Paul Ryburn's Journal

Just a few quick notes…

A panhandler was arrested last night for robbery at Front and Beale.  After following a couple to their car as he begged for money, he reached through an open window, grabbed the man’s wallet, and ran.  Witnesses apprehended him and held him for police.  Click through to the story to see a pic of him.  I think I’ve seen this guy around before.

Even though this guy was still out, I want to say that in general, I’ve seen a lot fewer panhandlers out recently than I did this time last year.  MPD is keeping a closer eye on them, and the Downtown safety patrol is helping a lot too.  You hear about occasional incidents like the one above, but overall I think Downtown is much safer than it was a couple of years ago.

Sole Restaurant in the Westin is having a Lobster Bake starting Saturday, September 19 and continuing every Saturday through October.  For $29 you get two courses:  1) Choice of house salad or lobster bisque; 2) Whole lobster served with Peruvian potatoes, toasted almond cole slaw, and corn fritters.

South of Beale has posted their new late-night menu on their website.  I still need to post a pic of the 3-cheese grilled cheese sandwich I had the other night.

College Night at Hollywood Disco begins tonight.

I’m about 50/50 on whether I’m going to head to Calhoun’s to play poker tonight, or just hang out closer to home at the Saucer.  I already know that the Saucer has a good fire sale (Sunset Wheat – gotta tweet that in a minute).  Wonder if they’re going to put the sound on for the game… hmmm… I guess I’ll wait until I get home from work and then see how strongly I feel about poker.

Details here.

I have a few minutes’ break while they’re rebooting our web server, so here’s some more quick news.

Hard Rock Cafe on Beale is gearing up for the second annual HammerBanger’s Ball on the 19th, with Kiss Amy and Finding Jimmy Hoffa. Doors open at 9, performances start at 10. $5 cover, 100% of which goes to benefit Habitat for Humanity of Greater Memphis.

ArtsMemphis is running a special today for 09/09/09. Get a double Bravo membership for $99 (normally a $245 value). Call 901-578-2787 by 5 PM today to take advantage of the deal. Click here to learn more about Bravo.

In case you didn’t hear the news, Allen Iverson has said “yes” to the Grizzlies. That’ll put some butts in seats. There are pluses and minuses to AI but overall I think it’s a good move.

From Wired Magazine: Apple has dropped its iPod prices, including a $120 price drop for the top-of-the-line Touch. The Shuffle may be gone from the lineup.

That’s the quick news post for now… back to work, then off to the PRSA seminar in about an hour.

Notable for this week:  This week marks the 73rd anniversary of the extinction of the thylacine, or Tasmanian wolf or Tasmanian tiger.  The last one died in a zoo on September 7, 1936.

More info about thylacines here.  The thylacine was a marsupial and no relation to the dog, although the species evolved with similar characteristics.  The Tasmanian Devil, the thylacine’s closest surviving relative, is in danger of becoming extinct too because of a very contagious facial tumor disease.  Here’s info about saving the Tasmanian Devil.

Also, this week marks the 62nd birthday of pro wrestler The Great Kabuki.  Congrats to Kabuki on surviving to this ripe old age.

Looks like Republic Nightclub is living up to its promise to bring in celebrities.  Kaya Jones of the Pussycat Dolls will perform there this Saturday night.

The South Main Association will have its Oktoberfest party Sunday, September 27.  It will be in Harry’s Detour courtyard on GE Patterson from 3 to 7 PM, and there will be catering by John Bragg and beer by Boscos Brewery.  Event is free to members, $15 for guests; or you can join as an individual member for $25 and your membership will be good through the end of 2010.

The “Definitely Downtown” TV show, hosted by “That Other Downtown Guy,” Lee Warren, will film at South of Beale Thursday night.  Come on by and support the place and get on TV!  I stopped by and tried their late night menu last night, and had a really good grilled cheese.  Will post a pic of it when I get a chance to get it off the camera.

