Nashville Scene 6-29-18

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JUNE 29–JULY 5, 2017 I VOLUME 36 I NUMBER 21 I NASHVILLESCENE.COM I FREE

music: STEELISM RISES TO THE CHALLENGE ON SOPHOMORE ALBUM PAGE 45

film: THE BEGUILED HAS DESIRE, EXPLOITATION AND NICOLE KIDMAN PAGE 52

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Contents

jUne 29, 2017

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45

Into the Fray

The Definition of ism .............................. 45

City Limits

mUsiC

At-Large Councilman Bob Mendes talks to the Scene about contentious times at the courthouse

Nashville’s own Steelism rises to the challenge of making a movie for your ears

BY STEVEN HALE

Sublime Frequencies .............................. 45

Pith in the Wind This week on the Scene’s news and politics blog

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Cover story: Drink Up

Looks Like We Made It ........................... 12

BY BRITTNEY MCKENNA

A talk with Mark Nevers about the closing of Beech House Recording and 30 years of evolving Nashville rock BY EDD HURT

Live to Ride.............................................. 46 For Tengger Cavalry, metal’s possibilities stretch to the Mongolian horizon and beyond

Four spirits makers, four different paths to success

BY SABY REYES-KULKARNI

BY CHRIS CHAMBERLAIN

The Scene’s live-review column checks out the Nashville Pride Festival, feat. Lizzo, Big Freedia and more

Beer Me ................................................... 16 A guide to Nashville beer BY STEVE CAVENDISH AND ZACH GILCHRIEST

Whiskey Business ................................... 18 Come with me and you’ll see a world of Nashville’s best Old Fashioneds BY D. PATRICK RODGERS

Nashville Brunch Beverage Finder ........ 20

The Spin................................................... 50

AEG Eyes Nashville Yards Development for Two Downtown Music Venues Local Attorney Adam Dread Took It Too Far by Revenge-Posting a 1979 Playboy Spread of a Reporter Rare Uncut Suspiria Print Coming to the Belcourt in September

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on the Cover:

Paloma cocktail at Henrietta Red Photo: Daniel Meigs

FiLm

Sofia’s Choice

Discover your new favorite brunch drink

Sofia Coppola’s update on The Beguiled explores desire and exploitation

BY ASHLEY BRANTLEY

BY STEVE ERICKSON

Not Your Parents’ Zima .......................... 22

Good Times

Alcoholic seltzers and spritzers are all the rage, but are they any good?

Alan Rudolph’s 1984 film Songwriter is the best movie about country music

BY CARI WADE GERVIN

BY JASON SHAWHAN

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Con of Thrones, Muddy Magnolias, The Water’s Edge, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial in Concert, The Church, Music City Hot Chicken Festival, The Bling Ring and more

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CritiCs’ piCks

THIS WEEK ON THE WEB:

NEW YORK TIMES CrossWorD

mArketpLACe

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Crawl Space July’s lineup includes Op Art illusions, punk posters from another dimension, galleries on the move and more BY JOE NOLAN

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Books

Consciousness and Chaos Madison Smartt Bell takes the reader on a visionary journey in Behind the Moon BY MARIA BROWNING AND CHAPTER 16

WINE, ANIMALS...NO KIDS! nashvillescene.com | JUNE 29 – JULY 5, 2017 | NASHVILLE SCENE

