) and Saturday (6:05). On Friday the first 3000 fans through the gate will get a special BBQ bobblehead, and there will be fireworks on Saturday.

Fredbird will also be on the patio of Aldo’s Pizza Pies between 4 and 5 PM Friday. He’ll pose for photos with kids, and there will be a swag and ticket giveaway.

The Corked Carrot has its new menu up. View it here.

The Downtown Memphis Commission’s CCDC is considering a plan to renovate the Court Square gazebo.

Tonight is the season finale of the Peabody’s summer rooftop party series. Super T – the Tyrone Smith Revue will be the headline act. Cover is $15 and includes your first drink, along with a buffet of grilled cheese sandwiches, soft pretzels, and popcorn. Those in VIP will have a second buffet of beer brats, German-style potato salad, and cheese and crackers.

Time to highlight another Memphis startup I learned about Thursday night. You’ve seen me post about Foursquare, an app that lets me “check in” at venues and post photos of them. Well, a new business called Kids 360 is taking that check-in approach to help parents stay in better touch with their kids’ caregivers and know where their kids are at all times. Babysitters, grandparents, etc. will be able to check kids in with this app and post photos for the parents to see. In the future, the app may be able to predict where a child ought to be based on past checkins. Their website will be launching soon – as I explained in an earlier post, these businesses are midway through a 90-day startup boot camp right now – but in the meantime, you can sign up to be notified of updates. This Daily News article has more info on Kids 360 and some of the other startups.

I’lll wrap up this post with a pizza pic:

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This is a Meatza from the Silly Goose. I had it last night because half of the $10 price goes to the Muscular Dystrophy Association if you get it or any other pizza at the Goose between now and August 21. If you’re not a meat-eater, try the white pizza. I’ve taken it home a couple of times after Monday night poker and it’s very good.

The candlelight vigil happens at Graceland tonight. Every Memphian should see this once, whether you’re a fan of Elvis or not. It will give you a new appreciation how revered he is around the world. If I had to list my top 5 favorite singers/bands, Elvis wouldn’t be among them, but all of the five I would name have said that Elvis was a major influence. Gotta respect that.

I have a lot of chores I want to get done during my time off, but my first order of business on vacation is going to be to put them off for a day. I’ll start off at the Flying Saucer when it opens at 11, then read all the restaurants’ lunch specials on Facebook and figure out where to eat.

Wed update: The bums, Silly Goose/MDA, Elvis Tribute Artist contest, Barks & Brews, Peabody fall rooftop schedule, Battledish Memphis, fake LinkedIn requests, DigiArtTrade

The aggressive panhandlers are out in force for Elvis Week. If you are harassed, or if you see someone harassed by panhandlers, in the Downtown core you can call 281-9146 and the DMC’s Downtown Safety Patrol will respond on bike. They are usually there within minutes. I called the patrol on two panhandlers working in tandem (which is very illegal) outside the Flying Saucer last night, giving our Elvis Week visitors a bad impression of Downtown Memphis.

I posted that number to Facebook as well. A friend of mine told me that a panhandler tried to intimidate her near Main and Madison where she was trying to put her son in a car seat. Her son wouldn’t stop screaming because he was so scared. If you have to intimidate a mother and toddler when they are alone to get money, you are the SCUM OF THE EARTH. By the way, these aggressive panhandlers are almost never homeless or hungry; they are looking for money for booze or drugs. Don’t give these bums money, and call the safety patrol if needed. The patrol’s boundaries are approximately the civic center plaza to MLK Ave. (formerly Linden), and from Front to Third.

Enough about bums. Let’s get on to the GOOD news…

For every pizza sold through August 21, the Silly Goose will donate $5 to the Muscular Dystrophy Association. If you haven’t tried their pizza, trust me, it’s very good.

The semifinals of the Ultimate Elvis Tribute Artist Contest kick off tonight at the Cannon Center. Details and ticket info here.

South of Beale will have a “Barks & Brews” party on the patio Sunday afternoon from 2 to 5. Adoptable pups will be available, and you can bring your dog to the patio too. Sundays are pint nights at SOB and half of all the proceeds from draft beer sales will go to the charity Dog’s 2nd Chance. $3 regular draft beer, $4 high-gravity draft beer.

The Peabody’s last summer rooftop party is Thursday, but the hotel has announced its schedule for its fall rooftop party season.

September 12: Hollywood
September 26: Aquanet
October 17: Andy Childs
October 31: Dr. Zarr’s Amazing Funk Monster

Dishcrawl is bringing Battledish Memphis to Downtown Memphis on October 5 from 2 to 6 PM. Six Downtown chefs will compete in this international culinary competition spanning 125 cities. More info and tickets here.

Beware of fake LinkedIn requests. I’ve received a few from people I don’t know the past few days, and when I moused over the Accept button I discovered a link to a .ru (Russia) site rather than linkedin.com. That site almost certainly will install malware on your computer. Be careful!

