Nashville: Day Three - An Evening With Steve Martin and Friends

I want a banjo.

That's what I've deducted after catching Steve Martin (yes, the same Steve Martin who did stand up with an arrow through his head some years ago) in concert at Nashville's historic Ryman Auditorium last Sunday.

I'm pretty clueless when it comes to Bluegrass. If it wasn't on the O'Brother What Art Thou soundtrack I probably don't know it. Mixing comedy with some great music, Martin showed the crowd that he truly is an entertainment genius. Even more impressive was how he stepped back and let his backup band, The Steep Canyon Rangers, own much of the musical portions of the show. A few other friends also stopped by for a song or two.

I was a little concerned when I found my seat. When I bought it, I figured being on the floor in the dead center of the stage would be a good thing. Normally it's not. And while my seat wasn't horrible, the balcony at the Ryman hangs very low so much of my peripheral vision was the low ceiling of sorts above me.

The seats were hard wooden pews. Between that and the stained glass windows that were a mere walkway behind me, I should have expected a religous experience from the evening. While not quite that powerful, I do have to say that it inspired me to wanting to play a banjo and becoming a musical storyteller for my future grandkids. So maybe I'm thinking 20 years in advance but at the rate I expect to learn an instrument, that's how long I'm going to need.

The evening began with John McEuen, one of the founding members of the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band. Whether he was on the banjo, guitar or fiddle, McEuen played the role of master storyteller, warming the audience up with jokes and winning their hearts with stories of country music legends.

After McEuen finished his set and a crew had a chance to ready the stage with a couple of posters and hook up the cameras as the main event of the evening was apparently being recorded for a TV special. As Martin hit the stage I realized that he hasn't aged much since I first became a fan as he hung with the Muppets. But then I had a second realization and that was that he probably aged young and is only now looking his age.

As you'd expect, Martin cracked a couple of jokes and set up some more before breaking into the first part of his set. When I was going to pick up my tickets this afternoon, a group was coming out of the auditorium and one person mentioned the concert to their friend. The friend had a hard time accepting the idea of Martin as a musician and immediately began recalling choice movie clips that are now 25 years old. I was greeted with similar hesitations from people when I told them how excited I was to see Steve Martin in concert. While I would've been disappointed if he didn't include some gags in his show, I wasn't concerned. Funny people are funny in any situation.Martin is a performer. Laughs were a guarantee.

He's also a damn fine picker on the banjo as well. I'm not going to pretend to understand the mechanics of playing, but he sounded great as he played songs that were original to him all the way until the encore where he brought out leagend Earl Scruggs.

While Martin is a standout banjo player, he still let the Steep Canyon Rangers shine. More often than not, Martin was happy to step aside and let the youthful group of five take the spotlight. Winners of the "Emerging Artist of the Year Award" at the 2006 International Bluegrass Music Association Awards, the band brings a happy sound that felt both traditional and modern to me. They're multi-talented too. Before the show began I went to check out the souvenirs where Rangers fiddle player Nicky Sanders was covering. He seemed a little flustered seeing as how his chance to psyche himself up was being spent selling T-shirts and explaining that the autographed Steve Martin posters were on their way.

All-in-all, seeing Steve Martin live was a big highlight of my trip. He's been a legend on the screen that I've looked up to my entire life. To see him live, even if not in the environment that I'm used to seeing him, is something I'll never forget.

And, yes there is a card tie-in here. Martin had an autograph card in Inkworks' Looney Tunes: Back in Action set from 1993. It's a pretty horrible picture of him, but nonetheless it's a reasonably priced autograph of one of a generation's most popular actors. The card used to sell consistently in the $50-60 range but since the release of Razor's Ink Vault and Ink Archives sets, the card can now be found for about half that if you look hard enough.

Nashville: Day Two - Hockey Night in Canada Down South

Last night I slipped on my Hockey Night in Canada (classic logo) shirt and headed on down to the Sommet Center to see a tilt between two teams that until then hadn't lost all season. Granted they'd only played a pair each, but still. The game needed a story.

The hometown Nashville Predators were taking on the visiting Buffalo Sabres in a game that caused much confusion amongst the crowd seeing as how both teams have the same jersey.

As always seems to be the case for professional sporting events I go to, the home team lost. Sabres goalie Ryan Miller got the shutout, but the real star of the game was Preds' goalie Pekka Rinne who faced 40 shots and made several diving saves.

 

I had the camera with me, but it was hard to get sharp shots from the top of the arena with my zoom lens. I was VERY impressed with the Sommet Center. Although my seats were but a few rows from the top, I could see the game very nicely. Hockey is a great game to watch live. TV kills it for me, largely because of the commercial breaks. Flow is crucial in enjoying hockey. Live, things zoom by quickly and even though it's a fast-paced game, it's easy to see the puck and follow what's happening.

