Soul Asylum-a primer
This week on the James VanOsdol show: Dave Pirner of Soul Asylum.
Soul Asylum’s the workhorse band you can’t help but root for. The implacable band simply never stops–and their live show remains absolutely fierce.
Here are a few videos to help you catch up on the band before their new album, Delayed Reaction, comes out in July.
“Somebody to Shove”-The opening guitar riff on this song is one of the best things that happened to me in the 1990s.
“Cartoon”-80s song, from Hang Time:
“Easy Street”-Soul Asylum entered the 90s with the album And the Horse They Rode In On. “Easy Street” from that album was my first exposure to the band.
“I Will Still Be Laughing”-If you saw BASEketball, you heard this song over the final credits. More significantly, it appeared on the band’s 1998 release Candy from a Stranger:
“Misery”-Soul Asylum followed up the monster release Grave Dancer’s Union with Let Your Dim Light Shine, in 1995. Among the album’s many highlights: “Misery.”
“Gravity”-First single from Delayed Reaction. There’s no band-sanctioned video for it yet, so you’ll have to check out this boot in the meantime:
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The End of the World’s Greatest Hits
Last week at this time, I was fearing impossible scenarios that could arise from Chicago’s hosting of the NATO summit. That’s not surprising for me: the apocalypse seems to be a common theme in the entertainment I consume.
I started to think about all the different end-of-the-world things I enjoy and put together a starter list for your armageddon-themed entertainment. This list is in no way meant to be exhaustive–if you have additions, let me know!
MUSIC
Time Zone “World Destruction”
Afrika Bambaataa and John Lydon teamed up to list the reasons why we’re all pretty much fucked.
“Mother Nature is gonna work against you / Nothing in your power that you can do.”
Kaboom:
Morrissey “Everyday is Like Sunday”
“Armageddon – come armageddon! Come, armageddon! Come!”
To paraphrase: “Bring it, bitch!”
Iron Maiden “2 Minutes to Midnight”
Legendary metallers synchronize their watches with the Doomsday Clock:
BOOKS
I Am Legend by Richard Matheson
Forget the Will Smith movie–this desperate, lonely, nailbiter about a vampire apocalypse is a quick and unforgettable read. George Romero even acknowledged its influence on Night of the Living Dead (I’m getting to that one in a few).
If books aren’t your thing, the movie looks like this:
World War Z by Max Brooks
Brilliant idea–take a zombie apocalypse and have the story told, oral history-style, by its survivors. Brooks took the concept from Studs Terkel’s The Good War.
The Stand by Stephen King
The Stand isn’t perfect, and it’s not even King’s best book (I prefer It and Carrie). However, the post-superflu world King created–and the good vs. evil story he tells–are as good as post-apocalyptic fiction gets.
MOVIES
12 Monkeys
In all seriousness, this is my favorite movie ever. Terry Gilliam directed this sci-fi masterpiece that brings together a world-ending virus, time travel, Bruce Willis, an early Brad Pitt performance, and monkeys.
Invasion of the Body Snatchers
Not far behind 12 Monkeys is my love for this 1978 remake of the 1956 horror film (which itself was based on a book). I’ve been told that this movie’s one big allegory, and I couldn’t give less of a shit about that. The bottom line is that this is a tense, creepy, flick with knockout performances from Donald Sutherland, Brooke Adams, Jeff Goldblum, and Leonard Nimoy.
Spoiler warning: this is the end of the movie. It’s awesome.
28 Weeks Later
I prefer this to its predecessor, 28 Days Later. The best of the modern-day zombie movies, in my opinion:
Night of the Living Dead
There is nothing–nothing–I can say about this b&w classic that hasn’t already been said.
Fail Safe (1964)
The television play remake in ’00 was pretty great, too, but this version resonates more. It’s the U.S. vs. Russia, during one of the Cold War’s most tense peaks:
Testament
I remember watching this one with my parents when it came out–generally the same time when the world was buzzing about The Day After. Testament takes a sobering, more personal, look at the devastating aftermath of a nuclear holocaust. No embeds allowed; click here to see one of the film’s early distressing moments.
