The Memphis Scene

I'm already looking forward to March 2009, when the Blue Note Records 70th Anniversary tour rolls into GPAC. Blue Note is not only my favorite classic jazz label, but also an outfit that still puts out records I love. Check out one of the players featured on the tour -- pianist Bill Charlap -- live in concert tonight from the Village Vanguard in New York, in an exclusive Webcast/broadcast from NPR and WBGO-FM.

I caught Charlap's trio several years ago at the Montreux Jazz festival in Atlanta. Highly recommended!

* First of all, the soul party at the Hi-Tone is this Saturday, not Friday. The headline was incorrect.

* The beef carpaccio appetizer at dish features julienned cucumbers, not carrots.

Both posts have been corrected. Thanks to those who gave me the heads-up on these errors.

A couple of weeks ago, while doing some research on something else, I stumbled across Ryan Ross' Memphis Bars blog. The site seemed like a pretty useful resource for those wanting to know more about Memphis nightlife, though it hadn't been updated since March. Now Ross is back to posting reviews, the latest one about the venerable Silky O'Sullivan's on Beale Street.

The funny thing is, Ross signs each post as "Ryan," and I wondered if he might be the same Ryan (Jones) who hosts My Midtown Memphis. In fact, he is not. He's a 23-year-old recent grad of Christian Brothers University who took it upon himself to produce a one-stop guidebook for Memphis bars. He plans to update his "back" reviews upon further visits. And, get this, he wants to visit every bar in Memphis at least once (oh, to be 23 again and so ambitious!).

Check out this thread on Sunshine Underground, where some of Memphis' top electronic-dance deejays respond to a rather sullen column by Pitchfork Media contributor Philip Sherburne, lamenting the state of electronic dance culture.

The consensus among deejays and others whom Sherburne consulted -- and echoed by many of the Memphians -- is that some of the soul (or authenticity?) seems to be missing these days. Should we blame laptops, mp3 culture, the music itself? Who knows? But I do think it's positive that people are talking about it. The electronic music scene has clearly lost momentum, not to mention some of its share of an ever-shrinking pie of sales of interest, to rock bands over the past 10 years.

Let me know what you think in the comments.

Here is the link to the story on nightlife promoter Curtis Givens that I mentioned in a late-night Wednesday post; the story went live probably 20 minutes after that post, but I was on my way out the door. Meanwhile, Andria Lisle looks at the incidents mentioned in the Givens article -- and others involving bodily harm in local gathering places -- and wonders whether Memphis nightlife is hazardous to one's health. (Andria's blog is, as usual, chock full of good reads this week; check it out!)

Finally, the grandson of Cap'n Pete Henderson was arrested Wednesday afternoon on suspicion of killing the beloved deejay of the "Blues Cruise" program on WEVL.

For your consideration, a recent pet peeve of mine, though not necessarily a major one: Bands who pick silly genres for the categories on their MySpace pages. For instance, MGMT has "surf/jungle/country." That would be pretty witty -- even ironic! -- if every other indie pop-rock band didn't list stuff like "nu-jazz/polka/gamelan" or "minimalist/zouk/boogie."

If this grinds your gears, too, drop me a comment.

Ryan Jones, the man behind the My Midtown Memphis blog, is back on the job with extensive posting. He was away for a few days, being between Internet connections and dealing with (*gulp*) a kidney stone.

Shangri-La founder and Memphis booster Sherman Wilmott talking basketball smack with fancy California boy and Commercial Appeal music writer Bob Mehr. YouTube links galore.

My brother sent me a link to this blog today, and I'm about to fall out of my chair laughing just from scanning the post titles. As you could guess, it's highly controversial. (As seen on Drudge Report!)

Incidentally, I marked this particular white-adult rite of passage just before Christmas, throwing not just any dinner party, but a holiday dinner party, to boot!

I should have mentioned this in my post Wednesday, but the crew over at Whining & Dining is conducting a live-blog beer tasting this evening at 7 p.m. Joining host Jennifer Biggs will be Steve Barzizza, proprietor of Naked Lion Brewing Co. Go pick up your beer while there's time!