the summer too shall pass

I've been pretty lame this summer, deciding to be super American and drive my car everywhere rather than ride my bike at all. Continuously blasting fake cold air in my face has taken its toll on my psyche, however, so last Tuesday, when the air cooled off a bit, I got on my bike and headed downtown. I realized it had been forever since I've taken time to enjoy an evening on Market Square, so with no plans, I biked up Gay Street to see what would unfold.

Divine providence would have it that The Pol was window shopping at Noveau Classics, because that is apparently what the Pol does when he locks himself out of his apartment. We decided to go have a drink on the roof of Pres Pub because he hadn't been up there yet.

Once on the roof, we were able to find a table close to the Square. The weather was pitch perfect and from the stage, there were jazz musicians playing. We couldn't tell from there if it was an official performance or some buskers, but there were spectators below, enjoying it all the same.

After our drink, we walked out into the Square where The Pol ran into a freshman he had met a few days earlier, and a group of his friends. They would be starting class the next day. Even if no one told me they were freshman, I would have known because one proudly wore a bright orange lanyard around his neck featuring his dorm key.

As the jazz played and I breathed in the sweet, autumn-like air, I was a little jealous of the group of new students. Walking around a bustling downtown Knoxville in college wasn't an option during most of my college experience, let alone before my very first day of class. I looked into their cherub faces, into their deer-in-headlight eyes, and decided it best not to tell them how lucky they were.

As they walked off, The Pol and I sat on a bench to listen to the rest of the set. It was then I realized the trumpet player was my old landlord, Vance Thompson, who is the director of the Knoxville Jazz Orchestra. When they finished, he thanked the small crowd and said they would be playing every Tuesday until September (or maybe through September, I'm not quite sure).

So if you've been hiding under an air-conditioned rock all summer like me, I encourage you to take a stroll through Market Square this Tuesday evening and have a listen. Even if it's hot, the tunes are sure to be coooool. 

Blue Steel on a Meme

We're not responsible for it, but it's something we wish we'd thought of. Facebook has exploded in the past few days with Stephen A. Burroughs Memes, honoring our favorite personal injury lawyer.

We here at the Wigshop have long be fans of the East Tn. Lawyer, as evidenced by this post, this post, this post and this post. We could spend all day uploading our favorite contributed memes celebrating the Blue Steeled Billboard King, but instead we'll let you go take a look yourself. We are pretty partial to this one, though ...


That's right, Knoxville. You now know the other half of the secret.

We're also glad to see he has a sense of humor about it all (he's been lurking on the wall of the FB page).

Lights out for an old friend

How does one say goodbye expost?

Two weeks ago I was enjoying the Big Fix, a side of deep fried corn on the cob, and a cold Knoxville Corona, not a care in the world and without any hint of there being trouble in paradise.

Backroom BBQ is dead, and along with it my hopes for a quadruple bypass by the age of 30.

I've tried to come up with poetry, perhaps write a dirge or an aria, maybe some grand bit of prose to be worthy of the place that captivated my tastebuds imagination for so long.

No more horseshoes, no more bad pinball machines, no more watching socially inappropriate man-tv in mixed company. Backroom was a place I could go on a budget and be filled. It also had the best brisket in town. (No arguing that point here, it's impolite to speak ill of the dead.)

I'm really going to miss Backroom BBQ, it was a go to place for visitors in Knoxville and now its gone. If anyone has some words of encouragement this sad and hungry blogger covets them.

Cue Semisonic.





(Apparently Patrick Sullivans is also closed, honestly i only sat there to eat backroom when the bar side was closed and apparently the guy who ran it was a crook, at least in conjunction with the musical acts. Or so I hear.)

knoxville's jobless recovery

Back in '02-03, the US economy recovered from recession in a peculiar way. Granted, that particular recession (caused by the dot-com bubble) was short and relatively benign compared to the one we're still recovering from. The economy shrank a mere -0.3% (compared to the '09 recession of -5.1%) and unemployment peaked at 6.3% ('09 was 10.1%).


In the years following the dot-com bubble burst, unemployment stayed high. in fact, the number of employed actually shrank even though the unemployment rate held more-or-less steady. (How, you ask? Exodus from the labor force) basically, the economy picked up without new jobs, leading most to suggest technological improvements fueled the upturn (like automated services, among many others). Now in '11, "economic recovery" is almost 2 years old, and Knoxville may be hitting its stride. Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you, Knoxville very own jobless recovery with mannequins! Why hire from a staffing firm when you can dress up ex-goody's employees that you found on Craigslist?