COMIC BOOKS
Kamandi
Jack Kirby’s Kamandi tells the story of “The Last Boy on Earth,” living in a post-apocalyptic (the Great Disaster) world. Every page during Kirby’s run screams of invention and insanity, as the titular boy finds his way in a world run by highly-evolved animals. The first 20 issues are collected here.
Also recommended: The Walking Dead, Y: the Last Man, Wasteland, Deathlok.
At some point down the road, I’ll cover Dystopia’s Greatest Hits (another favorite of mine).
Jenny McCarthy
Coming to the James VanOsdol show later this afternoon (5/23): Jenny McCarthy.
She’s an author! Activist! Actress! Model! And, um, this girl:
Jenny and I talk about her work for Generation Rescue, her upcoming Playboy pictorial, how she takes her hot dogs, MTV, and her upcoming NBC shows (that’s plural).
A quick Candlebox primer
This week on my show, I’m joined by Candlebox singer Kevin Martin.
The Seattle-born band saturated alternative and rock radio throughout the 90s with songs like lighter-flicking power ballad “Far Behind”:
“You” was another big Candlebox hit. Like “Far Behind,” it too came from the band’s self-titled 1993 debut:
Their second album, Lucy, wasn’t nearly as successful as their first, but it sold well enough to achieve gold status (over 500,000 units shifted). “Simple Lessons” is the first song on the album:
Less than two years after the band released their third album, Happy Pills, they broke up. The move was made primarily to get out of their record deal with Maverick.
The band got back together in 2006, and has since released two albums, including this year’s Love Stories & Other Musings.
“Believe in It,” from Love Stories:
During the interview, Kevin and I talk about the band’s early days and lack of acceptance on the Seattle scene, the breakup, and the new album. Thanks for listening!
Discography
Candlebox (1993)
Lucy (1995)
Happy Pills (1998)
Into the Sun (2008)
Love Stories & Other Musings (2012)
The Avengers: Ten Things You Should Know
Saturday night, my son and I left the house an hour early to catch a local screening of The Avengers. I figured that the theater would be fairly crowded, and I have a long-running fear of having to sit in one of the penalty rows in front of the screen, generally reserved for late arrivals.
We got to the theater at 4:45 for the 5:40 show. When we arrived, there was a line of people roughly 50 deep waiting to get into our one-of-16 screen local cineplex. I don’t know the weekend box office numbers yet, but the final stats should place The Avengers somewhere between the last Harry Potter movie and “are you f-ing kidding me?”
I went into this movie, as I do all comic movies, with a little more working knowledge than the average citizen. For a kid weaned on Avengers comics, seeing this movie was kind of like getting a lifetime achievement award for being a dork.
Here are my thoughts:
1. This is the best Hulk movie to date. Mark Ruffalo was something Eric Bana and Ed Norton weren’t: a likeable Bruce Banner. As for the Jolly Green Giant, he smashes a lot of stuff, and its done to great comic effect in a few sequences. Though The Avengers was a leap forward for Hulk, I’m still not sure he deserves a third solo film. He plays much better in an ensemble.
2. The plot is flimsy. The MacGuffin of the film, the dreaded COSMIC CUBE, drives Thor’s wicked half-brother, Loki, to lead an army through a wormhole in an effort to subjugate humanity.
The nice thing about the movie, however, is that every time I started to linger on some of the plot’s silliness, I was distracted by something much more interesting or awesome on the screen. Which brings me to the point that…
3. The Avengers is a truly fun movie to watch. Credit Joss Whedon for two and a half hours worth of verbal interplay worth quoting around the water cooler:
Thor: He’s my brother.
Black Widow: He killed 80 people in two days.
Thor: He’s adopted.
4. There are no Easter eggs. The Marvel movies leading up to The Avengers: Iron Man, The Incredible Hulk, Iron Man 2, Thor, and Captain America, were loaded with in-references and hints of the larger Marvel universe. I scrutinized every computer monitor and piece of scenery in the movie and came up with nothing. After years of being conditioned to look for that kind of stuff, there was nothing to find. I was hoping for at least a nod to some of the “classic” Avengers like Ant-Man, Wasp, Vision, and Black Panther.
5. Captain America sucks. I went into the movie expecting Black Widow or Hawkeye to be the weak link of the team, but holy hell, Chris Evans has zero charisma.
6. The final battle scene is pretty epic, in the non-overused sense of the word. Seeing the assembled team take on Loki and his Chitauri minions–while destroying New York City in the process–was big fun to watch.
7. Before we get the big fight at the end, we’re treated to a dozen mini-fights, most of which pit Avenger vs. Avenger. The three-way between Iron Man, Thor, and Captain America was pure fan service and wholly kickass.
8. While there were no Easter eggs, there were two post-movie scenes. The first one is placed fairly early in the credits sequence, and the other runs after the credits have finished. You don’t need to stay until the bitter end, but I was happy I did.
9. Nick Fury finally kicks some ass. After seeing Samuel L. Jackson’s Fury pop up as a cameo player in the lead-in movies, it was nice to see him do more than talk.
10. The ensemble cast never feels too crowded. One of the film’s greatest achievements is that it allowed each one the principal characters to shine. Captain America, Thor, Hulk, Iron Man, Black Widow, Nick Fury … each got a respectable amount of character development–no small feat for a team movie like this.
Alternative Radio in Chicago
Last July, “alternative” radio station Q101 disappeared from the airwaves after the station was sold to then-new media company Merlin Media.
Since then, an impossible-to-predict series of events has come together.
For one, I decided to write a freaking book about the station.
Around the same time the station was being handed to Merlin, Q101′s name and history were purchased by a pair of entrepreneurial partners, Matt DuBiel and Mike Noonan. The pair worked to position Q101 as a digital-only property, and have spent a considerable amount of cash and energy to reinvigorate the brand and re-engage the audience. Along those lines, they’re currently trying to crowdfund a next-gen “Jamboree” event via Kickstarter.
Fast forward to last week: news broke that alternative radio was being brought back to the Chicago dial by … Merlin Media.
In another fascinating twist, Merlin has reacquired Q101′s old WKQX call letters. Robert Feder’s first report on the story appeared here. The latest update came today, and can be read here.
The big question is whether or not Merlin will make a move to buy back Q101′s name and assets, or if it will launch a station without the nineteen years of history (baggage?) that come with Q101.
With that and other questions swirling about, I asked Matt DuBiel to be my guest on next week’s show. We recorded the interview on Thursday, so by the time it hits the Steve Dahl Network on Wednesday, there will likely be a flood of new information available. Regardless of timing, the interview’s plenty interesting– maybe a little too “inside baseball,” but interesting nonetheless.
Preview:
JVO: “At the time you decided, ‘we want these digital assets, we want the name Q101,’ you were aware that the station was kind of damaged goods at that point. Musically, reputation-wise, image, the station had been f***** with, prodded, tweaked, and pulled in a million different directions. You were buying a … problematic heritage.”
C2E2 2012
Since the last time I went to C2E2, it’s become a really big deal.
Everything about the event felt bigger this year: bigger hall, bigger stars, bigger attendance.
You’ll probably read and see lots of reviews from mainstream sources over the next day or two about how C2E2 legitimizes nerd culture, or some such thing. In a world where Hunger Games, the Amazing Spider-Man, and the Avengers are anticipated to be among the highest-grossing movies of the year, the notion of “nerd culture” is unfairly reductive … if not altogether ignorant. C2E2 reflects pop culture and has the admission sales to prove it.