I was surprised by the number of Sabres fans in attendance. In fact, the "Let's Go Buffalo!" cheers were louder than the "Let's Go Predators!" chants. If that doesn't say volumes for the future of hockey in Nashville, perhaps this picture does:

The picture wasn't taken between periods or before the game. It was smack dab in the middle of the second period. In most of the sections, particularly in the middle part of the arena, there were tons of seats to be had. The uppers were solid and much of the bottom bowl was filled (although there were noticable pockets of empties) but the middle-of-the-road spots were sparse. My theory, without any scientific backing, research or any sort of credability figures this is where the economy has hurt the team the most. The wealthy folks will always be able to fill the pricey seats and the not-so-wealthy will gobble up the value seats. But you're left in the middle with some seats that aren't cheap but they're also not spectacular views. The result: Lonely Guy sleeping alone in the corner of Section 111.

First Hamilton was itching to get a team, now Quebec City is back in the mix, one might want to start taking bets on which southern US team is going to be packing it in first and heading back to Canada.

The crowd was treated to a celebrity. Santa Claus tried to disguise himself in a Predators jersey but when you sit right behind the bench, you need to understand the video cameras and the cameras of those in attendance are going to capture you (pardon the horrible photography). Check him out in the front row with his big beard.

Finally, here's a POV shot from the hair of the guy in front of me:

My adopted hometown Oilers are in Nashville on Monday but I'll be off to the Grand Old Opry for a biggish concert. It would've been ironic that I almost caught the Oilers on the other side of the continent before seeing them at their own home two hours away from my house. But it simply wasn't meant to be, I guess.

Nashville: Day One - Cylon Spotting

After a long day of travel from the snowy Alberta prairies (yes, we had our first snowfall already) to the happening hills of Nashville I've realized two things already:

1. I'm not a fan of United Airlines.
2. Cylons are human.

I had the pleasure of experiencing two United airplanes on my journey yesterday. Their service was adequate, their pilots competent but do their planes ever suck. Squished, hot and terribly boring, there's nothing to do for hours on end. I don't fly a lot so perhaps my expectations are too high but one of the major airlines in Canada tells jokes, doesn't take themselves too seriously (a very Canadian trait) and has a cheap little TV on the back of every seat. Imagine that - simple entertainment through the magic of LCD screens and satellites. But I digress.

I'm staying in the heart of downtown Nashville and there was lots of neon to greet me when I rolled in around 10:00 PM. Live music blending together creating a mew genre of art, lots of beer, men of questionable morals almost engaging in some fisticuffs, scantily clad moms showing their just 21 (I hope) daughters how to bar hop, these were all things I observed over the short course of a meal and a five-block stroll back to the hotel. These observations may seem like I'm bashing Nashville or singling out the negative aspects. I'm not. I'm pointing out my first impressions that show this city has character. I've also spotted beautiful churches, eaten great meals and exchanged pleasant hellos with friendly folks. I'm excited to be here and look forward to spending the better part of a week getting to know some of it better when I'm not in my sessions.

While eating dinner at a pub and glancing at the Angels/Sox game I did a little TV star spotting. I was a big fan of Battlestar Galactica (both versions, but I'm thinking of the recent update here) so I recognized who I'm convinced was the mechanic Cylon who didn't know he was a Cylon until late in the series. At least that's who I thought of him as last night as I'm bad with names. If I'm in fact making the proper connection it was Aaron Douglas. I'm not a fan of pestering people, especially when they're with a group of semi-rowdies drinking beer on a Friday night. So in my mind I encountered a Cylon but I really could have just seen some guy out for drinks on a Friday night with some semi-rowdy friends in downtown Nashville, which really wouldn't be notable. And if that were the case I wouldn't be able to make the card connection (yes, I know my blog isn't about travelling). So here's Aaron Douglas and his autograph card from Rittenhouse Archives' BSG: Premier Edition:

Over the course of the series, Rittenhouse Archives went all-out for their BSG sets. The highlight for me is the tremendous autograph checklists they got. Some might complain there were a lot of repeat signers, but it worked for me because I got into the show late and I wouldn't spend close to $100 on a Starbuck autograph from the first set simply because it's "rare." Give me the more plentiful - or at least easier to find - fourth or fifth autograph for $30 and you've got a happy camper.

I think I'm going to head to the Predators/Sabres tilt to night to engage in a little Hockey Night in Canada, Nashville Edition so I might actually post twice in two days for the first time in too long.