Nashville: Day One

Well, Evening One would be more accurate, as I got to my hotel at 6 and promptly set off for downtown.

1) Bridgestone Arena: Phoenix Coyotes vs Nashville Predators

I was not really planning on taking in a Preds game, but I figured that attending the game would delay my music club excursion by a few hours, which might be a good idea.

Bridgestone Arena is right smack in downtown Nashville; 'The District' on Broadway, the main spot for music clubs, and the like essentially begins at the Arena. In fact, the venerable Tootsie's Orchard Lounge is kitty-corner from the rink. I cannot stress enough how great and amazing a concept that is: the arena is downtown, close to the city's social and bar scene just in case, you know, fans want to go for a bite or a libation before or after the game. Shocking, shocking concept.

The arena was full, although how much of that might be due to discounted tickets, I have no idea. The box office was advertising a game day sale on 'scattered single tickets' of $30 for the lower level and $15 for the higher level. Now, all they had were single tix, so there must have been a strong pre-sale. I paid $30 for the last row of the 200 level, almost directly behind the net the home side 'defended' twice, which also happened to be the wheelchair zone. Not meaning to sound like a prick, but it was pretty roomy and the view was great.

The crowd was extremely enthusiastic and loud, moreso than most Sens' games to which I have been, as a frame of reference. There is an organist, which is nice touch. After every Preds' goal, they play 'Rock'n Roll Part II', during which the crowd chants the traditional 'Hey' and added 'You suck'. They also chant something at the end but I could not make it out. It being Nashville, there is some sort of a sing-off, talent contest during the second intermission.

As for the facility, it is very modern. The layout is strange, as the upper level (and possibly the lower) does not go all the way around, interrupted by two large entrances, each featuring a large advertising column. Some of the concessions feature local brews. I tried two (Yazzoo's Ale and Hap & Harry's Tennessee Lager), but was not impressed by either of them.

2) The District.

I then visited four bars in 'The District' on Broadway; in fact, they were all within a block of each other:

- The Paradise Park Trailer Resort.  It was the only bar to which I went that had a large selection of draught beers; they also had at least a half dozen locals. I tried a Jubilee IPA, which was solid. They were doing a stage change, so there was no music.

- Tootsie's Orchid Lounge.  This is probably the landmark bar on Broadway. It is over 50 years old and looks like nothing has changed since it has opened. In a way the place reminded me of Chicago B.L.U.E.S., in that it is unapologetically old and run-down, with the difference that Chicago B.L.U.E.S. does not book cover bands. The band at Tootsie's, which included a fiddle player (female and cute, although aren't all young female fiddle player awfully cute. Wonder why that is? Maybe I have a weird fiddle fetish...), played a lot of recent, Kenny Chesney-type (what I imagine to be Kenny-Chesney-type anyway) young-white-and-proud country covers. So I can now say that I have been at Tootsie's, but did not entirely enjoy it. Tootsie's really shoehorn people into there, to the point where it is nary impossible to move around.

- Layla's Nashville Hillbilly Music.  This is where I saw my favourite band of the night. They played mostly bluesy rock numbers, with country standards ('Tennessee Waltz') and rootsy rock (The Band) thrown in. As for Tootsie's, no draught taps.

- The Second Fiddle. The band playing here (and BTW, none of the bands introduced themselves or mentioned their names, which was strange.) played mostly what sounded to me like 1990's era country covers. They were definitely more twangy than the other two.

A few observations about the three bands:

 - they were all young (mid to late 20's);

 - they were all fairly large for bar bands (5 or 6 members), which enables them to rotate people out to rest as they generally seem to play continuous sets (I know a few Ottawa bar bands could learn from this. Just sayin'...);

  - they mostly played exclusively covers except for one or two exceptions; - they were all really, really good. Now, maybe they were all really, really good as cover bands, which, don't get me wrong, is a great talent and, I am sure, a fairly well-remunerated one if you are playing on Broadway in Nashville. I will have to more investigating tonight.


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