I got there at 10 a.m. today, right when doors opened. I had a feeling that the crowds would thicken up in short order–since I get easily claustrophobic, I decided the earlier, the better.
I have an irresistible temptation to start buying every cool thing in sight when I walk into C2E2. Sure enough, the first booth I saw was Graphitti Designs, the company that makes the coolest (and frequently, the most obscure) comic-themed t-shirts. Within seconds, I was ready to part with $21 for a Swamp Thing logo shirt. They didn’t have my size, so the money burning a hole in my pocket got a reprieve. In hindsight, I feel vindicated–Graphitti marked their shirts up $2 from what they cost on the Graphitti website.
The beauty of events like C2E2 is running face-first into a happy surprise. After failing to get my Swamp Thing t-shirt, I turned the corner and ran into a DC Comics autograph table where Len Wein, co-creator of Swamp Thing, was signing autographs next to legitimate comic book legend Joe Kubert. The line to meet them was only “two deep;” that’s it. Two people. I didn’t question it, and got right behind those fans. It was a thrill to meet the near-90 year-old Kubert and the ever-personable Wein. Wein, it should also be noted, co-created a few other familiar characters you may have heard of: Wolverine, Nightcrawler, Storm, and the Human Target.
I was totally unprepared to meet them, so I had them sign both my C2E2 program (instead of, say, this or this):
It didn’t occur to me until I walked away that I should get a picture of Kubert. Here he is, peeking out from behind the bearded gentleman in black:
Within seconds of leaving Kubert and Wein, I ran right into Kevin Brown, a.k.a. “Dotcom” on 30 Rock. He was there promoting a “Dotcom for President” campaign. I’m not sure I understand what he’s running for, but he was easily the nicest celebrity I met today.
Dotcom: You were a switch hitter?
Jack: Switch hitter, pitcher, catcher. Whatever the boys needed.
Props and costumes used in Captain America were on display near the entrance. They were featured in an auction geared towards those with lots of disposable income (as well as large open spaces in their homes):
There were smaller props on display, too, like Thor’s hammer and the dreaded Cosmic Cube:
And then there’s Cap’s-shield-on-ice, first seen as a completely-missed Easter egg in The Incredible Hulk.
Moving C2E2 to a larger hall at McCormick Place this year was a good call; there was a lot more humanity trickling through the aisles and displays this year. From what people told me today, the crowd situation yesterday was insane, a can’t-breathe-totally-packed-oh-my-God scenario.
One of the benefits of the new hall was easier access to food. Last year, con-goers had to walk up to a second floor food court to get their $5.75 hot dog/soda combos. Not a hardship by any means, but it was nice to only have to take a few side steps for my encased meat needs.
The real fun of C2E2 is Artist Alley, where creators, wannabes, and big-name pros mix it up with the masses. Artist Alley is a great place to meet people on their way up (like Ryan Browne, whose work I adore), and those who’ve already “made it,” like cheesecake artist Adam Hughes. I made a point of going to Hughes’ table–he wasn’t all that personable when I met him, but I still bought his sketchbook (his signature, seen in the corner, is “AH!”):
And when I say Adam Hughes draws “cheesecake,” I mean, well …
Drawing a crowd in Artist Alley was recent Shark Tank success story Steve Gadlin and his “I Want to Draw a Cat For You” work:
I interviewed Steve about his business a year and a half ago. If you’ve never heard the interview, check out my summary and the audio link here.
Some celebrities charged a shit-ton for the privilege of getting something signed by them. Anthony “C3PO” Daniels wanted $40 for the pleasure. I settled for a long-range photo instead. That’s him, blurry with white hair, in the back:
Meanwhile, back at the DC booth, I was reminded how much I love Mad Magazine.
No story here. I just like having an excuse to drop Alfred E. into my blog.
Hey look, it’s that guy from One Tree Hill and Freaky Friday! The line was insanely long to meet Chad Michael Murray.
