Newk's, Coleman and Hopper

Had the opportunity to try Newk's restaurant in Cordova over the weekend. The atmosphere was nice and the menu was reasonably price. You feel the early McAlister's influence as you walk in and it is quickly confirmed when you see the menu. The grilled chicken sandwich with applewood bacon and honey mustard leaves much to be desired, but I'll give Newk's one more try to win me over.

Hollywood lost two legends over the weekend. Gary Coleman died after suffering a head injury and Dennis Hopper passed away after a battle with cancer. Many remember Coleman as Arnold from TV's Different Strokes. Here is one of Coleman performances from Dirty Work.



And Hopper's classic scene from True Romance.

Memorial Day Weekend Fun In Memphis

There is a ton of good things happening this weekend in Memphis. Here are just a few of the events you should check out.

Tonight's hot spot will be the South Main Trolley Tour. As usual, galleries and shops will be open with complimentary snacks and beverages. Also on the list will be 2010 Memphis Zombie Attack. Here's a quick look at last year's Attack.



The "must do" event for Saturday is the Sunset Symphony Featuring K.C. and the Sunshine Band at Tom Lee Park. Gates open at 2pm and the music begins at 3pm. Here's a little K.C. for your enjoyment.



A three-day weekend usually sets up a perfect Sunday Funday. You can't go wrong with brunch at Majestic, day drinking at Bardog and live jazz later in the day at Inn at Hunt Phelan.

All weekend long you can enjoy free concerts at the Levitt Shell in Overton Park. Here's the lineup.

Friday, 7pm - Will Hoge



Saturday, 5pm Kids Show - Gustaver Yellowgold



Saturday, 7:30pm - Meta & the Cornerstones



Sunday, 7pm - African Explosion

BBQ Fest Revisited, Basement Fun, G Shots, Dio

BBQ fest is over and detoxing can begin for most who attend the event. Smoked bologna seemed to be a popular choice this year in addition to the usual ribs, wings and shoulder that are usually sampled by team visitors. Many would say the most disappointing part of the festival was the heavy rains on Friday afternoon, but the real answer was the weak performance of David Allan Coe. Karaoke singers could have carried his tunes better.

If you ever get the opportunity to have dinner or drinks in the basement of Midtown's Bhan Thai, take advantage of the rare occurrence. It is an intimate room, stocked with a full bar and the full menu is available. Used mostly for special events, the basement occasionally opens up for bad weather days and there is talk of it opening more in the winter when it is too cold to use the Bhan Thai patio.

Check out this news feature about new procedure for women. The procedure itself is interesting, but the best part of the video is the commentary near the end.

 

Heavy metal fans are mourning the loss Ronnie James Dio, the former lead singer of Black Sabbath. Here is one of the hits from Dio's long solo career.

Big Star Tribute, Wedding DJ

Big Star's last live performance will be Saturday night at the Levitt Shell. Special guests for the finale include R.E.M's Mike Mills, Superdrag's John Davis and more. Should be a great show. Let's hope the weather holds off. Tickets are still available.

Pretty safe this classic will be on the set list.



The free spring concert series at the Levitt Shell starts next Thursday with the Soul Rebels Brass Band.

In honor of wedding season, check out this DJ master.



He definitely gives Adam Sandler's character in The Wedding Singer a run for his money.

Memphis Beat, BBQ Fest

TBS and TNT have been promoting the new series Memphis Beat starring Jason Lee. Many Memphians may be excited to see a police-themed television series based in Memphis, but they will be quickly disappointed when they notice most, if not all, of the filming was done in New Orleans. Either way, it should be fun to watch the series and see how Memphis is portrayed. The pilot episode is set to run on TNT on June 22. Check your local listing for channel and time information.

Two more days until the fun start at BBQ fest. The weather forecast has improved slightly. Looks like a smaller chance of rain for David Allen Coe on Friday night. Here's a little DAC for your listening and viewing enjoyment.

BBQ Fest, World Cocktail Week

After a weekend of beautiful weather, it appears that rain is in the forecast for most of BBQ fest weekend. The lone exception is Thursday. A 40% chance of scattered thunderstorms is currently projected for Friday and Saturday. Rain won't slow most of the festival hard core fans, so there will still be plenty of fun to be had.

