Jeff the brotherhood and Diarrhea Planet

Two of the best up and coming Tennessee bands are playing at the pilot light friday night. They also happen to be two of my favorite bands.

JEFF THE BROTHERHOOD:



the first thing to know about Jeff is that they put on a hell of a show. I have seen them more times than I can remember and every single time they get better and better. They are the brothers Jake and Jamin Orrall. They were in other projects that were subsequently abandoned to form Jeff. They play riff-tastic rock and roll with a heavy beat. Their shows have a party atmosphere (note: the first time I saw them was at a party, but the vibe carries over to any venue). They have finally begun to gain the recognition they deserve with the release of their latest album "We are the Champions." They have garnered accolades from spin, rolling stone, nylon, and multiple other (non-local) sources. Essentially they kick ass. They even helped to debut a new song from the other band on spin a few days ago:


Diarrhea Planet



These guys really know how to throw down. They have the best? name in rock and roll, and they back up a name like Diarrhea Planet with really great tunes. They issued my favorite ep of last few years aloha just for fun, and then decided to get serious. The lineup features multiple guitarists that all can, and do, shred while being backed up by a power drummer in Casey Weissbuch. The vocals are layered and extremely catchy. Try listening to their music without having songs stuck in your head for a week. They are finally releasing a full length loose jewels (props to Nashvilles Dead for being the best) that I cannot wait for and have already pre-ordered. Check out the song on the album link. You can also check out what their shows sound like here.


also with Knoxvillians: COOLRUNNINGS

Friday night, 10 p.m. 18+, $10. the pilot light. Awesome times. Seriously.

Bike in Movies

The last Wednesday of every month TVB and Public House team up and show a movie out in the back courtyard. Last month it was The Goonies. The month before was There Will Be Blood. Tonight's installment is Wes Anderson's Darjeeling Limited. The movie starts at dusk, so show up around 7:30, grab an Old Style, and enjoy the movie.

let's talk about trees, baby

(the title is reference to your blog reading soundtrack, which you will find here)

Trees are a huge part of a cityscape. And as you may have found out during the hot months, a walk across downtown is a lot more pleasant in dappled shade.

Urban trees have a hard lot in life. They grow up in little patches of dirt, surrounded by concrete. It takes careful design and planning to get a tree to thrive in the hot, crowded city. Luckily for them, the city does this and lovingly maintains them. Right?



I can't tell you how much the empty patches of dirt on Market Square bother me. We spent millions of dollars renovating the Square and we can't even make the effort to get new saplings in there? And the dirt itself... after a few attempts at a little monkey grass, the city gave up on landscaping. Part of the problem is that everyone cuts across these patches and tramples anything planted there. Perhaps raised planters like the ones down Market Street could help prevent this:



Or if we can't bring ourselves to make that much effort, let's just put in some tree grates so that they don't remain little doggie litter boxes full of steaming poo.



Meanwhile, around the corner, the cities newest tree planting strategy is off to a smashing start:



Dirt: 3, Trees: 2

Given how long we've waited for replacement trees on the Square I'm not holding my breath for Wall Ave. P.S. Does it bother anyone that the brick paver strips don't align with the planting areas?! Maybe it's just me.



On the other side of the Square the trees that were not planted to the city's spiffy new design are doing just dandy. Coincidence?

And now for the last travesty. The end of Market Street closest to the Courthouse just got rebuilt. I loved that narrow little block, with its old brownstones and tree overhanging the street... I looked forward to seeing it get a little TLC. I was distressed to see the tree get cut down, but I figured the placement of the old trees didn't work with the new plan. I saw the brick pavers go down, same as Wall Ave... and they just kept going. Where are the trees?!!




That block of Market is now the hottest on my route to the City County Building. I might have believed them if they told me the street is too narrow for trees, except for, you know, THE BEAUTIFUL TREE THAT HAD BEEN GROWING THERE FOR DECADES.



C'mon Knoxville, let's get it together.

UPDATE:
As the commenter below indicated, there WILL be trees on Market Street. I went back and looked at the other side of the street and found these:



I can't wait to see this block after the Fall planting season. I've never been so happy about being wrong!

A Request to the Road Works Dept.

Please spend the 2 hours and few hundred dollars it will take to extend the cross walk in important places. For example the corner of Locust St. and Summit Hill Dr.

Walking there yesterday i noticed that in order to get to the button to change the walk signal you have to cross a turn lane. Most drivers don't seem to know that people, unlike birds and squirrels, don't scurry quickly or hunker down under the car itself.

Just thought I would bring this to everyone's attention.

A North Knoxville Delicacy

Yesterday, I was taking some back roads to my house from the Walgreen's on Broadway. My friend Jeff was with me, visiting from out of town.

I drove by the market on 6th Avenue, an establishment I've passed many times before. As I did, I said to Jeff, "I've always wanted to stop in there," to which he replied rather slowly, "Annus."