Chad was there to sign his Archaia comic Everlast. I think it would be awesome if former House of Pain star Everlast wrote a comic book called Chad Michael Murray.
The Ted DiBiase-less Virgil was manning an Artist Alley table. Here he is, organizing something or another:
On the way out, I walked right past Neal Adams, one of the most influential comic artists of the past 40 years. Seriously–Batman, Green Lantern, Green Arrow, X-Men, Superman, Deadman–the impact of this guy’s work can’t be overstated. I decided to wait in line to buy a sketchbook from him, but there were too many fans abusing their window of opportunity: they wouldn’t fucking leave the table. That seemed to be a common trend at the con today: fans not knowing when to make their exit. I got impatient and resigned myself to the fact that I wouldn’t meet Neal. This is all I got for a souvenir:
And for reference … Neal Adams is a comic book god:
Surprisingly, I didn’t spend as much money on comics and memorabilia as I did last year. For perspective on my spending, I was pretty psyched to pick up these two Essential Marvel collections for four bucks each:
I could’ve spent longer on the floor–maybe even taken in a panel or two–but by 2 p.m., it was hot, sweaty, and maybe even a little smelly in the hall. Showbiz 101: quit while you’re ahead.
C2E2 is an awful lot of fun. The close proximity and access to writers, artists, creators, and stars that it provides makes it a truly memorable experience. See you there next year.
Geoff Tate of Queensryche: a Primer
Geoff Tate from Queensryche joins me later this week on the James VanOsdol show. To prepare you for the interview (as well as for his two area shows at the beginning of May), I thought I’d offer up this Queensryche primer:
“Empire”-Title track from Queensryche’s commercial breakthrough album of the same name.
“Silent Lucidity”-An unlikely top ten hit for Queensryche. A power ballad that transcends the notion of power ballads; epic before the word became a cliche.
“Operation Mindcrime”-80s metal with lyrical substance and musical teeth. The “Mindcrime” album remains a defining moment for the band and for rock concept albums.
“The Lady Wore Black”-Here’s a live version of one of the band’s very first songs, originally heard on their self-titled debut (1982).
“Sliver”-Lead track from the American Soldier album (2009).
“Jet City Woman”-Boot-quality solo performance of the Queensryche song, recorded earlier this year.
Black Sabbath and Lollapalooza
When Black Sabbath announced earlier this year that they would only be doing one U.S. gig this summer, I feared the worst.
As of today, it appears as though my fears have been realized.
Lollapalooza has become a bloated, overblown, mess. In short: too much filler, not enough killer. Going to the festival is a commitment, sometimes bordering on a chore. It’s not how Sabbath should be packaged for what could very well be Tony Iommi’s final performance in America.
Hey, kids … do you like Metric? How about Passion Pit? Are you ready to give it up for the prince of darkness and “Fairies Wear Boots?” Can you at least ironically headbob your way through it?
For your consideration:
The Thrill of Watching Movies from My Couch
I watched Morgan Spurlock’s new documentary, Comic-Con Episode IV: A Fan’s Hope, Friday night On Demand.
I love the ability to see a movie that’s currently in theaters from the comforting confines of my own home. In fact, I really hope these opportunities become more frequent. Say what you will about the “shared experience” of seeing a movie with hundreds of theater-goers, I’m perfectly content to watch a flick all by my lonesome.
The problem with going to the movies, concerts, or any public event, is that some jackass in the crowd always ruins the experience for me. Take, for example, when I went to see Van Halen at the United Center in February. I was behind a row of fratboys who drove up from Bradley (as was loudly proclaimed many, many times) who couldn’t hold their liquor. When the opening riff of “Unchained” kicked in, the fratboy in front of me yelled to his dumb buddy, “Fuck it, I’m taking my shirt off!” And with that, he proceeded to tear his shirt off, Hulk-style. He high-fived and fist-bumped his way through the rest of the concert, topless and brainless, funded by his parents who are likely none the wiser.
