The real deal, I'm talking -- 1970s international-relations style, not '00s fraternity-party style. The Hi-Tone is hosting a series of table-tennis tournaments this summer, starting with a dry run Tuesday night. E-mail thehitonecafe@gmail.com if you're interested.
Members of one of my favorite Memphis bands of the past few years, The Grip, have formed a new outfit called City Champs, and it looks like this group will also be near to my heart and ears. Whereas The Grip -- featuring Art Edmiston on tenor sax, Al Gamble on Hammond organ, Joe Restivo on guitar, and a rotating cast of drummers -- specialized in the organ trio-plus sound of 1960s Blue Note jazz recordings, City Champs -- minus Edmiston, with sometime Grip drummer George Sluppick on the trapset -- are a stripped-down funk combo along the lines of Booker T. & the MGs or contemporary acts like Sugarman 3 (this is judging by the two tunes on their MySpace page). They've got an album on the way, cut on analog tape at Scott Bomar's studio. And they've got a full slate of gigs coming up, starting this Sunday at Huey's Downtown. (8:30 p.m.)
I was just catching up on Paul Ryburn's blog, when I ran across this item, linking to a story in The Commercial Appeal that says Swig Martini Bar might reopen soon. Recall that I covered Swig's closure a few weeks ago.
I don't have any inside scoop to add, except that nearly all of the former staff appears to have found other employment. Some of those folks had been there for years, so I don't know if the plan would be to hire a whole new crew, or what. Also, I wonder how long it would take to find another tenant for that prime Peabody Place real estate if Swig does not reopen. The huge spot up the street, formerly occupied by Tower Records, is still vacant. Recall, also, that Muvico has closed some of its screens and might be gobbled up by The Peabody hotel. Then there's Ann Taylor Loft, the collectibles shop Sports Avenue among other businesses that have closed in the past year. Open just a few short years, Peabody Place is starting to look like the Mall of Memphis.
* Rootsy Memphis band Giant Bear plays on the terrace at the Memphis Brooks Museum of Art on Thursday, May 22. Enjoy the nice view of Overton Park and enjoy some country-rock flavors -- with cello, of course. (8 p.m.; $8 for members, $10 for non-members.)
* An overview of the career of pop-art icon Andy Warhol opens June 14 at The Brooks. "The Prints of Andy Warhol (From A to B and Back Again)" is one of a number of worldwide events being held during the 2007-08 commemoration of the 20th anniversary of the artist's death. Here's more information fresh off the press release ...
Organized by Margery King, associate curator at The Warhol Museum in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, this exhibition has continuously opened to rave reviews and has meant record-breaking attendance at the host museums and galleries all over the world. "Warhol's prints are fantastic," says King. "They aren't necessarily seen in the original as often as the paintings and they really need to be seen in person to appreciate their beauty."
Among the 63 prints and 5 paintings included in this exhibition are some of Warhol's most famous works – Jackie Kennedy, Campbell's Soup Cans, Mao, and Flowers – as well as some of his lesser-known works, such as the Hammer and Sickle series, and prints based on Italian Renaissance masters. The title for the exhibition is a play on Warhol's 1975 book, The Philosophy of Andy Warhol (From A to B and Back Again).
Find out even more here at the ArtsMemphis site.
It has been a hot second since they've played a show together, but The Coach and Four are bringing their sophisticated indie-pop/rock sound out of hiatus for a show Friday night at the Hi-Tone. Let's hope they keep at it; I found The Coach and Four to be one of the more enjoyable bands in the Makeshift Music scene that ruled Midtown in the mid-00s. (10 p.m.; $5 cover)
Pictures from the FREEZE party a couple weeks ago at Club Shadows have been posted on the Cocks n Hens site. I stopped by after work and had an OK time. Lord T & Eloise were definitely in the house. Check out my Music Fest interview with the crunk aristocrats here.
