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Memphis Show 10/10


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I'm from Oxford, about 60 miles south of Memphis, and went to Wilco's last concert at the Orpheum during the AGIB tour.... One cool thing about the Orpheum is that it's right next to Beale Street. There are plenty of restaurants, bars, and hotels which are a very short distance to the theatre. It's really nice being able to go out beforehand without worrying about driving to the show. Each of the band's last few stops in Memphis were great, so you should be in for a fun night.

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I live here, and am going to the show...awesome venue for sure.

 

Where to go, not to go depends on your tastes and budget...but get down there EARLY!

 

Yes, Beale is 2 blocks from the venue, but not for everybody...Beale street offers a lot of bars and live music, as well as the classic sort of memphis vibe...it also offers the highest prices for drinks in tennessee, high cover charges on the weekends, and a very definite seediness...there is a constant presence of both cops and serious criminals. Im by no means trying to advise against going Beale after the show, but I do try to prepare folks. It is not 'nice.' Most of my friends that live in Memphis dont go to beale much, it is a tourist trap. To me, the best bands are the ones that perform out on the street, not inside the clubs. You will need ID just to get on the street, FYI...oh, did i mention, some bars are open to sunrise on Beale? Beware the horse pee, we have drawn carriages that are of some local controversy... :punch

 

There several other areas in close proximity which are cheaper and a little nicer. Peabody Place is 3 blocks from the orpheum and has many restaurant options and bars. Main street, and especially the South Main district, is where I always tell people to eat before a show...they are nicer but affordable places, nice for couples and small groups. There is a trolley which goes north and south along Main...it is clean (for the most part) and i think is $1 a person per ride. It runs daily from 8 til midnight.

 

Parking is ridiculous as in most downtown urban areas...if you get in town early, the ONLY place to park is at Parking Can Be Fun on Union ave between Main and Front...it is CHEAP, but fills up quickly (7 story garage). Park there and take the trolley or walk to the Orpheum...otherwise expect to pay $10 a night for barely supervised lots and garages. There is limited street parking, but please do not get towed, there is a big racket here...

 

Hotels: Several downtown worth recommending, but start around $100 a night. Holiday Inn express on union is probably the cheapest centrally located one. The Madison is quite nice, the Peabody is world-famous, but with those you approach the $200 a night area. Midtown is safe if you have transport, but options are limited...

 

Restaurants: too many to address, but i have a few favorites in various price ranges: Spindini, Huey's downtown, Slim's, McEwan's You can eat on Beale, but the menus are sometime pricey, the kitchens sometimes questionable. The best fried chicken in town are at Gus's (on south front) and Polly's (Beale st). For ribs, The Rendevous and Blues City Cafe

 

Favorite Bars: Bardog Flying Saucer Blue Monkey

Ernestine and Hazel's

 

 

 

Where you DO NOT GO or stay in Memphis, especially after dark: South Memphis (Graceland area), North Memphis (Frayser, Hollywood areas), Airport area, Downtown south of Crump or north of the Pyramid. If you want to go to Graceland, stay downtown and take one of the many tour buses or shuttles, do not stay anywhere down there...i usually tell folks to forget graceland and see sun studio instead (very close to downtown). DO NOT GO TO JAIL!!

 

Please ask any specifics, happy to help...I travel a lot and always appreciate the inside scoop from locals. :cheers

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I caught the 2005 Show at the Orpheum, great venue. Rowboat seems to have this covered, and I'm not super familiar with Memphis.

 

One suggestion, the adventurous should check out Raefords after the show. Crazy place, serves 40's, Partied with Pat and John there after that 2005 show (partied with = Pat and John were there)

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I think Rowboat gave you lots of good info. I would just like to add that while Beale Street is definitely a tourist spot, it's worth checking out because it gives you a great feel for what Memphis was, is and could be. Beale Street is Memphis. Lots of blues, kind of seedy but trying like hell to impress you. Memphis was the first stop for blues as it left the Delta and finally grew up to become rock and roll. Like most folks from Memphis I have a love/hate relationship with the city, but it truly is a historic and important place in the history of American music.

