Friday, May 11, 2007

Memphis in May

Well, I had the best weekend ever.

My friend, John Bennett (on the right), just got back from Iraq after serving for over a year and Brian Brown (on the left), our fearless leader, went out Saturday night to the Memphis in May music festival.

We ate downtown at the Bigfoot Lodge. Which is totally out of place for Memphis, since they have lots of stuffed heads of big game on the walls and a giant wood carving of the legendary Sasquatch.
The place attracts a younger crowd and a few old farts like the three of us. Good music and great food, especially the fried catfish with sweet potato fries! The atmosphere reminds me of places I've been in Colorado. They offer a four pound hamburger called the Sasquatch. If you eat it within one hour, you get it for free.






We watched a young man chugging his third 34 oz mug of beer while he stuffed a pocket full of quarters into the jukebox. When he was done, he came over to our table and asked us what song we wanted to listen to. We thought for a moment and said ROLLING STONES. He complied and we were soon listening to Start Me Up. A nice gesture on his part.






We then joined about a million people at the music festival. We found the perfect parking for my van and the event staff set up these really cool raised platforms especially made for handicap people. So we listened to the music above the crowd. Awesome.
As the sun set over the mighty Mississippi river, we saw 3 bands, TAJ MAHAL, OHIO PLAYERS, and STEELY DAN. STEELY DAN was perfect and played all their classics. They were the last band of the evening. Needless to say, I didn't get tucked into bed until 2 AM.
The next day, I bought the STEELY DAN Greatest Hits CD. Saturday night will forever be known as the ultimate Boy's Night Out! Good food, music, scenery, and the best of company. It took me all day Sunday to recover and I didn't have a hangover. Well worth it.