Memphis always seems to show up on undesirable lists compiled by various magazines. Now here comes Newsweek, slapping Memphis at No. 2 on its list of America's Unhealthiest Vacation Destinations. Apparently it has something to do with our city's penchant for property crimes (No. 1 robbery rate in the country!). I think it's all part of Memphis' unique charm.
The Spring Record Swap at Shangri-La Records has been rescheduled for this coming Sunday. The previous date was rained out. Vendors will have LPs, CDs, 45s, even 78s (!), along with lots of other collectibles for sale. Set up your own table for just $10. The Trips will provide live entertainment. (1 to 5 p.m.; free admission.)
I'll be down at Tom Lee Park on Friday and Saturday for what threatens to be a stormy Beale Street Music Festival. Check out all the coverage, including interviews with bands, photos, interactive listings and -- wait for it -- a "Where's Michael Donahue" feature, at commercialappeal.com's Memphis in May site. Read here for more details on what you can expect.
Just days before her appearance at the Memphis in May Beale Street Music Festival, pop diva Fergie performs Friday night at SunFest in West Palm Beach, Fla. The Palm Beach Post has a few fun facts about the Black Eyed Pea-turned-solo star. Topics include Fergie's humps, her humps, and her lady lumps.
Fergie 101: The facts on the Black Eyed Peas singer
By LESLIE GRAY STREETER
Cox News Service
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. -- There’s a lot you probably know about Fergie, who headlines tonight’s SunFest festivities.
You know she’s a member of the pop-hip-hop outfit Black Eyed Peas, that she’s famous for singing about her humps and her habit of being up in the gym working on her fitness.
You probably even know that she’s engaged to the equally fetching Josh Duhamel of NBC’s “Las Vegas.”
But there’s a lot more to Miss Stacy Ann Ferguson that only die-hard fans or pop culture savants with lots of Googling time are aware of. And since we’re in at least one of those categories (ahem), we’d like to share:1. She’s got the chiseled Jessica Rabbit-esque body of a 20-something Sports Illustrated swimsuit model, but Fergie actually is 33 years old, which gives hope to all of us 30-somethings. Not hope of actually ever looking like that. But some sort of hope, anyway.
2. She’s proven F. Scott Fitzgerald wrong, having not just a second but a third act in her life. She started as Stacy Ferguson, child star of the syndicated 1980s series “Kids Incorporated,” then became Stacy Ferguson, hottie girl group singer in the threesome Wild Orchid in the 1990s.
3. She was the voice of annoying kid sister Sally Brown in two Peanuts television specials - “It’s Flashbeagle,” “Charlie Brown and Snoopy’s Getting Married, Charlie Brown.”
4. She met future fianc? Duhamel when she appeared on an episode of “Las Vegas,” proving that it’s not always a bad thing to date on the job.
5. She had a small part in the 2006 ocean liner disaster flick “Poseidon,” playing a lounge singer named Gloria. Sadly, Gloria winds up dying. But until that point, her makeup’s perfect.
6. On the recent “Idol Gives Back” telethon, she not only performed with Ann and Nancy Wilson of Heart, but did a series of one-armed cartwheels and immediately continued to sing, because she’s just cool like that.
7. She’s been very up front about her struggle with crystal meth, which, she told Time magazine, was “the hardest boyfriend I ever had to break up with.”
8. Her nickname, which she shares with Duchess of York Sarah Ferguson, isn’t her only royal connection - she performed at 2007’s memorial concert for Princess Diana at London’s Wembley Stadium.
9. She was only supposed to do one song, “Shut Up” (Black Eyed Peas Song) with the group for their Elephunk album, but was later invited to join as a permanent member.
10. She swears she got her ridiculously cut stomach by devotedly following the exercises in “Basic Ab Workout For Dummies.”
Incidentally, SunFest shares a bunch of acts with BSMF -- including Sheryl Crow, The Whigs, Michael Franti & Spearhead and The Black Crowes -- but adds festival favorites like Hot Tuna, Matisyahu, George Clinton and friends, The Bad Plus and Little Feat.
