Memphis with Mannequin

Friday,August 26, 2011:  We took a quick trip west to Memphis today to catch a show by Jack's Mannequin for the second time this year.  It was supposed to be a double-billing with another one of our favorite bands, Augustana, but they had to pull out of the tour for some reason recently.  But with tickets bought and hotel room already booked, we weren't discouraged and knew it would still be worth the effort.  We got a good price through Hotwire.com on a nice room at the swanky Madison Hotel downtown on their 13th floor (I thought they didn't do "13th" floors in hotels due to superstition?).

Ashlee enjoying her strawberry and pomegranate margarita on the roof of the lovely  Madison Hotel in downtown Memphis with the Mississippi River, Mud Island and the Hernando de Soto Bridge in the background.  The weather was perfect this late afternoon-early evening before the show down on nearby Beale Street.

I opted for a pale ale draught from new local craft brewer, Ghost River Brewing.  This rooftop patio is the same one used in the beginning of the film "The Firm" where Mitch has his welcome reception with Bendini, Lambert & Locke.  Thanks to Ashlee for the snapping the picture and for assuring me that our current dieting is definitely paying off!

The stroll down and back up famous Beale Street from our hotel to The New Daisy Theatre for the concert was colorful, loud and always interesting.

This was our first visit to this Beale Street venue and we really liked it.  A large general admission standing area with good sight lines in front of an elevated stage, optional balcony seating and superb acoustics. We would love to see more shows here in the future. 

This view from the balcony of The New Daisy Theatre as Jack's Mannequin is playing shows there just isn't a bad "seat" in the house.  We watched all of the show from down on the floor about 10 rows from the stage.  Opening for JM, was Lady Danville, a trio of lads from California with a very good sound quite similar to another of our favorite bands, Guster.  Their 3-part harmony  was spot on. Lead singer, Andrew McMahon and the rest of Jack's Mannequin followed with a show that was as good if not better than  the one we saw up in Asheville, NC, last month.  McMahon's energy on stage  is so fun to watch and can be quite addictive, not to mention inspirational (don't forget the dude recently beat leukemia). See the video below for some quick evidence of the fact.  They recently announced a show in Nashville in October and we hope to catch them for a third time this year if no conflicts arise.

After the show, we grabbed a quick bite of food on Beale Street and headed back to The Madison to check out that fabulous rooftop again at night.  The views were just as, if not more, stunning in the dark as the city sparkled below us.  Only a few people were taking advantage of the cool evening temps and lovely views up on the roof.  It was a nice respite from the roaring din of Beale Street and a relaxing way to end our half day in Memphis.

Saturday, August 27, 2011:  After sleeping a good bit of the morning away (I did get up a little earlier than Ashlee and took a dip in the very nice lap pool in The Madison's basement), we packed up our stuff and got ready to head back to Nashville because our friend, Wayne, had invited us to the Tennessee Titans third preseason game tonight vs. the Chicago Bears.  Before leaving Memphis, we did swing by our favorite new place to eat, Uncle Lou's Famous Fried Chicken, and had a great lunch.  Three drumsticks with the hot Sweet Spicy Love Sauce for Ashlee and four huge chicken tenders for me with the milder sauce (yeah, I know, what a wimp!).  We met Wayne at Suzy Wong's House of Yum in downtown Nashville before the game for a fun and festive dinner.  The game was quite enjoyable and the weather couldn't have been more perfect.  The Titans even eked out a 14-13 win.  Not bad for a game that doesn't even count.  Thanks to Wayne for the invitation and for snapping the great picture of us three above.