This week is also World Cocktail Week. Bars and restaurants around the country are celebrating by promoting better understanding and appreciation of the art of the cocktail and its history, and responsible drinking. As usual, Memphis is lagging behind. Come on Memphis bar and restaurant owners, get on the ball. If any bars are celebrating, please let us know.

Cinco De Mayo

Lots of Cinco de Mayo parties today. The obvious hot spots will be Mexican restaurants, especially at Cafe Ole and Happy Mexican. Don't look past your favorite watering holes. Its safe to say all bars will have some type of Cinco de Mayo special. There should be great crowds at the new Swanky's Taco Shop (Walrus playing) and at Kooky Canuck (great drink specials). One recommendation, stay away from national chains like On The Border. Support your local restaurants.

Lots Of Food, Zac Brown

The Commercial Appeal had an great article late last week about the best hamburgers in Memphis. The writers were pretty much dead on with Alex's and did a good job bringing some lesser known burger hot spots to the mainstream. The article also has inspired a weekly Memphis burger tour. There goes the diet.

A couple of new places have finally opened after weeks of anticipation. Swanky's Taco Shop's newest location on Poplar near Colonial (old Atlanta Bread Company) and El Toro Loco on the corner of Poplar and Collins (old Los Compadres space) opened last week. The new Swanky's location will be perfect for a good burrito followed up by an ice cold beer at The Bobcat.

On a somewhat sad note, Overton Square's Le Chardonnay is closing after a 17 year run. Plans are to close the restaurant in a few weeks and quickly reopen as an Italian restaurant.

Tickets for the Zac Brown Band's show on Mud Island went on sale over the weekend. Not sure if they are still available, but get one if you can.

No Playoffs For Grizzlies, Tea Party Rappers?

The Memphis Grizzlies end their 2009-10 season Wednesday night with a road loss to Kevin Durant and the Oklahoma City Thunder. After a much hyped off season, that included the acquisition of the highly overrated Allen Iverson, Grizzlies fans were hoping for a return to the playoffs. Iverson quickly skipped town and the team started to show improvement. The Grizzlies finished two games below .500 with a 40-42 record, a 26 game improvement over the prior season.

53% more wins have may have some fans excited, but others are concerned about which players will be returning next season. Rudy Gay and recently acquired Ronnie Brewer are both restricted free agents. Brewer may stay, but several reports are indicating the Gay will jump ship if the opportunity is offered. If Gay leaves, management needs to find a comparable player to replace his production. Lebron James? Not going to happen, but there will be other quality free agents available if the Grizzlies are willing to spend the cash.

Head coach Lionel Hollins received a three-year contract extension today. The front office now needs to build on the momentum of this season and sign key free agents that can get the Grizzlies back in the playoffs.

After Steve Cohen's blasting of the Tea Party movement, who would have thought that they would be open to rap music? Check out this video by Polatik.

New Hours At Cozy, Foursquare Day

Great news for Cozy Corner fans. Cozy is now open from 11 til 9pm. Four more hours a day to grab some of the best bbq in town.

April 16th is Foursquare Day, because it is the 4th month, and the 4-squared day. Get it? There are 150+ cities participating in the event which includes parties, business specials, etc. One city that is offering no participation is Memphis. Downtown would be a perfect spot to unlock the coveted Super Swarm Badge. Oh well, maybe next year.

Coco To TBS, Beautiful Weather = Good Times, Spring Football, Tiger Athlete Arrested

Not really Memphis related, but Conan O'Brien has inked a deal with TBS. His new show will start in the fall airing Monday through Thursday at 10pm central time. Great news for Conan fans.

Overton Square's Crawfish Fest had to have one of its largest crowds ever last weekend. The weather was near perfect. Weather experts are saying that this streak of nice weather should continue for the next few days. This is great news for outdoor events including the first Peabody Rooftop Party of the year on Thursday night, the Redbirds home opener on Friday, Hot Wing Fest on Saturday and the Rajun Cajun Crawfish fest on Sunday.