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Editor Steve Cavendish Managing Editor D. Patrick Rodgers Associate Editor Dana Kopp Franklin Arts Editor Laura Hutson Culture Editor Megan Seling Music and Listings Editor Stephen Trageser Contributing Editors Jack Silverman, Abby White Staff Writers Stephen Elliott, Nancy Floyd, Cari Wade Gervin, Amanda Haggard, Steven Hale Contributing Writers David Boclair, Martin Brady, Maria Browning, Chris Chamberlain, Erica Ciccarone, Lance Conzett, Bilge Ebiri, Steve Erickson, Randy Fox, Adam Gold, Seth Graves, Kim Green, Geoffrey Himes, Edd Hurt, Christine Kreyling, Lesley Lassiter, Marissa R. Moss, Noel Murray, Joe Nolan, Chris Parton, Betsy Phillips, John Pitcher, Margaret Renkl, Jason Shawhan, Michael Sicinski, Ashley Spurgeon, Jon Weisberger, Kay West, Cy Winstanley, E. Thomas Wood, Nicki P. Wood, Jeff Woods, Ron Wynn Editorial Interns Tommy Boyd, Zach Gilchriest Art Director Elizabeth Jones Photographers Eric England, Daniel Meigs Marketing Art Director: Christie Passarello Graphic Designers Katy Barrett-Alley, Amy Gomoljak, Abbie Leali, Liz Loewenstein, Melanie Mays Production Coordinator Matt Bach Circulation Manager Casey Sanders Events Director Lynsie Shackelford Promotions Manager Josephine Wood Sponsorship Specialist Heather Cantrell Advertising Director Rachel Dean Senior Account Executives Maggie Bond, Michael Jezewski, Carla Mathis, Hillary Parsons, Stevan Steinhart, Jennifer Trsinar Account Executives Nicole Graham, Marisa McWilliams, Keith Wright Sales Operations Manager Chelon Hill Hasty Account Managers Gary Minnis, Olivia Moye, Annie Smith Publisher Mark Bartel SOuthCOMM Chief Executive Officer Chris Ferrell Chief Financial Officer Bob Mahoney Chief Operating Officer Blair Johnson Executive Vice President Mark Bartel Vice President of Production Operations Curt Pordes Vice President of Content/Communication Patrick Rains Director of human Resources Becky Turner Creative Director Heather Pierce VOICE MEDIA GROuP National Advertising 1-888-278-9866 vmgadvertising.com

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city limits

INTO THE FRAY

At-Large Councilman Bob Mendes talks to the Scene about contentious times at the courthouse

This Week on our poli

O

BY STEVEN HALE ver the past year, few people in Metro politics have mixed it up like At-Large Councilman Bob Mendes. Late last year, after the activist group Gideon’s Army released a startling report on racial disparities in Nashville traffic stops and searches, Mendes used his position on the council to push for more information and a substantive response from the Metro Nashville Police Department — all of which prompted a heated back-and-forth between Mendes and Metro Police Chief Steve Anderson, both in public and in private. Now Mendes finds himself in a contentious dispute with Davidson County Sheriff Daron Hall over an ordinance Mendes is sponsoring that would restrict Metro’s cooperation with federal immigration enforcement agencies. Since he keeps pissing off powerful people, we asked Mendes to chat, and after noting that he’s not trying to piss people off, he agreed.

You’ve been on the council almost two years now — two budget cycles. What is the most unexpectedly frustrating thing about Metro government and being on the council? I describe it like: You always hear people say that you really can’t understand being a parent until you are a parent. I think it’s the same way with the council. You hear people talk about government being inefficient, and I think it’s one of those things that until you actually experience it, it’s hard to really understand. But I’ve also gained an appreciation where there’s two sides to the coin. People want government to be reliable, people want basic government services to be there. And in order for government to be reliable and to be there for garbage pickup and schools, police, fire, roads and sewers — it’s hard to change the direction of government. And I think that’s got its good things and its bad things. It makes it so basic government services are reliable, but if a change in direction is needed, it’s hard to get it done.

In the past year, you’ve gotten in two disagreements with law enforcement officials: the police chief and the sheriff. In both instances it seems like you were sponsoring bills that in some ways mirrored what we already do or what is already possible, but you felt it was important for the council to pass something that formalized and made it clear where the council stood. Can you elaborate on why? I think it’s important for the council to get into these issues in order for us to be responsive to the voters who put us there. With the traffic stop data legislation and seeking a response to the Gideon’s Army “Driving While Black” report, there’s a big chunk of our population that felt like the city wasn’t responding adequately. And I’m a directly elected representative of the entire county, and if there’s a part of the popula-

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BOB MENDES tion that’s feeling unheard or that they don’t have enough input, my tool is legislation. Especially on the traffic-stop data, it was pending for four months and ended up with 25 or 26 co-sponsors and passed pretty easily. I feel good about the public conversation that came up around that. I feel good about having started that conversation before the [Jocques] Clemmons shooting took place, [and] I think the fact that the council was addressing traffic stop issues and how to think about that in the bigger context turned out to be a plus for how the city handled the Clemmons situation.

