Nashville: May 2018

All photos taken with a Sony A6300 except those on the iPhone 7 Plus, as noted in the captions

Nashville, Tennessee
24-29 May 2018
Miles Walked: 34.7

"Country music is three chords and the truth."
Harlan Howard

This Is Mattopia

It sounds so glamorous, doesn't it? Following U2 on the e+i tour, hitting stops in Las Vegas, Nashville, Lisbon and Madrid.

I'm going to take a hot minute to jot down a quick note, the kind of thing I'll look back on fondly and giggle when I hit those triple digits, my birthday makes the Today show and (maybe) I'm a little too pooped to do this type of travel.

So here we go: The flight to Nashville departed at 7:55 in the morning. No better time to pack than at 4:30 of the same morning. It was one of those La-Z-Boy nights, sleeping on the recliner so as to not get too comfy in bed. I've done this before. For one, the magnificence of the Flames of the Fates trip started in a similar fashion. Phew. I was zipping up the duffel bag when the airport shuttle arrived for that one.

Anyway, enough navel gazing. Let's get on with "the show."

Notes from the Road

Music City. Smashville. Athens of the South. Buckle of the Bible Belt. Nashvegas.

So many nicknames for one city, and they're all earned. And it's a city that's drawing the crowds. I was told during a couple different conversations something on the order of 80-100 people are moving to Nashville every day. The biggest industry? It's medical, not musical. And bachelorette parties (and pedal taverns) are storming up the charts of economic impacts.

Having never been to Nashville before, the draw for me, obviously, was music. More specifically, U2 on 26 May at Bridgestone Arena. Yeah, Nashville is famous for country music. It's home to the Country Music Hall of Fame, a fabulous place that — in my opinion — puts Cleveland's Rock & Roll Hall of Fame to shame. But Nashville is Music City, not Country Music City, for a reason.

The honky tonks lining South Broadway play all kinds of live music day and night, from open to close, on multiple stages on multiple floors. It's awesome.

Studio B is a music legend all its own. Still an operating recording studio, it's the place where 1,000 hits have been recorded — dating back to Elvis Presley.

Making music tech history, at Third Man Records an artist (such as U2, visiting on 27 May) can make a live recording direct to vinyl.

And the place is loaded with significant episodes in music history.

There's the Ryman Auditorium and the Grand Ole Opry. And, at Studio B, there was the birth of the guitar tab structure, a revelation that made my heart flutter a bit (as a completely amateur guitarist; my fan base never grew beyond my parents).

So many stories. So many legends walked the streets of Nashville. Johnny Cash. Elvis Presley. Minnie Pearl. Joe Ely. Willie Nelson. Merle Haggard. Tootsie Bess.

One of my favorite stories is about Willie Nelson at Tootsie's. A little despondent about the state of his music career, one night he decided to step outside Tootsie's and lie down in the street, waiting for a car to come by and run him over. Thankfully, that never happened.

I do like country music, particularly after taking in the history and influences of the music while exploring the Hall of Fame. And all of that information serves to reinforce my stance on today's country music: it sucks. It's way too generic, too vanilla, too vapid. The music needs to get back to its soul and tell meaningful stories that go beyond nonsensical sentimentalities around a lifestyle of blue jeans and beer cans.

The Grand Ole Opry

Of course, the Grand Ole Opry factored into the trip. There was the Opry tour and a show on Friday, plus there was a tour of the Ryman on Tuesday.

Here's the lineup for the Opry on 25 May:

Jeannie Seely
William Michael Morgan
Mike Snider
Lorrie Morgan
Connie Smith
Jackie Lee

Riders in the Sky
Bobby Osborne & the Rocky Top X-Press
Holly Williams
Dailey & Vincent
Clare Dunn
Sister Hazel

Walking in, I can't say I recognized any of the names. But now I appreciate the contributions of Jeannie Seely, Mike Snider (a funny guy), Lorrie Morgan, Connie Smith, Bobby Osborne, Clare Dunn and, oh yeah, the lineage of Holly Williams (grand daughter of Hank Sr. and daughter of Hank Jr.).

Will the Circle Be Unbroken

This notion of the unbroken circle is an interesting part of Nashville lore. It touches the Grand Ole Opry, the Ryman and the Country Music Hall of Fame. There are circular relationships and repititions that have taken place through the decades. The Opry left the Ryman in 1974, but it returns every Christmas holiday season.

Lots of interesting spins, pun intended, on this unbroken circle and I want to dig into it more.

Eat to Survive

I'm not a foodie. I eat to keep the engine running and the feet walking. It's been fascinating keeping tabs on how many miles I walk during these trips.

That said, my days of hittin' up fast food chains are — largely and happily — behind me (aside from the occasional visit to a couple taco chains). I need a little better quality than a greasy, unsatisfying burger.

But I don't go looking for the big names of food, either. Wolfgang Puck doesn't do much for me, same for Bobby Flay, Guy Fieri and Gordon Ramsay. I'm not a fan of restaurants where the hefty prices are inversely proportional to the skimpy servings.

Comfort food is king in my world; a cozy, no-name pub suits me fine.

Nonetheless, I was enticed by Hattie B's hot chicken. I had to check it out. And I waited 90 minutes in the baking sun to get my turn.

I won't do it again. The chicken was damn fine — and "Damn Hot!!" (the plucky name of the spiciness I ordered) — but not worth the damn effort. Granted, I might've shaved some time off the wait by visiting one of the other Hattie B locations, but the flagship store was where I was at in my travels. That's how it worked out.

I also stopped by Martin's BBQ Joint and that was a different story. I had the beef brisket for lunch on Memorial Day and, delighted, I followed that up with a whopping serving of babyback ribs for dinner that evening. After taking on the personal challenge of completing the rack, I felt like I'd never have to eat again.

Naturally, that feeling didn't last long. I was back in the consumption zone the following morning.