Foogasm Tour – Day 6: Friday May 20, 2011

Memphis tourism and Gig (Click pics for bigness. There are more Foo pics on flickr than what I show here. Check my photostream or use tag 'foofighters'.)

Arriving in Memphis the day before the big gig gave me ample time for some tourism. The two sites I wanted to see most were Sun Studios and Beale Street. Since Sun was closest, I headed there first. I didn’t go in, although I probably should have. I didn’t want to spend too much time, just grab some photos and experience the vibe. I tooled around outside shooting Sun from various locations.





I took several pictures of the very cool guitar sign over the front door, but no matter what I tried in the processing, I couldn’t get any of the photos to be what I wanted them to be. It was really sunny and I kept getting in people’s way. Should have brought my polarizing filter. Oh well.

I parked about a block away from Sun, and what a lucky parking spot it was. There was a gallery/studio there called Escape Alley. It appeared to be a collective of artists building a pretty groovy little community art and entertainment venue. The alley itself was fun to shoot.







By the time I got done wandering around the art alley, I was powerful hungry. Onward to Beale Street! While I was looking for parking, I ran into the FedEx Forum! Wow, it was just a block from Beale! Sweet!



I wandered up and down Beale Street taking photos, looking at all of the bars, cafes, BBQ places, and weird shops, but my stomach had enough of my teasing! I had to make a choice of delicious food to eat. I popped into the Blues City Café and had some of the best (and most spicy) gumbo I’ve ever had in my life, then some fried shrimp that were kissed by the devil himself (VERY peppery hot!). It was while my mouth burned that I realized that Cole slaw’s primary purpose in Southern cuisine is to keep your head from bursting into flame. Sounds extreme, but it was so freaking delicious I couldn’t wait for each bite’s burn to abate before I shoveled more in my face, thus is built up quick. Thank heaven for Cole slaw.



I wandered around down town for a bit, saw a statue of Elvis (shocked?) and checked out the Gibson guitar factory (not much to see). Since it was so close, I decided to drive down to the riverfront and see what sort of chaos the recent flooding had caused. For the most part, everything was dried up and riverfront businesses were open and operating.

I was tired from all the walking around and sweaty from the heat (good Lord, it was hot), so I headed back to the hotel to tend the mutt and get ready for the show.

You know what I like most about Memphis? Memphis likes to chat. Everyone’s pretty friendly and there seems to be none of that northern reservation about chatting away with a complete stranger. I like that. I got into such a chatty mood, by the time I got to the gig, I was chatting with most everyone I passed. It’s not just Memphis people either, that chat thing seeps right into the visitors as well. I had a pleasant chat with at least one person every damn place I went.

At the show, the chat thing was even easier. A bum passed by the smoking section while I was chatting with this one couple, and the bum mumbled some long string of nonsense at us that sounded just like a scat. The guy I was chatting with started into a bum scat comedy routine that had tears welling up in my eyes. A bit later, I got into a chat with a couple of very cool kids ;) before the show. Kristi and John were awesome! Kristi is (if possible) a bigger Foo Freak than me! *gasp* So, of course, we bonded instantly.

I kind of missed them when we parted to get to our seats. But then a guy sat next to me, not because it was his seat (he was actually from one row up), but because he wanted to chat. Well, he was nice enough, but I got the feeling he was hitting on me, which would have been okay except he started talking about car maintenance and I got bored. LOL.

The crowd was stunning. It was Friday night and the place was packed almost to the rafters. The biggest arena so far, it had two balconies and the place was almost completely filled with hyped-up rock fans! By the time Motorhead finished, I thought the roof would get blown off the place just from the enthusiasm.

None of my Motorhead pics turned out because the lighting was complete shit. :( There was light around them, but not on them. Damn!

Knowing the Foos were going to go for hours, I popped out for a quick smoke and who should I find in the smoking area? Kristi and John again! Woohoo! Kristi was sweaty, buzzed, and completely fan-blissed out!

I always assumed the venue picked the music that plays before the show starts, but I guess it must be the band. I heard Queens of the Stone Age’s Feel Good Hit of the Summer every show between Motorhead and Foo. It was cool, because with a house full of Foo, lots of people were singing along with QotSA which made me grin. There was also a Them Crooked Vultures song they kept playing, No One Loves Me I think.





Okay, so it was a great night…let’s get on with it. The Foos took the stage and the crowd went nuclear. They played their way right through three or four songs before they paused for some chat. The most notable quote I remember from that bit was Dave saying, “If your favorite band plays for one and a half hours…well, they shouldn’t be your favorite band.” Ha! Well, they aren’t!!



Dave does not sit still on stage. He runs to the sides, rocks out, runs out front, rocks out, runs into the crowd, and rocks out. He’s always encouraging the crowd to sing along, which really gets people amped up. He’s so physical through the show that I could see sweat literally dripping off his arms while he played. You never get a half-assed effort at a Foo show!



During one song break, Dave asked if we wanted to hear a limerick. We did. Fair warning though, it’s dirty!

There once was a hooker from Dallas
Who used a stick of dynamite as a phallus
They found her vagina in North Carolina
And her asshole in Buckingham Palace

Hahah…oh…uhm…*gasp* David Eric, shame on you! ;)



Dave redeemed himself later though when he told a story about waking up that morning. He ordered a bagel from room service and after half an hour called to ask where it was. They said it was coming. After another half an hour, Dave called back to tell them, “Fuck your bagel!” Then he set out to find some coffee and a sandwich. “I walked and walked and walked…then I saw a Starbucks!” It wasn’t until he got his food and sat down that he realized he’d walked into the Starbucks right across the street from the arena. “I’d walked right into the belly of the beast.” Anyway, Dave started getting fans coming up to talk and one fan had a special request. So at the end of the show, the special fan got to ask his girl to marry him, then the Foos played Everlong for them and then Dave gave them a big hug. T’nawwww.



My sandals are completely inadequate for standing on concrete for three hours, so when the show let out, I sat on a wall because my feet were swollen up like balloons. A hippy chick was sitting there with her nerdy boyfriend and as soon as I sat down we started a hysterically funny, sarcastic critique on the ‘fashion trends’ among the sea of humanity leaking out of the arena. Hippy chick was funny as hell. She reminded me of my friend Jeannie. She told me that she’d seen someone who looked like Wynona Judd making out with someone in the sound booth. Weird. Anyway, my feet got to feeling a little better, so I said goodbye and headed for the parking garage.

Now here I am, on my own walking along the street in a city hundreds of miles from home and as I walked, I heard someone enthusiastically calling my name. I blinked toward the voice with amazement. Who the hell knew me by name in Memphis? Kristi & John!! What are the odds? How cool is that? I sat with them and chatted about the show. Kristi also saw Wynona Judd. I just never really pegged her for a Foo Fan, but okay, cool! I exchanged emails and facebooks and stuff with Kristi, then we all went up to the parking garage. Kristi and John left, but I got the DSLR out of the trunk and headed back to Beale Street.

I wanted some night shots, but just as I got there this crazy huge gust of wind nearly toppled all of the revelers over. I took a few hasty (and therefore crappy) shots until I felt the first rain drops. I managed to power-walk the block back to the garage just before the downpour hit.

I got back to the hotel and walked Ellie. Although I brought an umbrella so that princess prissy pants could have her evening tinkle, the wet ground offended her sensibilities and nothing got accomplished. Fine doglet! I had to go back to our room and collapse immediately, so the dog just had to hold it until morning.