As it relates to this immigration ordinance that passed on second reading last week, it seems to me a key part of this is whether it would apply to the sheriff. You’ve said you believe it would, Metro Council attorney Mike Jameson said an argument could be made that it would, Metro law director Jon Cooper said an argument could be made that it wouldn’t, and the sheriff has said he won’t abide by it because he doesn’t think it would apply to him. Have you spoken to the sheriff about this directly? The sheriff and I spoke extensively about immigration issues from January to March, and I think by the end of March, we both concluded that we would need to agree to disagree.

Can you elaborate on what that disagreement was about? These immigration issues are complicated, but the Davidson County Sheriff’s Office interacts with ICE in two fundamental ways. One is voluntarily holding onto people that are in our jail for a couple days after they’ve served their time to Metro, and then the other is acting as a regional ICE jail for when ICE detains somebody in another county and they need to be held overnight for three, four or seven days before they get moved on to Louisiana. In both of those situations, there are, I think, fairly complicated legal issues involved where I think the Davidson County Sheriff’s Office and I don’t

see eye to eye.

As I was calling you, state House Majority Leader Glen Casada sent out a release about the Metro Council bill, the headline of which is “Glen Casada calls on Metro Council to put safety above politics.” As far as I can tell, he is either misleading people or unaware of what the bill is, because he says here in his first paragraph: “a law that would turn Nashville into a sanctuary city for illegal aliens by completely cutting off cooperation with immigration authorities and ignoring federal immigration laws.” I know you have tripped over yourself to emphasize that it does not do that, and that seems clear in the bill itself. But I bring it up to ask you this: How do you have a debate about this issue when state legislators and members of Congress like Diane Black are not disagreeing with you so much as misstating what you’re trying to do? It’s tough on the immigration stuff. As we’ve seen over the last couple of weeks, immigration is a proxy war nationally for everything related to the current presidential administration, and I’ve tried hard not to wade into that. The point I make to people who are opposed when I engage them is: President Trump promised us — people on the right, people on the left — [he] promised us that he was going to take immigration enforcement to a whole other level. Whether you agree or disagree with President Trump, the front line for that is in our cities. It is swimming upstream to deal with all the national politics on immigration, but at the end of the day I can only keep saying over and over and over again: Please read the ordinance. The No. 1 thing in the ordinance is “comply with all federal and state law,” and then after that to the extent we have discretion we will use that discretion to say we’re not going to collect that information. But it’s hard to swim upstream against people just saying that we’re about to violate federal law when it’s not true. EMAIL EDITOR@NASHVILLESCENE.COM

Tics blog:

