Nashville: November 25, 2015: Music, y'all

State Capitol.  US Thanksgiving Eve

Didn't take a lot of photos today, and didn't do a lot other than walk around.  Other things I've learned, though: 

• Nashville, for a city that was, at least, partially built on country music, is pretty defensive about it.  The shuttle driver who took me to my hotel from the airport and the tour guide on a city tour I took were both quick to point out the building which houses the symphony orchestra, and say that it's been nominated for 14 Grammys and won 7.  When touring the Ryman, the tour guide there kept pointing out the Ryman Auditorium started as a lot more than the home of the Opry and that many genres of music have been represented there.  I get it:  Nashville is more than country music.

• From my downtown hotel, I could hear a train whistle every night.  I finally saw the train today.  There's a railroad near the Capitol.  Is this why trains are the subject of so many country songs?  Why is a train with a blowing its whistle in the city?  It seems like a rural thing.  Something to ponder....or not....

Curse you, Jack White, for making your record store so hard to reach.

I made it to Third Man Records.  It wasn't as easy as I had hoped.  It's in a seemingly industrial area.  Not that far from the city centre geographically, but feels miles away.

Batman watches over Jack White's recording studio....

Music Report

Before I left Toronto, the morning of my flight to Austin, I booked a ticket for The Bluebird Cafe.  It's a singer / songwriter showcase, only people who actually write their own music can play there.  It's also a setting for the TV show "Nashville."  I felt fortunate to get a ticket because they only seat, at most, 100 people and tickets go in minutes.  There's also a strict no talking policy when people play--it's a listening room.

Bluebird Cafe.

My research, though, failed to show how far it is from the downtown.  Google says that walking there form my hotel would take 2 hours.  From the TV show, I just assumed it was in the downtown area. 

I was literally five feet from the stage.  Not a single cowboy hat in the crowd or onstage.  It was mostly really sad songs that could be country songs, but were all played on acoustic guitar (or keyboard, in one case), so they straddled that netherworld between genres.  This singers were creating harmonies on the fly and the keyboard player and other guitar players were improvising harmonies for each other.  It's great to see talent, but it also makes me feel bad about myself and then want to punch the young ones in the face.  

One of the singers was a Canadian living in Nashville.  And he said, at the end, "I want to thank y'all for coming."  Are Canadians allowed to say "y'all"?  Apparently so.  I will be adding "y'all" to my vernacular, in addition to my efforts to bring back the use of the expression "sho nuff." 

What I ate

I made it to Hattie B's.  I heard about this place before I left on this trip, and the shuttle driver from the airport told me to go when I asked him about places to eat.  It's crispy fried chicken, with a bit of heat.  I finally tried mac and cheese, which is a standard side dish here, like fries.

Hattie B's chicken.  No actual Hattie B there, though...  I was hoping I could meet her and call her "Miss Hattie".

I also had a "Goo Goo," which is, apparently, Nashville's "signature candy bar."  A guy that drives a shuttle at this hotel has always lived in Nashville, and he thought they were available everywhere when he was a kid.  

Goo Goo.  It's like a Turtle.

Goo Goo with a bite in it.  It's a Turtle, dammit.  I paid $2 for this????

To be honest, I actually tried to take it easy on the food today, since tomorrow is Thanksgiving, and I'm switching hotels.  I felt compelled to see the Opryland Resort which is off by itself away from the downtown area.  I'll be checking in tomorrow.  It's allegedly the largest hotel in the US not connected to a casino.  It seems excessive!  I've also booked a Thanksgiving buffet and will try everything.  Excessive!  Plus, hoping to fit in some barbecue again on Friday before I fly home.

Y'all sho nuff better believe I'll be eating as much as I can over the next couple of days.  Sho nuff!