 

Depending on how long you are going to be in town and what you're interested in, Memphis does have Sun Studios (as mentioned above), the Rock and Soul museum (downtown), the Stax Museum (not downtown but near Colleta's Pizza which is always a bonus), National Civil Rights museum (downtown), Graceland (not downtown but safe during the daytime, plus I grew up very near there, although my old home is not as cherished as G-land).

 

And as Rowboat stated, if you're just looking for restaurants and bars, there's tons downtown just walking distance from the Orpheum.

 

Hope you have fun in the Bluff City.

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I caught the 2005 Show at the Orpheum, great venue. Rowboat seems to have this covered, and I'm not super familiar with Memphis.

 

One suggestion, the adventurous should check out Raefords after the show. Crazy place, serves 40's, Partied with Pat and John there after that 2005 show (partied with = Pat and John were there)

 

 

in regard to Raifords...check it out, it's still cool, but its not Raifords anymore...

 

sadly there are new owners that simply don't get it...Raifords was the best dance club in memphis ever, period. Famous for only accepting cash, only serving 40's, the stripper pole, and, well, Raiford DJing...it is now Hollywood Disco and has a strange combination of awkward renovations and a lack of renovations that should have happened. Gone is the flagged and pimped out limo that used to whisk you of to an ATM if you forgot cash, the classic VIP room and original dance floor are gone as well. The decor was unique and has survived, but while the infamous stripper pole remains, gone is the raised community drumkit that drunk chicks would go Animal (bare handed, no sticks allowed) on before invariably falling off the riser in the arms of strangers. Im not even sure the hand painted 'no discrimination, ever...' sign is still there...not but a glimmer of what it was a few short years ago...

 

Raiford's was sold around 2007 because the owner was in declining health. There was alot of stir for a while, because it was common for up to 20 off duty cops to be working security with sidearms, and before the end 2 were indicted for selling drugs inside the club.

 

 

Hoodoo man is right about the other attractions, worth visiting if you have the time...as well as our love/hate relationship with the city. We do not have an elected major at this time...oh, wait, i'm no going to go there.. Last week the Dali Lama came to speak at the Lorraine, and our interim mayor fist bumped him instead of a more dignified or professional greeting.

 

Interesting how Beale is always remembered as the birthplace of the blues and soul music, but forgotten is WHY that happened here...Beale street was a brothel ridden redlight district for a LONG time, the cops and government of the city are historically corrupt or myopic, and the reputation the city has as chief transport hub of the US was established anti-bellum. After the yellow fever epidemic of the late 1800's, Boss Crump ran on a platform of fixing the city, but in truth his policy of allowing permits to anyone who wanted to run a business who would help drive his political machine backfired. Crump had a notoriously lax policy in regards to Prohibition, and Beale street has had a rep for seedy clubs and whores ever since, one that 60-100 years ago made New Orleans or Amsterdam look pure as the snow...and lure of easy money, babes, and drugs is a strong one for musicians who have little.

 

While there are pretty lights and more cops now, the concept is basically the same, just more commercially oriented. So, as stated, Beale is trying to impress you, its hard out there to be a pimp...

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this was my favorite breakfast place when i was there for the AGIB gig on Grammy night...

 

http://www.thebeautyshoprestaurant.com/

 

oh yea beauty shop is great...ive sort of focused on downtown, but the whole cooper-young district is terrific...

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haha im not that old, either...just used to work on the street...maybe we should all consider a meet up after the show???

 

 

Sadly, I'm probably considerably older than you two and can't meet up after the show. As a matter of fact, I'll be there propagating the belief that Wilco is dad rock by bringing 2 of my sons to their first rock concert. I figure if Wilco at the Orpheum doesn't make a positive impact on their musical growth, then nothing will.

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My wife and I are driving up from Tallahassee, FL, for this show. I grew up in north Mississippi, so Memphis is very familiar territory for me.

 

It's been a few years since I was there last, but Memphis is rich with blues and rock history. You can't do badly by taking in any of the museums mentioned above and making a daytime stop on Beale Street.

 

We haven't really mapped out where we're going before the show, but I will not travel all the way there and miss out on some Memphis Barbecue. I'd recommend all you carnivores work it into your plans for the day.

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