The Memphis Scene

In case you hadn't heard, the new Ground Zero Blues Club is cranking up from its April soft opening with a full lineup of top blues acts. The Downtown venue, right next door to the Red Rooster on Lt. George W. Lee Avenue, is the Memphis branch of the Clarksdale, Miss., club founded by actor Morgan Freeman and his partner Bill Luckett. It sports a top-notch sound system, well-appointed bar and walls you can write your name on. Check it out Saturday night when hill-country dynamo and former R.L. Burnside sideman Kenny Brown comes to town.

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.

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.)

* To update, this weekend's Rozelle warehouse rave is still on. Check out the nifty flier ...

* Next Saturday, join Memphis music writer/comedian/man-about-town Andrew Earles as he celebrates the release of "Just Farr a Laugh," an album of prank phone calls placed by Earles and his partner Jeffrey Jensen. It's coming out Tuesday on Matador Records. For the release party, Saturday at Goner Records, Earles will perform a little monologue and play a few selections from the album. Heck, he'll even answer some questions. Learn more about the project here on the Matador site, and here on Earles' very own blog. (5:30 p.m., no cover.)

After almost five years in Peabody Place, Swig Martini Bar appears to have closed its doors. It'll be interesting to see what becomes of the prime piece of real estate it occupied.

The Swig closing follows on the news that Pat O'Brien's on Beale is in the process of foreclosure. Off hand, I figure these are both part of a natural shakeout process that takes place every few years, rather than any overall slide in business Downtown. Any Downtown regulars care to weigh in?