The 2010 Blue-Gray Game is set for Saturday at Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium. New head coach Larry Porter is generating some excitement for the Memphis football program. The scrimmage is slated to begin at 1 p.m. Admission is free.

Local media hasn't picked up on this just yet, but University of Memphis pitcher Dane Sharp was arrested late Sunday/early Monday on DUI charges. No word just yet if Sharp has been disciplined by Tigers officials. If this was a basketball or football player this would be the lead story for most media outlets.

Here's a quick look at Lord T & Eloise, who will be playing at the Peabody Thursday night along with Ryan Peel and other artists.

Crawfish, Redbirds, Tigers Ranked, Tiger

The 15th Annual Overton Square Crawfish Festival is Saturday afternoon. Crawfish, live music and near perfect weather seem like the right ingredients for a great time. All the fun starts at noon.

With Major League Baseball opening their season this week, fans are getting ready for days and nights at Autozone Park. Memphis Redbirds fans will have to wait a few days to get their baseball fix. The Redbirds start their season in Omaha. The home opener will be April 16.

It may be a bit early, but the so-called college basketball experts have released a Preseason Top 25 for the 2010-11 season.  The Memphis Tigers come in at number nine.


Here is Nike's latest tv spot featuring Tiger Woods. Didn't really think Nike would try to capitalize on the Tiger's escapades, but the issue apparently has to be faced before the usual Tiger spots return to the airwaves. Mr. Woods tees off today at 12:30 in the Master's.

Liberty Bowl Changes, Big Daddy Kane, Brooks Uncorked

Local college football fans will soon start  seeing changes to the caliber of teams appearing in the Liberty Bowl. The recently renewed four year contracts still call for the top team in Conference USA to play in the game. The C-USA opponent will still be a SEC representative, but now it will be the 9th or 10th place team from the conference. Liberty Bowl officials are also looking for ways to incorporate the Big East back into the mix. There have been talks of using a Big East school if the SEC doesn't have a enough qualified teams or as an occasional replacement for C-USA. 

Looking to kick it old school this weekend? Big Daddy Kane is playing at Minglewood Hall tomorrow night. Didn't realize this guy was still around. If only Slick Rick was joining him on stage. The closest thing to Slick Rick will be his former partner in crime Dana Dane, who will be joining BDK on stage along with Chubb Rock.

A little BDK for your listening pleasure...





Brooks Uncorked is coming up on Friday, April 16 at the Brooks Museum. For $100 you get to sample over 50 wines and food from some of Memphis' best restaurants. This year's added twist? Music provided by Raiford. Will there be 40s of wine? Thunderbird anyone?

Botanic Garden Announces Summer Concert Series

Memphis Botanic Garden has officially announced the lineup for the 10th Annual Live at the Garden concert series. The list of artists seems fit for the casino circuit or a late night infomercial, but there is still fun to be had with Al Green, REO Speedwagon and Cheap Trick.

June 5 - Diana Ross



July 9 - Pat Benatar and REO Speedwagon






July 23 - Al Green



August 21 - Donna Summer





September 3 - Blondie and Cheap Trick





Tickets go on sale today.

Bad Times At The Zoo, Robert Plant

According to local news outlets, "Good Times With Weapons" was apparently the theme of the day at Memphis Zoo. A record crowd on the Zoo's Free Tuesday promotion resulted in local youngsters brawling and pulling guns on each other in Overton Park and the surrounding neighborhoods. The high attendance numbers are due to local schools being off for Easter/Spring break. Way to be classy Memphis and Shelby County students.

Side note for the Memphis Zoo staff. Added security for today may have been a little bit helpful. Past attendance records would probably show near record attendance on the Tuesday prior to Easter. This is traditionally a day when schools are off and kids and thugs are looking for something to do. Chalk it up as a learning lesson, but eliminating Free Tuesdays for everyone else because of thuggish behavior is the not the right thing to do. Instead, mandate that anyone under 18 entering the zoo (unless on a school trip) needs to accompanied by a parent or guardian.

Wonder if the fight looked anything like this.




Former Led Zeppelin lead singer Robert Plant is coming to Memphis on Tuesday, July 13 for a one night show at the Orpheum Theatre. Not sure if he is promoting a new album, but he definitely has strong group of material to work with. Here's a little Robert Plant for your listening pleasure.