The moviegoing experience can be just as frustrating. Somebody’s always texting, Facebooking, or loudly fake laughing to the point of distraction. On a somewhat-related tangent, the next time you’re at a movie, check out how many people are on their mobile devices rather than communicating with the person next to them. I’m floored by how many couples don’t actually talk with one another, choosing instead to update and tweet statuses and Foursquare locations.
As for the Spurlock movie: I really enjoyed it, but keep in mind that I’m a guy with dozens of longboxes who can happily explain the differences between Neal Adams and Neil Gaiman. I couldn’t directly relate to some of the featured players, who were chosen because of their more intense fandom, but the movie sure felt familiar.
Easter music: Echo and the Bunnymen
For your Easter enjoyment, here’s a song performed by Echo and the Bunnymen:
THIS is how all metal album covers should look
And for that matter, all book jackets, movie posters, and comic books.
Rhapsody of Fire From Chaos to Eternity
Spring Break 2012: St. Louis and Memphis, Part Two-GRACELAND
For Part One, click here.
The parking lot for Graceland is across the street from the estate (that’ll be ten dollars, please). And that said, the lot is huge. This is no mere roadside attraction–this is GRACELAND.
I went into the Graceland experience expecting cheese, kitsch, and ridiculousness. In truth, the people running the Elvis estate have created a tasteful and engrossing experience.
The tour deals with the legacy of “the King,” as well as his personal/family life. The overarching takeaway is meant to be that Presley was human, and no amount of tacky decor can diminish that fact. The Elvis who is the subject of this tour isn’t the cartoon image many of us envision when we hear Elvis’ name. To that end, and perhaps sadly, there are no velvet Elvises available for purchase in the gift shop (though pretty much every other iteration of Elvis product can be found there).
As for the finer points of the tour, the mansion itself is modest-looking, by today’s standards.
The mansion’s interiors have been preserved with time capsule attentiveness. Some of my favorite rooms include the infamous Jungle Room, complete with mini waterfall:
… the basement with three televisions thematically set to period-appropriate shows.
… and the decidedly old-school kitchen.
The upstairs rooms at Graceland are completely off-limits. It’s safe to assume that giving tourists visual access to Elvis’ death throne would take the Graceland experience in an unwanted direction.
The estate beyond the mansion was much more interesting, particularly the “trophy room” that serves as home for hundreds of gold records, as well as Elvis’ Grammy Awards.
Beyond the trophy room is the racquetball court, which has a handful of Elvis’ most famous jumpsuits on display, as well as … more gold records.
One of the last sights on the tour was Elvis’ grave, settled in alongside the graves of his parents, grandmother, and stillborn twin. I guess I never paid much attention, but I was surprised to find out that Elvis’ tomb was part of the Graceland property.
The Graceland experience isn’t a pop culture moment; it’s an Elvis moment. I left the tour with an implacable desire to spin some of the Sun Records-era Elvis songs and to buy the ’68 Comeback Special on DVD.
A Thomas Dolby Primer
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Thomas Dolby checks in from the road this week on the James VanOsdol show.
Beyond his solo material, Dolby’s work can also be heard on a varied list of accomplishments, including the score to Howard the Duck and keyboards on Foreigner hits “Urgent” and “Waiting for a Girl Like You.” He also played at Live Aid with David Bowie, and on the Grammys with Stevie Wonder.
Dolby’s music career was put on hold for most of the 1990s and 00s, when he diverted his attention to his own company, Headspace. While there, he did impressive things like creating the technology for mobile phone ringtones.
If you’re in the Chicago area, Thomas Dolby will be taking his “Time Machine” tour to the Park West on April 5. In case you need a refresher on his music, here you go:
“She Blinded Me With Science”-The one that put him on the map (it’s a flat earth map, but a map nonetheless). SCIENCE!