Time to get dressed and go to work… I’m attending a PRSA seminar about Twitter at the U of M today at lunch.

Many thanks to the Center for Southern Folklore for a great Memphis Music & Heritage Festival this weekend.  The Center is a hidden gem of Downtown, showcasing authentic regional art and music.  Tour groups often say that the Center is the most impressive stop on their tours of Memphis.

If you want to plan an event that is uniquely Southern, the center can work with you.  The two photos below outline the many services they offer – venue space, tours, booking musicians, great Southern art and food, and more.  Click the photos to see them full size.

Own a scooter?  Whether its a new model or a classic from the mod era of the ’60s, you can show it off this weekend in Downtown Memphis.  The Memphis Kings scooter club will hold a rally Friday through Sunday.  The festivities will begin Friday night at Calhoun’s with burgers, dogs, and beer.  Saturday there will be rides, breakfast burritos, and scooter judging and an awards ceremony.  Sunday there will be breakfast at the Arcade and more rides.  Fun weekend and a chance to meet some of your fellow scooter owners.  I’ve heard tales about the construction of the trophies for this event, and they are not to be missed.  Registration details and full schedule here.

Sole Restaurant is doing their “buy a burger and beer, get a burger and beer free” special again today from 11 to 8.  Sole is in the Westin Hotel, on Third just south of Beale.

South of Beale will have a new late night menu starting tomorrow night, September 8.  If you’re up late, stop by and check it out.

Hollywood Disco is adding a college night on Thursdays, with no cover for 21 and up and a $5 cover for 18-20 year olds.

The Young Guns, the teenage band who absolutely rocked out the Southern Hot Wing Fest back in April, e-mailed to say that they have a few gigs coming up.  On October 3 they play the Hernando Music Festival at 7 PM, opening for Eric Church.  They play the Liberty Bowl for a Tiger game on October 27.  On November 29 they’ll play the Best of South-Regional Talent Search at Minglewood Hall.  Great band and they rock harder than most bands twice their age – check them out.

I posted a pic of Michael Patrick doing a cooking demo at the Memphis Music & Heritage Fest… he’s no longer at Slim’s.  He’s moved to Mesquite Chop House as executive chef and partner, and he’s implementing some very much-needed changes in the place.  He’s emphasizing seafood and locally-produced products more, and he’s trying to get the price points of the entrees down to where they’re affordable for more people.  Hmmm… I’m a huge fan of pretty much everything Mike does, but the restaurant is still under the same ownership.  If you go there, shoot me an e-mail and let me know what you thought of the place – particularly 1) how are the drink prices and 2) how was the service.

WTF was the Saucer thinking, only having three bartenders scheduled for the entire day yesterday?  They only had one bartender on when they opened at noon, then a second came on at 3, and a third at 6.  There was an Ole Miss parade on Beale at 11 yesterday!  Did they not realize the place was going to get slammed?  Oh well, at least the bartenders who were there made major bank yesterday… or maybe not.  One server told me she’d never seen so many zeroes on the tip line in her life, as the out-of-town Ole Miss students that took over the bar yesterday did not have the class to take care of the waitstaff.  Ole Miss makes me embarrassed to be from the south.

I was impressed that the Saucer turned the sound on for the game though.  If not for the Ole Miss crowd it would’ve been a very enjoyable place to watch the game.

I want to apologize to Jeffrey and the Pacemakers for missing their performance at Huey’s last night.  I actually did come in at 8:30, but I saw a room packed with Ole Miss people, and having dealt with them at the Saucer all day, I was not in the mood.  Attn Downtown Huey’s:  PLEASE book this band again, on a normal Sunday when it’s not a holiday weekend and there’s not a major festival going on nearby.

Attn Majestic Grille:  That brisket sandwich on your special festival weekend menu was fan-freakin-tastic.

Don’t be confused by the name:  It may be called Pint Nite but it starts at 11 AM.  Come on down to the Saucer and have your choice of $2.75 drafts.  I’ll be there for a while this afternoon and evening.