Time to spotlight another startup business that I learned about Tuesday night. DigiArtTrade leases and trades artworks to businesses and corporations. You can swap out art to keep things fresh, the entrepreneur told me, and she said you can even visualize what the art will look like on your wall before you lease it. The company is still in its beginning stages so the website doesn’t have a whole lot on it, but DigiArtTrade’s Tumblr is really good and there’s a place on LaunchRock where you can sign up for updates. You can also follow the business on Twitter at @digiarttrade.

Five day weekend begins at 4:45 PM today! I’ll be out at the bars at 5:30, probably leading off at the Silly Goose. Maybe I’ll get a pizza and support MDA.

Tue update: Liberty Bowl, new sports talk radio show, more classic movies @ Orpheum, growler night @ Tamp & Tap, job opening, Graduate Memphis, startup business turns earphones into jewelry

Sorry the post is a little late getting up. I got an Internal Server Error before I left for lunch, seems to be fixed now.

Great news was announced for the Liberty Bowl yesterday. They’ve renewed a 6-year agreement for an SEC team to play a Big 12 team in 2014-19. The really good news, though, is that the pecking order has changed and in some years the Liberty Bowl will move up. The top SEC teams go to the national title game (when eligible), the Sugar Bowl, and the Orange Bowl. The Capital One Bowl selects next from the SEC. After that there is a pool of six bowls: The Liberty Bowl, Gator Bowl, Outback Bowl, Music City Bowl, Texas Bowl, and Belk Bowl. All six bowls will be considered of equal importance and schools will be assigned where they make most sense. So, Memphis could end up with the 4th best team in the SEC some years, and it’s a step up for the Liberty Bowl to be considered on equal footing with the Gator Bowl and Outback Bowl.

I heard the Liberty Bowl news on 92.9 FM’s The Gary Parrish Show as I was driving home from work yesterday. That wasn’t the only big announcement, though. They also announced that starting on Monday, August 26, a new sports talk show will be on the radio station from 9 to 11 AM weekdays: The Geoff Calkins Show, with executive producer John Martin. Those two are two of the most hard-working, insightful and informative guys in Memphis sports media. Congratulations to them both. I will be listening on my TuneIn Radio app as often as I can.

The Orpheum’s summer classic movie series has been such a success that they’re expanding it, with five more classics personally picked by theater exec Pat Halloran. All five movies will be shown on the big screen Friday nights at 7 PM. Here’s the lineup:

August 23: An Affair to Remember
August 30: Rebel without a Cause
September 6: King Kong (1933)
September 13: Animal House
September 20: Phantom of the Opera (2004)

Tonight is growler night at Tamp & Tap. You can get 64 ounces of Yazoo beer for $12 and keep the growler.

There’s a web developer and marketing specialist position open at CBU. Reading the job description, I’m pretty ideally qualified for this, but I like the job I have now so I’ll blog about the CBU one and hope a good person gets it.

Good website I found yesterday: GraduateMemphis.org. It offers complete support for adults who want to go back and finish their college degree.

Last night I started at Pint Nite at the Flying Saucer, but by the middle of my first beer the bar was swarmed by UT-Memphis students who were having orientation. There must have been 150 of them, and they were all trying to order at once. I told the manager I was going next door to the Silly Goose, and I’d be back in a while to close out my tab. I came back about 9:30, and the place had halfway cleared out so I decided to stay and have a couple more beers.

Glad I did. Eric Mathews from Seed Hatchery was there. He’s currently mentoring a group of female entrepreneurs who are going through Seed Hatchery’s 90-day boot camp. He came over and said hello and asked if I would like to meet the women and hear about their businesses. “Of course,” I said. “Send them over.” So they came over and practiced their elevator pitches on me. This week I’m going to blog about the businesses that were discussed with me. I’ll try to do one per day.

One of the businesses was GemPhones. This business turns earphones into jewelry, really attractive pieces that look good while giving you convenient access to your music and phone conversations. The company also makes attractive mini-speakers. Both the earphones and speakers are compatible with most devices.

That’s all for now. I’ll be back at the Saucer after work, and probably will play Blind Bear poker at 8.

Mon update: Mapping Elvis, peanut butter and banana sandwiches, 100 N. Main, Streetdog Foundation fundraiser

There will be a “Mapping Elvis” event tonight at A. Schwab from 5 to 7 PM. The event will mark the premier of a new map of Memphis for people who are fans of The King. Andrea Shaw and Alan Grossman will talk about the map, and there will be discussion by Mike Freeman as well and a book signing. There will be complimentary wine and donuts. Free donuts? Wonder if the Nuh-Uh Girl will show up.

Tamp & Tap is celebrating Elvis week with $7 grilled peanut butter, banana, and local honey sandwiches for $7 all week long.

The tallest building in Memphis, 100 N. Main, has a new owner.

Save the date: There will be a Howl at the Moon fundraiser to benefit The Streetdog Foundation on Saturday, November 9 at The Warehouse. Live music, live auction, food and drinks. Tickets are $30 in advance, $40 at the door, and can be purchased here.

