Nothing major happened over the weekend, other than Bama taking 2 of 3 from Arkansas to stay in a tie with Ole Miss atop the SEC West (which means Bama is #1 in the West due to the tie-breaker).
AJ McCarron, the highly touted 4-star QB from Alabama, committed to the Tide on Saturday, so that was big. It's leading some to question whether or not Alabama could have the nation's #1 recruiting class in 2009.
Other than that...I spent the weekend down by the river for the Memphis in May Beale Street Music Festival. It was pretty damn fun this year. Even in years where the lineup doesn't seem like it's that great, I still have a great time. I guess it's the atmosphere or something. Just good times.
Here's an idea of what I saw, and would recommend that you check out.
FRIDAY, MAY 2nd
Lord T & Eloise played their normal set of aristocrunk hip-hop, not letting the rain slow them down one bit. It was incredibly entertaining. I don't even know what else to say. They're pretty damn good at what they do...I'll tell you that much. Check them out at myspace.com/lordtandeloise.
Charlie Musselwhite is incredible. We saw him at the blues tent for about 30 minutes, while we were waiting on Jonny Lang on the Sam's town stage (thanks to the rain). It was an awesome show. He really gets that crowd goin, man.
Jonny Lang is still as bad ass as he was way back when "Lie to Me" came out. He's just a great showman, and a really good frontman. His set was cut ultra-short (he only played 5 or 6 songs), but it was well worth waiting out in the rain. Good times, man.
SATURDAY, MAY 3rd
Muck Sticky is a local boy that's been doing his brand of weed-humor rap for about 5 years now. He's gotten a pretty damn big following as well. He knows how to promote himself. He's even got the "Muck Van" with his picture and whatever else on the side. He just looks kinda goofy...and his whole family is kinda like one of those carnival attractions or something. Very awesome show, and fun at the same time.
Saving Abel are actually friends of mine, so I'll give them some props. Their set was, admittedly, a lil bit boring, but still worth checking out. They're in the same boat as 3 Doors Down, only a lil bit more crude with some of the lyrics. Definitely a teenager's dream band.
Cat Power was actually pretty good. My better half wanted me to go watch her, so we went down and propped up next to the stage. She reminds me of somebody that should have been around in the 60s and 70s. Kinda hippie, but kinda not. Her vocals reminded me of Janis Joplin, or something along those lines. Just a lot cleaner. Very mellow set for a Saturday afternoon.
Backdoor Slam played the blues tent, and damn were they awesome. They're the only band in the blues tent this year that was allowed to do one more song because of the crowd response. They were loving them, and I agree...these kids are bad ass. They're not really blues...more of a jam band, I suppose, but they kicked everyone's rear-end on Saturday.
Buddy Guy was his normal, incredible, self. He even had Santana watching him from beside the stage. Buddy's been around a long time. 5 time grammy winner, etc. If you haven't seen him live...I would definitely recommend it.
Simple Plan is actually a band that I don't really like. But they're a damn good live band. They got the crowd into it and everything, and they were actually pretty fun. I think they may be queer though. Not sure.
Jon Butler Trio was a fun way to end the night. Slide guitar, etc, was real prevalent, and damn there were a lot of hippie dancers out there. After watching him for a good bit, it was time to head up to Beale Street where we played a set at the Hard Rock. And yes...that went pretty well. :-)
SUNDAY, MAY 4th
Gavin DeGraw brings out the pop-rock kid in me. I'm a sucker for catchy pop tunes, and this guy writes a ton of them. His singles are awesome. We watched him finish about 4 or 5 songs, then headed on over to the blues tent.
Calvin Cooke is just incredible. He plays the steel guitar, and he had Big Chew (from the North Mississippi Allstars) playing bass for him. Made for an excellent show. Of course, we only caught about 3 songs...but they were great. I'm going to buy the cd later today. It was some kinda good.
Umphrey's McGee is one of the better jazz-influenced jam bands that's out there today. They were kicking on all cylinders...even if they did play one song that turned into a 20+ minute jam.
Michael Franti & Spearhead were amazing. The only really reggae band on the festival (unless you count Matisyahu), they had a huge crowd, and everyone was big-time into it. They were great.
Richard Johnston - now, I'll admit, I've seen him a ton of times over on Beale Street. Pretty much every weekend. He's always out there playing and cussin people and doin his thing. He was in a great mood on Sunday and was an absolute joy to watch. He's an incredible musician, and he's been around the world doin his thing. If you haven't seen him, please check him out.
Jerry Lee Lewis is, of course, the killer for a reason. I thought the portion of his set that I saw went really well, and then, at the end of the show, he tells the crowd "Imagine what it could have been if I had a better band." He then proceeded to yell at his band members while leaving the stage. Complete horseshit. No need to be a jerk, even if you are a so-called "legend."
Aretha Franklin is the Queen of Soul, and man did she prove it. She was in rare form on Sunday night, going through hit after hit after hit. The crowd she drew was ridiculously large, and she played right along with it. The mayor of Memphis even went out and gave her a key to the city, even though he was being booed the whole time. Haha.
Finger Eleven we watched Finger Eleven for a bit as well. That was cool, I guess. For a rock band, those guys sure have gotten boring. They used to be incredible. Now they're just another pop-rock band. Kinda sucked. I guess the single was cool...but they split it into two parts so they could play a bunch of stupid cover songs in the middle of it. Whatever. Their old stuff was really good, so that's why I listed them.
The Black Crowes were the highlight of the festival for me. They were flying through such a bad ass set that I didn't even notice the time. I wanted to see the end of Fergie's set before we left, and she ended 15 mins before the Crowes, so I left them a tad early to go see what the fuss was about. Oh, and if you don't have the new album "Warpaint" go get it. It's awesome. Luther Dickinson from the North Mississippi Allstars is their new slide guitarist.
Fergie was cool. I hate her music, but love her moves man. She's just got an awesome body. The crowd was stupid big for her...and apparently every teenage girl in the city of Memphis was at this show. Her face looks kinda like a dude...but everything else is pretty awesome.
see what I mean?
Yeah, I know. Long post, but still worth it. All of these bands were entertaining. I skipped the ones that were kinda "blah," so there's your entertainment update for the next few weeks...haha. Did anyone else happen to make it out?
COACH STALLINGS: game #2: Florida @ Alabama - Tuscaloosa, AL - 9/15/90
This was Coach Stallings' first game on campus at Alabama, and boy was it another doozy. Again, turnovers were the difference. After Bama took a 10-0 lead, Florida roared back thanks to interceptions thrown by my boy Gary Hollingsworth. They squeaked out a 17-13 victory, making it Alabama's longest losing streak (4 games, dating back to 1989) in 34 years.
