One of the sad and really weird things about life in my fair city is that The Home of the Blues has very few places where blues can be heard. Since the Center for Southern Folklore was deprived of its Beale Street address (Booooo John Elkington; we needed a daiquiri bar on Beale? Really?), B.B. King's, Rum Boogie and King's Palace have been among too few options for our music.
That's why I got excited when I read of the plans of Morgan Freeman and Bill Luckett to open their second Ground Zero Blues Club on Lt. Lee, right across from the Gibson Guitar Factory. The opportunities for exploration have been limited lately, but Tuesday night the roommate and I had the chance to sneak off briefly and check things out. The quickly obvious result: great food and great people. We were attended by a stealth waiter named Eric. Who mentioned as he stopped by the table that in place of Sirius Blues (the Chess Hour was playing as we ate--nothing wrong with that), the Eric Hughes Blues Band would be cranking up about 8 pm on Thursday. And who mentioned at a later stop that he was Eric Hughes. We found the burgers outstanding on Tuesday. Then on Thursday, we gathered up the baby and the future son-in-law and headed back for food with music. Or music with food.
Eric is a fine waiter. But he's a better singer/harpist/guitarist! They played Muddy, Hooker, several originals, and the Sesame Street theme as their into-the-break piece. No kidding. And it was great!
The club has Jimbo Mathus, Daddy Mack, Mississippi Morris, Reba Russell and Cedric Burnside, among others, scheduled for future engagements. Eric Hughes is listed for most Thursdays. Do yourself a favor, and get by the Ground Zero Club, listen to some great Memphis music, and enjoy one of the best burgers (we like the Crossroads) you'll ever put in your mouth. The Big Muddy Chicken is awesome, too. And spend the extra buck for a baked sweet potato. Thank me later!
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment