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      CommentAuthorhoppedup
    • CommentTimeAug 6th 2013 edited
     
    Mr. and Mrs. Brouche, my dad and I are headed out to Nashville for this one. Schedule is up: http://americanamusic.org/showcase-lineup

    I wish I could be at 3rd & Lindsley and Cannery Ballroom all night Thursday night. Most other times I don't think I see many conflicts.

    Anybody see any lesser known acts on the schedule that are must-see?
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    I would recommend The Stray Birds, Two Man Gentlemen Band.
    • CommentAuthorfsulloway
    • CommentTimeAug 6th 2013
     
    Andrew Combs at The Basement. Cool venue, great performer.
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      CommentAuthorhoppedup
    • CommentTimeAug 6th 2013
     
    Andrew Combs sounds great. I love the Basement and I think Grimey might even remember me by now. I've been to seven or eight shows there and always make a trip to the record shop upstairs when I'm in Nashville. Only thing that sucks is that The Basement is the only venue not in walking distance of our lodging. I've never used the shuttle at AMA fest and worry that I'd miss a showcase or two waiting on it, since most sets are 45 minutes.

    We saw Tommy Womack and the Rush to Judgment at The Basement two years ago and were able to boogie over to The Rutledge and get set up to tape for Eric Brace and Peter Cooper. It helped that somebody fainted and venue staff were so busy that Eric Brace was working the door. I have no idea how much taping I'll do this year. The Rutledge is definitely the easiest spot to tape that I've been to in Nashville.

    Jeff, I'll check out The Stray Birds. Pretty sure I saw the Two Man Gentleman Band in Bristol in 2010 and was not really into it.
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      CommentAuthortous
    • CommentTimeAug 12th 2013
     
    The Howlin' Brothers, The Lone Bellow and Matt Mays.
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      CommentAuthorhoppedup
    • CommentTimeAug 12th 2013
     
    Already got The Lone Bellow on the list and Matt Mays is just before American Aquarium so I'll probably make those.
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      CommentAuthorhoppedup
    • CommentTimeSep 23rd 2013
     
    Posted this review to a listserv I'm on:

    Had a blast this year!

    Wednesday: Started the week out with an in-store solo performance at Grimey's by Luther Dickinson. Luther told some good stories and played some really nice slide acoustic. "We were out all day picking motorcycles and riding mushrooms..." A little bird gave me some info that I thought was insider info on the SURPRISE set for Thursday night. I spread like it was gospel and it was incorrect. Sorry to anyone who showed up at Mercy Lounge based on my rumor.

    The early evening consisted of stops at Bosco's, Blackstone, and Broadway Brewhouse to hit the West End beer highlights.

    Tried to go to The Lone Bellow at Mercy and it was over capacity so had to settle for the Infamous Stringdusters at Cannery Ballroom. Seeing the Dusters ain't really settling, but the sound in Cannery is just terrible. Went over to the Rutledge and caught Over The Rhine. Went back to the hostel a bit early. As old age begins to creep in, you really gotta pace yourself for a four day event. The Nashville Downtown Hostel was probably the nicest hostel I've ever stayed in and was much less than half the cost of the cheapest of the big hotels downtown. We found free street parking and walked almost everywhere which saved us quite a bit of money.

    Thursday: Ended up at Jack's for lunch. It's good but the pork at Peg Leg Porker the next night was better. Saw Peter Cooper cruising down Lower Broad in his Rugged Americana Troubadour-mobile. In the bright midday sun his silver minivan was in stark contrast to the backdrop of a fleet of Taylor Swift tractor-trailers lined up outside the Bridgestone Arena. Walked over a block and saw Eric Brace getting into his Rugged Americana Troubadour-mobile. What a coincidence. We made our way over to Fat Bottom Brewery in East Nashville to pre-show for the Alternate Root's East Nashville Detour. Great brews and nice folks. Go check them out.

    Walked into 5 Spot and caught the last couple of songs from Mark Robinson Band. Got set up and took some video of Jon Byrd. Got audio and video on Kevin Gordon then EB&PC. Eric & Peter had Dan Seymour on bass, Justin Amaral on drums and Tim Carroll on electric guitar. Probably the best set I saw all week, I just wish it had been longer. We made our way back to Mercy Lounge for the Surprise! set. Not only was it not what I thought or what others were speculating, it was a band I'd never heard of. Spent the rest of the evening bouncing around the Mercy-Cannery-High Watt complex with Ann W and Mary S. Spirit Family Reunion kicked ass. Saw a bit of NMAS and Shooter. Good stuff.

    Friday: Woke up Friday with a craving for breakfast. Went to Varallo's and lunch was up so we got a pretty decent meat and two and chili spaghetti. My traveling companions and I are by no means pretty boys, but we headed to Franklin anyway. Cool Springs brewing had some great beers on tap and I highly recommend the Mango IPA paired with the Bleu Cheese Chips. We stopped by Turtle Anarchy brewery and had a very nice pumpkin ale. After stops at Yazoo and Jackalope we headed back to the hostel to relax for a bit. I was supposed to be taping Chelsea Crowell at 11 for one of my friends who manages her. At 10, as I tried to leave the hostel, it was pouring rain. Cabs were an hour out and our car was parked on the other side of The Rutledge so we bailed and saw nothing.

    Saturday: A full day of music and food! We walked around looking for some breakfast a bit less expensive than Puckett's and ended up at Khan's Mongolian BBQ. Great omelet and super cheap! We had maple bacon donuts from Peace Love and Little Donuts in the Arcade for dessert. Then it was back to Fat Bottom for some more tasty East Nashville brew. We had to try Hot Chicken and since we were on the good side of the river we went to Pepperfire. I got the medium and it was just about the right amount of spice for me. Can't even imagine what the XX-hot must be like.
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      CommentAuthorhoppedup
    • CommentTimeSep 23rd 2013
     
    continued...


    We were most looking forward to Americanarama at Grimey's/The Basement. We arrived to hear the last two songs from The Autumn Defense. I had no idea it was a side project for some guys from Wilco. They were good but their very faithful (to the Bob Welch version) cover of Sentimental Lady was as cheesy as it sounds. Billy Bragg tore through a short set that included his first studio album in its entirety. Willie Sugarcapps was great and would have been my hands-down favorite of the week, but there were some issues in the out front sound. I'm sure it's tough to sound check that much instrumentation and vocals with such a tight schedule, though.

    For the evening shows, we had planned on Willie Sugarcapps at Station Inn. Reports of a crowded venue with a chance of waiting outside for a possible spot lead us to shift over to 3rd & Lindsley for Scott Miller & The Commonwealth. I don't know how I've never seen Scott Miller before, but I won't make the mistake of missing him again when comes around here. Ran into Sparky and Mary S at this one. Hoofed it on over to Mercy for Houndmouth. It was crowded and the music was underwhelming so we went to the High Watt for the remainder of the evening. Our friends from Raleigh, American Aquarium, finished out the fest with a great set of their brand of alt.country-americana-rock kinda thing. All in all another great trip to Nashville and another great festival. Much like the recent Hopscotch festival in Raleigh, the day parties and non-sanctioned events were the best of the fest.

    I got audio and/or video on several acts and will share as allowed and post links here.

    See you again in 2015!

    Cheers,

    Dale

    p.s. - Actually the best thing to happen was when my realtor called me Friday. My house is under contract!

    I will add for 5G that No Future Together was playing on the house music between some of the bands at The High Watt one night.
  2.  
    Thanks for the review hopped....sounds like it was a hell of a time.
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      CommentAuthorhoppedup
    • CommentTimeSep 24th 2013