Mannequin with (awkwardly placed) pitchfork, Broadway

Bed intruder preventer with optional bandana, E. Scott Avenue

yoga, yoga! lululemon athletica and the practice in western plaza

Have you heard about the brand new yoga studio that just opened in Western Plaza? It's called The Practice, and it's next door to KeyFit and just down the way from Runners Market, Bike Zoo and Hard Knox pizza. They have a pretty exciting class schedule including the only 6am(ish) classes offered in town as well as some great power lunch classes daily. They have a limited website that will likely be expanded soon. You can go there to find the weekly class schedule.

And guess what else? lululemon athletica (technical yoga/run/fitness apparel for men and women) is coming to town, and the Knoxville showroom will be opening soon! The Metropulse blogged about this exciting news awhile back, and we've heard that news of the location and opening date is imminent.

Well, in honor of the two above mentioned happenings, lululemon and The Practice are hosting a trunk show this weekend! There are complimentary classes and goodies for sale both Friday and Saturday. The image below has all the deets. Can't wait!! Oh, and the lululemon Knoxville showroom as a facebook page where they've started to announce upcoming events.

Yoga! Yoga!

bridge craziness again

Filmed this the other evening after getting home from work.

I really hope they pay these guys well. Yes, that is a guy with shovel scraping the rubble off the arch. He had some sort of wire attached to his harness.

There were actually 4 guys doing this when I was out there, seriously dangerous stuff.

(don't know how to flip the image... think of it as an expression of my artistic side...)

BLACK AND WHITE -- and First Friday

One of mine, and the other wigshoppers, favorite activities is First Friday. Not that I need to remind most of you, but tonight is first friday. Get downtown and enjoy the art (It's FREE by the way), and it is a good time. Notable events: Artists for Madeline Rogero at the Gallery Lofts at 5, work by Ashley Addair at Lox at 7, Whet Yer Whistle at the Pilot Light 7-9, and my favorite gallery - Fluorescent is putting on a show called "Aftermath." Get out and go.

SATURDAY NIGHT is round two at the Fireproof Gallery which is located at 201 Randolph Street (one block out of the old city). The first fireproof show was awesome. It was a street art themed interactive workspace that featured a lot of local bands and even a skatepark.

This time it will be featuring artwork from:

Zach Widgren
Katy Smith
Amanda McCall
Katie Moseley
Dave Grimes
Preston Profitt
and more being added

The music will be kicked off with black lips inspired Faux Ferocious(I am going to put in a hyperlink for all of the bands). Recent UT grads punkin it up in Nashville.

Followed by a band from cookeville called Hellbender

After them a band called Peer Pressure.

Then Marina Orchestra

Photo by Heidi Jewell

The last act is one of my favorite artists Evan P Donohue. He is an incredible young songwriter from Nashville. He writes awesome Buddy Holly-with-southern flair and straightforward rock and roll songs. He has serious songwriting chops and writes beautiful pop melodies that will be stuck in your head for days. On top of all that he is a great guy.

Come to the Fireproof Gallery from 7 pm to 3 am Saturday night. The music will start later, interpret that however you will. $5 donation to keep the lights on and the music playing.

See you there!


also photo cred: check out Heidi Jewell's great street fashion blog Under The Guise

Knoxville Urban Wilderness Corridor

One of the things I love most about Knoxville is its commitment to outdoor recreation. The city has been mostly on the front edge of a push to bring more greenway space to urban areas. Already you can access 16 miles of uninterrupted greenway from downtown to Bearden, and many other neighborhoods have their own, shorter greenways.

Thanks to the work of Legacy Parks, South Knoxville soon should have it's own extended greenway-like system that could end up being the crown jewel of Knoxville's outdoor green spaces. Through land acquisitions and cooperation with land owners, Legacy Park is working to create the Knoxville Urban Wilderness Corridor -- 15 miles of uninterrupted paths that link some of South Knoxville's existing treasures, like Ijams, the quarries and the riverfront bluffs. Much of the trail system already exists but needs to be improved.



I also love that Legacy Parks Foundation Director Carol Evans tells the Knoxville News Sentinel that the aim is to not only preserve green space but encourage residential and business improvements on the south side of the river. Kind of an 'if you build it, they will come' approach.

Legacy Parks could use some help with funding after Knox County cut it out of its 2010 budget. They're looking to make up a $50,000 loss in revenue at an Oct. 14 luncheon. The price of the tickets are a little rich for my blood, but Legacy Parks does take donations. More deets on their website.

(H/T: Knoxville News Sentinel)