This past week Nashville attorney Adam Dread — a dude Pither Betsy Phillips normally likes — decided he’d do just about the most despicable thing. Dread, a former at-large member of the Metro Council, got pissed at WSMV reporter Nancy Amons for saying on air that Dread has “baggage.” So, instead of letting it go like an adult and proving that whatever baggage he does have doesn’t matter, he dug back and found images of Amons posting in Playboy DECADES ago. His post on Facebook said: “Last night Channel 4’s long in the tooth yellow journalist Nancy Amons took another shot at some private citizens, including me. Just a few weeks ago Ms. Amons stated on air that I ‘have too much baggage…’. All of you all know, my life is an open book...Speaking of baggage and open books, here’s some published baggage of Ms. Amons. People in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones Nancy…” As Phillips points out, this is exactly what white-male privilege looks like in practice, and it’s right on par with revenge porn. “Like most cases of revenge porn, a woman takes photos under happy circumstances and shares them with people she trusts, and then some evil douchebag shares those photos without permission to ‘get even’ with her. The scale is different, since she was trusting Playboy and its audience (decades ago, before she could have dreamed that you could send those pictures to someone’s phone instantly), but otherwise, isn’t this just like a girl taking pictures for her boyfriend and then some asshole texting them to all his buddies? And Dread wants to be a judge? My God. If he were elected, what lawyer would bring a case involving a woman in front of him?” … Speaking of dreadful dudes, Tennessee House Majority Leader Glen Casada started the week with a pack of big fat lies regarding a Metro Council bill on federal immigration enforcement. Casada claims that the council bill would “turn Nashville into a sanctuary city” by “completely cutting off cooperation with immigration authorities and ignoring federal immigration laws.” Nope. That is not what the bill they proposed does at all. Scene staffer Steven Hale: “Contrary to Casada’s claim, the bill repeatedly acknowledges the existence and authority of federal immigration laws. Furthermore, it does not ‘completely [cut] off cooperation with immigration authorities.’ What it actually says is that “the metropolitan government shall abide by any duty or obligation imposed by federal or applicable law, and shall respond promptly and as required by applicable law to any warrant issued pursuant to the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure. The metropolitan government shall only honor an immigration-related detention request if it is accompanied by a warrant issued pursuant to the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure.” It doesn’t cut off cooperation at all, or make Nashville a sanctuary city. It just says that ICE can’t run around rounding up immigrants without cause. NASHVILLESCENE.COM/PITHINTHEWIND EMAIL: PITH@NASHVILLESCENE.COM TWEET: @PITHINTHEWIND

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Drink Up! W

PHOTO: DANIEL MEIGS

hen summertime arrives, we’re always in search of a good tipple. For this installment of our annual drinking issue, we bring you five pieces on what we’re drinking and how we’re drinking it: Chris Chamberlain looks at the different paths to success the city’s booze makers have taken; D. Patrick Rodgers takes you on a tour of Nashville’s Old Fashioneds; Ashley Brantley helps you choose your own brunch drinking adventure; Steve Cavendish and Zach Gilchriest break down the city’s craft beers; and Cari Wade Gervin taste-tests the hot trend of alcoholic spritzers and seltzers. So crack open a cold one, pop the cork or just start pouring — whatever your preference, it’s time to drink up.

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Looks Like We Made It

Four spirits makers, four different paths to success BY CHRIS CHAMBERLAIN | PHOTOS BY ERIC ENGLAND

B

y almost any measure, the spirits business is booming in Middle Tennessee. New distilleries continue to open, and more experienced operations are expanding their facilities and product offerings. New releases are winning awards from prestigious competitions around the world, and Nashville products are now available in markets across the country. It would be unwise to paint the local spirits industry with broad strokes. Because the business is an incredibly capital-intensive propo-

sition, and some products require years of maturing before release, there are significant barriers to entry and success. To imagine what it’s like to launch a distillery, think about going to your local bank with this proposition: “I need to borrow $5 million to start up what is basically a chemical engineering plant. In five or six years, we’ll find out if I’m any good at it, and if anybody likes my product.” Pretty daunting, eh? Here’s how four local spirits operations have plotted and plodded their way to the top:

The Bootstrapper

Nashville Craft Distilling After more than 10 years working as a forensic scientist, Bruce Boeko decided it was his two decades of brewing beer and making wine at home that really sparked his passions. At 42, he made a leap and began studying business and distilling in preparation for starting up his own distillery, Nashville Craft Distilling, which now occupies a striking modern building on the edge of the Wedgewood-Houston neighborhood. Recognizing that starting from scratch would be really difficult if he had to wait for his products to age in oak, Boeko decided to concentrate on some novel ways to get his wares to market more quickly. One strategy was to develop Crane City Gin, a wheat-and-barley distilled spirit delicately flavored with seven botanicals, including coriander, cardamom and fennel, plus the requisite juniper. Even though he passes this product through his 250-gallon still multiple times to create a clean, nuanced product, Boeko can still get his gin to market in days, not years.