Tigers Fall In WBI, Al Green, Levitt Shell Spring Series

The University of Memphis women's basketball team lost the championship game of the WBI tournament to Appalachian State on Sunday in Boone, North Carolina. Great season for the Lady Tigers on the roundball court.

Al Green has been confirmed for this year's Live At The Garden concert series. Green will play on Friday, July 23. He usually puts on a great show and would expect nothing less from him this summer.

The Levitt Shell has announced their free concert series. Big names include Todd Snider, The Iguanas and Cowboy Junkies. The free series kicks off on Thursday, May 20 wit the Soul Rebels Brass Band.

Ladies and gentlemen, the Soul Rebels Brass Band.

Women's NCAA Update, Trolley Night, Pot Hole Of The Day

With their win last night, San Diego State will be the fourth team in the Memphis Regional Final of the women's NCAA tournament this week. Games are scheduled for Saturday and Monday.Tennessee will face Baylor at 11am and the Duke vs San Diego State contested is scheduled for 1:30pm. The championship game will be Monday at 6:30pm. Tickets for all three games are $53.

South Main's Trolley Night for the month of March is Friday evening. This will be the first sort of nice weather trolley night of the year. In addition to the usual fun, six artists will be showing at 409 S.Main (old Jay Etkin space). Stop by for some good wine and new works by Ashley Leem, Emma Self, Chris Reed, Regis Lawson, Joel Halpern and Stephen Almond.

Check out this new pot hole (really a sink hole) on I-240 near Walnut Grove. This two feet wide and six feet deep gem will definitely cause rush hour delays. Be careful if you are headed in that direction.

Women's NCAA Update

Three women's basketball teams have punched their tickets to the Memphis Regional Final at FedEx Forum this weekend. Tennessee will face Baylor and Duke will face the winner of tomorrow night's San Diego State-West Virginia game. It should be safe to say that the there will be plenty of orange in the stands.  

A player of interest will be Baylor's Brittney Griner. She can dunk...



and she likes to throw down.

Tiger Basketball, Little Feat At MIF

The NCAA denied the University of Memphis appeal to reverse penalties stemming from violations that occurred during the 2007-8 basketball season. Now the Tigers must vacate all 38 wins from that season, return NCAA tournament revenues, return its Final Four trophy and take down the banners from that season. Now that this process is over, how much longer will R.C. Johnson be in the athletic department?

There is some good Tigers basketball news. The women's basketball team has made it to the semi-finals of the Women's Basketball Invitational. Memphis will host Texas A&M-Corpus Christi at the Roane Fieldhouse on Thursday night.

The Memphis Italian Fest has confirmed that Little Feat will headline the East Memphis festival in early June. Little Feat may have a new lead singer, but the music still sounds great.

Star Wars, Women's NCAA Update, Tigers Done, Grizzlies

There are billboards around town promoting Star Wars: In Concert at FedEx Forum on May 18. The event has tremendous potential for people watching. Claim a patio seat early at Alfred's or Sole to catch a glimpse of true Star Wars fans like these.

And let's not forget the pets.

 

After the opening round of the Women's NCAA Basketball Tournament, we are getting a clearer picture of the teams that will be in Memphis next weekend for the Sweet 16/South region final.  The winners of tomorrow night's Tennesse vs Dayton, Georgetown vs Baylor and LSU vs Duke games will play on Saturday in the round of 16. The other team that will be at FedEx Forum will be Texas, San Diego State, West Virginia or Lamar.

Josh Pastner's first season as head coach at Memphis ended on Friday with the Tigers losing at Ole Miss in the second round of the N.I.T. The Tigers are only losing a couple of seniors and have one of the top recruiting classes in the nation arriving on campus in the fall. Memphis should be the team to beat in Conference USA next season.

The Grizzlies are still in a fight to claim the last playoff spot in the NBA's Western Conference. Through yesterday's games, the Grizzlies are five games behind eighth place Portland and are in a dogfight with Houston to catch the Trailblazers. With only 12 games left, time isn't on the Grizzlies side.