I’m at the Saucer and the Memphis-Ole Miss game just started. The Saucer is absolutely loaded with college age Ole Miss snatch.

Sorry for the vulgar language but there’s no other way to describe what I’m seeing up here.

The Memphis Music & Heritage Festival is going on this weekend at the two blocks surrounding the Center for Southern Folklore, at Main near Peabody Place.  Here are some pics from yesterday:

The Nestle Quik bunny was at the festival.

Sharon Fernandes of Stonehouse 27 did an Indian cooking demo.

Jamming to the tunes of Mr. White on the Gayoso Stage

Everybody was kung fu fighting…

There’s a Southern buffet inside the Folklore Hall this year.  Buffet?  The Nuh-Uh Girl is going to be so sorry she went out of town this weekend.

John Bragg of Circa demonstrating how to make crawfish beignets.

The Majestic Grille’s patio was a popular place to be.

If you like big cock, you should check out this art vendor.  They’ve expanded their vendor section and booths lined Peabody Place.

The people in this booth were inviting the public in to sing Christian karaoke.  Two things I don’t do are 1) sing karaoke and 2) go to church, so I steered clear.

Chef Michael Patrick of Mesquite Chop House displays the grouper he cooked for his demo.

An evening act I really enjoyed (right before the rain hit) was Jack Oblivian and the Tearjerkers.  First time I’ve heard them in years.

Our master of ceremonies.  Seemed weird not having IQ there.

The festival continues today, from 11 to 11.  Here’s the schedule. Below I’ve listed my tentative schedule, and recommendations for those not familiar with the festival or the area.

First of all, if you’ve read this blog before, you know how much fun the locals have at Sunday brunch at the Majestic Grille.  Why not give it a try, as long as you’re down here for the festival?  Here’s their brunch menu. They serve from 11 to 3.  They also have some festival specials this weekend – a coconut shrimp basket, a brisket sandwich, an Italian sausage sandwich, and chicken quesadillas.  Plus, $4 margaritas and mojitos.  You might even get to meet John D, namesake of “John D’s breakfast.”

Mr. White rocks out the Gayoso stage again at 1:30.  Wonder if the dancing bum will be back.

At 2:30 there’s the matter of a football game… the best place to watch it is right around the corner… the Flying Saucer.  Seven TVs (assuming they pull down the big screens) and they’ve told me they’re going to do better about putting the sound on for games this year.  70 beers on tap, another 125 in bottles, one premium beer on Fire Sale for $2.75, pool, darts, hot waitresses in miniskirts.  Go Tigers!  Ole Miss is one of my three most hated teams of all time (Tennessee and Texas are the other two).

Some evening band recommendations at the festival:

• 4:45 – Dani, rock, Folklore Hall Stage
• 6:30 – Bluff City Backsliders, jug band, Gayoso Stage
• 7:15 – Super Chikan, blues, Folklore Store Stage
• 7:30 – FreeWorld, jam band, Gayoso Stage
• 8:00 – Blind Mississippi Morris, blues, Verizon Stage
• 8:15 – Papa Top’s West Coast Turnaround, ArtsMemphis Stage
• 9:00 – Jason D. Williams, Verizon Wireless Stage (this one is an absolute must see)

If you want to stay out late past the festival, I have two late-night band recommendations:

• Jeffrey and the Pacemakers (’60s British Invasion rock) will play Huey’s tonight.  They take the stage at 8:30 and play until midnight.  I’m going to try to catch their second set after Jason D. leaves the stage.
• If you miss their 7:30 performance at the festival, FreeWorld performs every Sunday night at Blues City, 10:30 until close.

And if you want to make it an ultra late night, the Silly Goose stays open until 3.  They have $1 MGD during the festival.

Hope to see you down there… this is becoming one of the best festivals of the year and is growing larger and larger.  I love it!