Over the weekend I completed my 8th plate at the Flying Saucer. Not only do I get a $150 plate party for myself and my invited guests, but people who complete their 8th plate get a very nice beer stein as well. For my 9th plate the party tab goes up to $175.

Other than that, the weekend seemed to fly by. I only have a 3-day work week this week, so next weekend will seem longer. Outta here for now. I’ll be at Pint Nite at the Saucer after work, and I may try the 8:30 poker game at The Mad Earl tonight.

Sat update: Bardog recipe, Orpheum art sale, Meet the Bartender, Neighborfood, tube top news, Elvis tour

It’s Saturday and I’m happy. Know why I’m happy about Saturday, besides the usual reasons? Because I won’t have to see anyone’s “kid’s first week of school” photos on social media today. Facebook needs a “hide pictures of kids” filter. Instagram even more so.

The Breakaway-Bardog 5K was featured yesterday on WREG’s Live at 9, and viewers got an additional treat: They learned how to make Bardog’s tuna wontons. If you missed it you can watch the video here.

The Orpheum will have an art sale tomorrow at 1 PM. Artists will receive 75% of the sale price for pieces they sell, with the remaining 25% going to the Orpheum’s new Centre for the Performing Arts & Leadership. Tickets are $10 and can be purchased online.

Congratulations to Silly Goose bartender Nikki on being profiled on GoMemphis.com’s Meet the Bartender. Nikki works poker night on Monday and Tuesday happy hour.

Dishcrawl has released a list of venues and menus for its Saturday, August 24 Neighborfood event. Participants include Tamp & Tap, LUNCHBOXeats, Eighty3, The Mad Earl, Bleu, Bluff City Coffee, and Front Street Deli. There will be a VIP lounge on the Madison rooftop and an after-party at Bleu with a summer cocktail menu for participants only. Click the link to see menus and more info about Neighborfood.

The latest in tube top fashion. I think I last saw this outfit in the dance line on a 1979 episode of Soul Train.

If you’re an Elvis fan, Backbeat Tours has a Hound Dog Tour leaving from Blues City Cafe tomorrow at 2:30 that sounds like it would be a good time.

That’s it for now. I’ll be at Panda’s bar at Bardog at 11 as usual. A friend of mine has recommended the Picadillo (ground beef hash) from Havana’s Pilon, so I’m thinking about that for lunch.

Fri update: Elvis events, Feed the Soul, Harry Potter, attack on homeless man, a much-needed sign, soccer news and more

Elvis Week events kick off today. One of the biggest events is the Ultimate Elvis Tribute Artist contest. Dozens of Elvii around the world have qualified to participate, but there’s still one spot left. The Hard Rock Cafe will host the Ultimate Last Chance Elvis Tribute Artist contest, with semifinals tonight and tomorrow at 9 PM and finals Sunday at 9 PM. Winner moves on to the main contest next week.

Speaking of Elvis, the venues have been set for the Stumblin’ Elvis pub crawl on the 17th, and there’s now a Facebook event page where you can let people know you’re attending. The crawl will start at the Flying Saucer at 7:30 PM, then will proceed to the Blind Bear, Silky O’ Sullivan’s, and Purple Haze. Come dressed as Elvis. Free to participate, but they will be collecting non-perishable food donations for the Ronald McDonald House.

One of the most awesome Downtown parties of the year is coming back. Feed the Soul, celebrating and benefitting MIFA, will happen at The Warehouse, 36 G.E. Patterson, from 6 to 10 PM Thursday, October 3. Music by Trio Plus band, singer Marcela Pinilla and DJ Stan “The Bellringer” Bell of radio station V101. Food buffet, rum tastings in the MIFA cave, fall and winter fashions modeled by Laurelwood freeze models, oxygen bar with multiple flavors, raffle with prizes from area merchants. Tickets are $45 and can be purchased on MIFA’s website or by calling 901-529-4525. If you attend only one fundraiser a year, make it this one. Always a fabulous event.

Classic movie Harry Potter & the Sorcerer’s Stone plays the Orpheum tonight at 7 PM.

Homeless man shot with paintball gun while sleeping at Poplar and Danny Thomas. People suck.

South Front Street needs this sign. Thanks to Aaron (@amprather) for tweeting.

The Brass Door will be showing the Machester United vs. Wigan Athletic game Sunday at 8 AM, for those who like soccer enough to get up that early.

Every so often, the Flying Saucer will send a beer quiz to its UFO members, and if you score 7 out of 10 you get a certificate for $5 off your tab. Here’s one of the questions from this week’s “Capt. Kieth Quiz” (I’m not kidding, they spelled his name wrong in the video preceding the quiz):

8. Did Elvis have any siblings?
A No, he was an only child
B Yes, he had two sisters
C Yes, a twin brother
D All of the above

How could the answer POSSIBLY be “all of the above?” Geez.

That’s the news for now. I’ll be out at the Saucer spending my $5 free beer tab after work.