I looked up, noticing the signage for the first time, and almost ran a stop sign when I realized he was saying the name of the market.

We pronounced it several different ways, but there was no way around it being hilarious. I don't know how I missed it all these years, and while I wonder how anyone could name anything Annus, I'm glad they did. I haven't laughed that hard in some time.

Contemporary Focus at the KMA, opening this evening 6-9pm

On Tuesday, I met with Brian Jobe at the Knoxville Museum of Art to take a sneak peek at the Contemporary Focus exhibition, opening this evening. He along with John Bissonette and Greg Pond are the featured artists for this annual show at the KMA which runs from August 26 through November 6, 2011. Here is an article about it in the News Sentinel.






















^ I've known Brian for quite some time, and therefore know his work quite well. The piece he made for this show is similar to his work from the past, as it is incredibly ambitious, but different as it incorporates a large built structure. Not only is it something to behold, but also invites the viewer to pass through it, to let the materials brush against your skin.



^ I was excited to hear John Bissonette is in this show. The last time I saw his work was at the Downtown Gallery on Gay Street for First Friday a few months ago. Being a painter myself, I really admire his work. He merges abstract and representational subject matter, layering transparent colorful paint, and typically leaving blank spaces on the canvas. One called Untitled (Jackson) made me catch my breath a little bit. In this show, he includes an installation, closely tied to the paintings he's made.



^ Greg Pond's work is sculptural, using welded metals, polished wood, and other shiny materials. Brian told me he is a sculptor who also works in sound art. I could see how this particular work might be inspired by sound or music, by the forms he uses, the spaces he creates, and the different delicate materials working together to hold each other up.

Hope you can stop in this evening.

Contemporary Focus
August 26- November 6, 2011
KMA
1050 World's Fair Park
Knoxville, TN 37916-1653

Gillian Welch Tonight At the Tennessee Theatre

Tonight the incredibly talented Gillian Welch is playing at the Tennessee Theatre. If you don't know anything about Gillian she is a Country/Bluegrass singer and songwriter who, in my opinion, is one of the best songwriters of all time. As a songwriter she belongs with Bob Dylan, Guy Clark, Shawn Camp, Townes Van Zandt, and Tom Waits. Her music is written with her partner David Rawlings (pictured). The songs are laden with the most beautiful harmonies. On a recent episode of "Fresh Air" with Terry Gross on NPR, Gillian and Dave talk about their songwriting process and play a few of their songs. It is a great interview that is absolutely worth your time. They discuss everything from how they find harmonies to Gillian being adopted.




The thing about Gillian Welch's music is that it is driven by her voice. It is a beautiful voice that is accented by Dave Rawlings original and awesome harmonies. It should be noted that Dave is a fantastic guitar player as well. All of their strengths are showcased in the live show, which just so happens to be tonight at 8 p.m.

Tickets are $35. It is going to be awesome.

(photos from Amoeba's blog).

It's been real

Well friends, the time has come for me to bid farewell to Knoxville and The Wigshop. I have finished up graduate school, and have moved on from our fair city in search of more promising pastures.

First off, I must apologize for my non-existant participation lo these past months. Being engrossed in finishing up school, I certainly felt distanced from the pulse of the city, and truth be told, my mind was elsewhere. In hindsight, I guess I could have done a post on the Chipotle on The Strip, since I ate the majority of my meals there this past spring. Perhaps a story about my love affair with the Barbacoa Bowl would have been good reading. Perhaps.

You might have noticed, in addition to my own low posting that the blog in general was hitting a slump. Yes, there were posts here and there, but the general malaise forced us all to ask some big questions--Was the blog over? Were we all dried up? Had our lives busied up so much (school, new jobs, marriage, babies ...) that this was not something we could continue to fit in?

Earlier this summer B invited us to a place where she was housesitting, and we had our Summertime State of the Union. We drank wine, pestered some neighboring cattle, and checked our collective pulse. It was a great meeting, and I think, one that made us all realize what a special thing this blog is.

As you might have noticed lately, posting is back on the rise.

The thing is, posting isn't hard. New downtown grocery? post! Rooftop of Pres Pub opens? post! Stephen A. Burroughs and B start dating? post! What it really takes is people who genuinely care about the city in which they live. That said, what with its flourishing, walkable, and ever evolving downtown, Knoxville is a pretty easy place to care about.

The number of places to eat, drink, shop, work and live within downtown's small footprint reflects a density of life that one would have expected before suburban expansion--a density (and walkability) that, especially in a town of this size, is reminiscent of some medieval European city.

While there are numerous reasons why downtown Knoxville is the way it is, in my opinion, the University's role cannot be understated. The culture, diversity, and high level of education fostered by UTK has greatly helped in shaping the population of downtown Knoxville. Yes, on game days our city is flooded with thousands of people you sometimes wish you weren't related to, but all in all the University has and will continue to inject our small town with new, vibrant life.

Thanks for three great years Knoxville. I'll see ya when I see ya.