Memphis in May BBQ Fest

Weenie and I made our way down to Tom Lee Park for the Memphis in May World Championship Barbecue Cooking Contest. I left work around 2:00 and scooped her up on the way down. We paid our $20 to park across the street and started down the hill towards the river.

The day could not have been more perfect. It was around 75 and not a cloud in the sky. It's usually raining or 90 degrees. I was really looking forward to free beer and BBQ.

We got to the tent and it was pretty empty. Phil had us 3 cases of very cold Bud Light and we started making a dent in the cooler. We had a couple of hours to kill before anyone else we knew showed up so we headed up on the top of the tent to enjoy the view.

The team was downstairs preparing for supper so we went down to check it out.

Some of my friends showed up and saw the crawfish at the tent next door. We walked over and they told us to eat all we wanted.

Pegelah and JJ stepped up to the cooler and started shucking and sucking.

Then the Food Network showed up.

We wanted no part of the filming so we went back on top to people watch.

Dyna showed up.

Then it got real crowded up on top.

We watched the sun set and I was pretty buzzy by then.

We left the park around 10:30 and headed to the Bayou. Surprise!

Bayou, Beers and Karaoke

Last Friday, Mooey and I got off work early and headed up to the Bayou. DP was waiting on us. He had snagged a table on the patio. Weenie walked up from work about 45 minutes later. The beers were already flowing. This was going to be a small get together but the table kept getting bigger and bigger.

Here is a pic of our fearless waitress, Betsy, with Dyna.

She puts up with a lot from us and still manages to smile.

Me and Karn!

The table was too crowded so we paid up and headed to the One More.

As soon as we arrived, Weenie put her name up for karaoke. She wrote down her signature song, Thank You by Dido. Dyna grabbed my camera and got Weenie in action.

Then we all moved to the patio.

Gracie!

My aunt got a dog. She's a toy Yorkie and her name is Gracie. I was over at her house for Mother's Day and I took a few pictures. She's so freaking cute I want to kidnap her!

Here she is getting a treat. Look how tiny!

Another Birthday!

Beck's birthday is the day after Weenie's. She decided to wait and have her cele on Saturday. Saturday was also Cinco de Mayo.

We started the party early and went to Molly's La Casita for margaritas, Tecate and food around 4:00. Dyna, Torrence, Mooey and Beck joined us later. We had secured the big table by the window.

We were having a big time and then the electricity went out. It started getting warm in there so we got one more beer and then the check. The lights came back on after about 10 minutes but we were over it by then. Time to head to the One More. We needed to secure a couple of tables for the party.

As you can see, the deck filled up fast.

Weenie grabbed the birthday girl for a little two-step.

More party goers!

DR and happy!

Weenie's Birthday!

Weenie really wanted to go to Bike Night at Alfred's on Beale but the weather prevented that. She decided Old Zinnie's would be her 2nd choice. DP, Weenie and I showed up around 5:15 and got the big table. People started showing up shortly after that. It got kinda rowdy right away.

Check out the sweet balloon Ben brought her.

We took pictures of the table before we all paid and headed to the One More.

Mooey's dreaded boot also made an appearance.

As we were pulling into the parking lot of the One More I noticed that the large deck had been taped off and there were a few tables in the parking lot. WTF? They had stained the motherfucker and we couldn't sit there. Super neat. So we all saddled up to the 3 lonely tables in the parking lot.

You can see that Renee was especially upset about the deck.

Patrice and Weenie!

Then it was time to kiss Daddy's buckle.

I asked Weenie's brother, DP, to take a picture of me and Nick. He's a great photographer.

He went on take these fantastic shots of Dyna before I could wrestle it away from him.

Here's a couple of shots with Dyna's face in them.

One by one everyone left and we moved inside. Here's the last of the party. Mai (the bartender) joined us for the pic and then she kicked us out.

Lucinda!