“Europa and the Pirate Twins”-From The Golden Age of Wireless, which also includes “She Blinded Me With Science.”
“Airhead”-A fairly ridiculous song, but it has its charms (my pick from the same album, Aliens Ate My Buick, is a song called “Ability to Swing”). “She’s not an intellectual giant …”
“I Love You Goodbye”-We talked in the interview about Dolby’s ability to capture the American experience, and I specifically referenced this song.
“Nothing New Under the Sun”-From his most recent work, A Map of the Floating City. After my first few listens, I couldn’t stop playing it. It’s one of those “creeper songs” that insidiously plant themselves in the recesses of your brain and never leave.
From A Map of the Floating City, an insane video for “The Toadlickers.” I referenced the video specifically in the interview–here’s some helpful context.
“Hyperactive”-I loved this one as a kid. The video’s still a riot.
Spring Break 2012: St. Louis and Memphis, Part One
Welcome to Spring Break 2012.
My family and I wanted to get out of town for a quick, fun, vacation this year, so back in January we started pricing airfare to a variety of locations. Flying a family of four anywhere (except perhaps Detroit) costs a crippling amount of money, so we opted for a road trip instead.
With a map folded out in front of us (okay, I lied–it was a Google Map), we decided that Memphis should be our vacation destination. The problem with driving to Memphis is that there’s a whole lot of nothing between Chicago and there (besides a GIANT, TRAFFIC-STOPPING, CROSS in Effingham, IL). Rather than make the full nine-hour trip in one shot, we diverted our navigation west to St. Louis, where we stayed for the first of our three nights on the road.
Since I know nothing about college sports, I was surprised (or pissed, depending on when you caught me) to learn that the freaking NCAA tournament was in town on Saturday night, just a few blocks from our downtown hotel. College sports fans had descended on St. Louis; specifically there were lots of Kansas Jayhawks fans congregating around my hotel’s lobby and elevators, frequently with domestic beers raised in pre-celebration.
Not long after we arrived, we walked over to the Gateway Arch, which I’d never seen from up close. It’s a pretty impressive piece of architecture.
In fact, the Mississippi Riverfront that butts up against the Arch parkway was a perfect place to go walking. The area was booming with activity on Saturday afternoon … I suspect that, similar to Chicago’s lakefront, once the weather swings in the right direction, the city’s denizens migrate towards the water. There was a lot of green grass to run, play, or lay around on.
We had left our Saturday dinner plans up in the air. About a week ago, I had asked a few St. Louis natives for ideas, and they in turn helped me compile a pretty impressive short list of must-trys. We decided to go along with a few enthusiastic recommendations for an Italian restaurant in the “Hill” area of the city called Zia’s. Unfortunately, by the time we got there at 6 p.m., there was already a one-hour wait for a table. People on the wait list had to stand outside on the corner, which would have quickly turned disastrous with two kids in tow. Not knowing where to go to next, we jumped back in the car and slowly drove away. After we turned a corner or two, we stumbled upon a restaurant that our hotel concierge swore by: Guido’s.
Guido’s looks like a typical neighborhood dive, but the concierge insisted that the pizza there was transcendent. Since Zia’s fell through, we didn’t want to chase down another recommended restaurant on our list; we parked the car and filed into Guido’s. And yes, it’s a dive, but it’s totally charming in its own, untouched-by-modern-decorating-skills, way. Once we got our food, we happily learned that our concierge was right. The pizza was fabulous: classic St. Louis-style, with cracker-thin crust and a heart-stopping amount of provolone and mozzarella cheese weighing it down. The sauce was sweeter than I’m used to, but quite good.
After dinner, we hit a St. Louis dessert institution: Ted Drewes Frozen Custard. The drawing power of this place can’t be put into words, so I took pictures instead.
Ted Drewes crowd at night
The lines outside Ted Drewes
I ordered the Hawaiian, a combination of coconut, bananas, pineapple, and macadamia nuts. The nuts were a bit much; the sundae-ish creation would have been fine without them.
Before we left St. Louis for Memphis on Sunday, we sought out a breakfast place that wasn’t Starbucks (though there’s nothing wrong with a Starbucks breakfast sandwich). After some searching, we landed on a hipsteriffic breakfast joint less than a mile from our hotel: Rooster. Rooster’s “thing” is crepes, so I gave the Bacon #2 a try (bacon, Vermont cheddar, caramelized onions). It was delicious, but not worth the numbingly slow (and somewhat indifferent) service. The tab for our four-person meal was also higher at Rooster than at any other restaurant on our entire trip.
Back on the road, the view throughout most of Missouri, from St. Louis to the Arkansas border, was stunning. Rolling hills, trees in full bloom–it was a far cry from the Illinois farms that we drove past only one day prior. Arkansas, not surprisingly, was a different story–I-55 South through the northeast part of that state is a flat, textbook, rural snoozefest.
We got into Memphis around 3 p.m. on Sunday, and not long after we got settled, we walked over to the Peabody Hotel to see the legendary ducks. By 4:30, a large crowd had already gathered for the 5 p.m. duck walk. Sightlines for the ducks were hard to come by, but I did manage to snap this:
We took the long way back to our hotel so that we could see historic Beale Street. In my head, I imagined it to be something jazzy, yet genteel. In reality, it was Bourbon Street without the strip clubs. If you’re a fan of loud tourists drinking in the street and shady predators watching them, I can’t recommend Beale Street enough. Here’s what it looks like at roughly 5:15 (Beale Street is closed to traffic, just like Bourbon Street):
Beale Street (and downtown Memphis) felt seedy and dangerous, and I quickly called into question our decision to go to Memphis for vacation.
A trip to Memphis should, by my estimation, cover at least two things: barbecue and Graceland. Having already secured Graceland tour passes for the following day, we made plans to go out for barbecue at a midtown (at least I think it was midtown) place called Central BBQ. Central’s well-reviewed, so I was excited to go and try something of the “pulled” variety there. As we walked out of the hotel lobby, I asked the front desk clerk what she thought about Central. “Central’s in kind of an artsy area. I think the best barbecue is on Beale Street–B.B. King’s has good food, and I can recommend a few other places if you’d like.” Right then, I knew that she (and the hotel) must have some sort of reciprocal relationship with some of the Beale Street clubs. It’s the only way I can explain the clerk recommending the touristy and booze-focused Beale Street places to a family with two children. It would be like a Chicago hotel clerk saying, “Oh, you’re looking for Mexican? Frontera Grill isn’t worth the trip–I happen to have a few places I can suggest over by Rush and Division, though.”
The “artsy area” that Central BBQ was in was much warmer to me than the vaguely scary and not-so-fun downtown area of Memphis (shame on you, hotel front desk clerk). The vibe at Central was very Austin, Texas: there was a live band playing on the patio, the crowd was mostly young and college-aged, and the place projected fun and cool without it feeling forced.
As for the food: I had the brisket, which was tender and spectacular. The mild sauce was good enough to compel me to buy a 32-ounce bottle to take back home. The only disappointment in my basket was the BBQ beans, which I kinda liked, but were way too spicy for anyone else at my table to eat.
The next morning, we headed off for Graceland. On our way there, I had to stop the car and pull over when I saw Sun Studio. So much history in that little space–it’s where Elvis recorded “That’s All Right;” Johnny Cash did “I Walk the Line;” and Jerry Lee Lewis lit up “Great Balls of Fire.” I wanted to touch the building–just stand in its presence–and get a couple of pictures, too:
The path to Graceland is … ugly. There’s a lot of poverty and squalor leading up to Elvis’ pearly gates, and as I drove up Elvis Presley Boulevard, I felt a lot like Chevy Chase in this Vacation scene:
Coming up in Part Two: GRACELAND!
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