The 23rd was Lucinda Williams at the Michael Rose Theatre on the University of Memphis campus. Weenie and I went over to Susan and Jeff's house for predrinks. The venue did not serve alcohol. As a matter of fact, they don't serve refreshments of any kind. Super!

Weenie and I had packed a cooler full of beer in anticipation of no alcohol. Jeff was also very interested in the beers. We figured we would go out to the van during intermission and slam a few.

Susan had procured us tickets and backstage passes for the show, so, to say I was excited would be an understatement.

We got the tickets and they were on the 7th row. The show was sold out so S & J didn't have tickets. Susan was singing with Lucinda so they would just hang backstage during the show.

The opening chick was really good. She played the fiddle flawlessly. I later learned the drummer was Alison Krauss's brother. I wonder if Alison gave her any pointers?

Before the opener was over, we, minus Susan, all headed to the van for beers. We all killed a Bud Light and walked back to our seats. Finally, Lucinda came out. She started with Greenville but soon started coughing and had to stop. She then started Fruits of My Labor and choked again. She was laughing about it and said that the pollen in Memphis had her all stopped up.

She decided to try Pineola (one of my favs) and her throat didn't let her down this time. It was smooth sailing after that. She played 5 or 6 songs and then brought out Susan. They sang Lake Charles together and I was covered in chills. It was truly heartstopping. I'm not sure if I breathed through the whole song.

Then she bought out Alvin Youngblood Hart and he let loose with his guitar riffs. They played Joy and Lucinda stood up on the drum stage and the look on her face was priceless. She was in awe of Susan and Alvin. Once the song was over, Lucinda ran to the mic and said "I believe that's the best version of Joy ever done!"

She played a bunch of other tunes and finally after 2 hours, ended with Real Live Bleeding Fingers And Broken Guitar Strings.

The lights came up and people began to file out. Weenie and I hung back. We were to wait for Jeff to come and get us.

We saw Susan stick her head out and motion for us to come back. We walked behind the stage and saw her band members. We went into the Green Room where they were making sandwiches. Alvin was in there hanging out. There were a few other people with backstage passes stuck to their shirts.




I was nervous. We sat around for a while and the tour manager walked through and said to anyone that would listen "I don't think Lucinda is coming out." A strikened look crossed my face but I glanced at Susan and she made me feel at ease.

The bass player was leaning against the wall and looked at Susan and said "Well, I guess I'm heading to the bus" and Susan said, "Well, I guess we'll be going too."

So, we got up and started following the bass player out to where the buses were. The tour manager was waiting for us and I was thinking "Is this about to happen?"

He opened the door to the bus and I was first to board. He said "Help yourself to the fridge." Jeff, Weenie and Susan boarded and then HE SHUT THE DOOR. I was thinking "wait, it's just us on the bus! OMG!" He then said, "She'll be out in a minute."

I got up and got a beer. Anything to calm my nerves. The bus was badass. Weenie and I were on the couch and I immediately took out my camera and starting taking pictures of myself in Lucinda's bus.


Susan asked for the camera so she could snap a pic of me and Weenie.

Then Lucinda opened the bedroom door and came out. Susan introduced us and she hugged us both. I was just grinning the whole time. Then we all sat down and she just started talking to Weenie and I like she'd known us forever. She was so gracious and just regular, for lack of a better word.

She was telling Susan about some songs she was working on that she would be great on singing backup. Then, she started singing them! OMG! I poked Weenie and whispered "Is this really happening!" Then she sang a little of another song. It was magical.

She told us several hysterical stories and had us laughing. The tour manager stuck his head in the door and said they needed to leave pretty soon. They were heading to Louisville.

I'd given Susan my CD to have signed. I knew she could get it done. Lucinda took the CD and we made sure she spelled Weenie's name right.



Then we all stood up and I handed my camera to some dude. It's terrible of me because I'm smiling and shouting instructions on using the camera.

We left shortly after the pictures were taken. We all got another hug. As I stepped off the bus, it was still so surreal. The grin returned to my face and was still there when my head hit the pillow.