His second flagship product is Naked Biscuit Sorghum Spirit, an unaged liquor made using sorghum from Muddy Pond Sorghum Mill in Monterey, Tenn. This unique product lives somewhere between rum, whiskey and cachaça, but Boeko doesn’t obsess over labeling it. Instead, he concentrates on the provenance of the product. “We are interested in making products from start to finish and using local agricultural resources whenever possible,” he explains. “This allows us to produce spirits that are closely connected to Nashville and Tennessee, rather than ones that could just as easily be made anywhere.” The resulting product is a true representation of Tennessee terroir, and Boeko wishes that other manufacturers would follow his lead. “I believe that if every distillery did this, we’d get regional diversity in products around the country.”

Go Big and Go Weird Corsair Distillery

Without a doubt, the most recognized distillery in Nashville is Corsair, owned and run by husband-and-wife team Darek Bell and Amy Lee Bell, along with their partner Andrew Webber. The company started distilling in a Kentucky facility while waiting for Tennessee’s arcane liquor laws to catch up with the times and allow distilling to take place legally in Davidson County. Rather than try to compete in the intensely crowded and competitive “me too” world of bourbons and whiskeys, the Corsair team strived to set themselves apart with their bold and experimental spirits. Gin aged in spice rum barrels. Whiskeys made from nontraditional grains like quinoa, buckwheat or oats. Pumpkin moonshine. Blends of malts smoked using different woods. These products represent just a fraction of the trials that the mad scientists at Corsair have played with over the years. Instrumental in moving the craft in-

dustry forward and creating a whole new category they call “alt whiskeys,” the distillery has earned accolades for their innovation and enough medals and trophies to fill a small warehouse of cabinets. Perhaps the awards they should be most proud of are being named Whiskey Brand Innovator of the Year twice and Craft Distiller of the Year in 2013 at the Wizard of Whiskey awards. When Fast Company magazine named Corsair one of their Innovators of the Year, Darek Bell summarized the company’s strategy for leading through innovation: “Whiskey has been so traditional for so long that it’s really ripe for disruption. A new generation of whiskey drinkers has arrived that do not want to drink their parents’ brands. They want something new.” As a globally recognized brand, Corsair plans to continue to push the envelope with products that some might call crazy. Crazy like a fox. >> P. 14

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Fake It ’Til You Make It

Nelson’s Green Brier Distillery Well, “fake it” isn’t really a fair term, although brothers Andy and Charlie Nelson have been on the sharp end of comments by purists who object to their initial strategy of purchasing bourbon produced in another state to release under their Belle Meade Bourbon brand, a tactic born out financial expediency. “Our particular business plan evolved over a number of months and years and ended up the way it did out of necessity,” says Andy Nelson. “Our original plan was to raise enough money to build out a distillery, start filling barrels, and wait for at least four years to sell it. When we realized nobody was buying into that long-term unproven strategy, we had to switch things up.” Just because they didn’t actually distill the liquid in the barrels doesn’t mean that the Nelsons had no hand in the creation of the final product. Working with industry consultants and advisers,

the brothers developed their own proprietary blend of various mash bills. The Nelsons also put a personal stamp on their bourbon by experimenting with special finishing methods after aging in the original oak barrels. These special editions spend an extra period of time in used cognac, madeira and sherry casks, novel finishes that have won multiple awards from tasting panels at spirits competitions. In the meantime, the Nelsons have constructed an impressive working distillery and begun to lay down barrels of Tennessee whiskey created in their own copper still. They plan to release small quantities of the first iteration of their homegrown product this July 4, finally declaring their arrival in the world of craft distillers after spending more than a decade learning about the industry and earning a reputation as talented blenders and marketers.

Buy Smart. Sell Smarter. Peg Leg Porker

Carey Bringle has never been one to do things the traditional way. Unlike many restaurateurs who open their own place in hopes of building a market for future products, Bringle developed his Peg Leg Porker brand through his competitive barbecue team, cooking kits and a line of sauces and rubs. Then he finally opened his successful restaurant in the Gulch with a built-in audience of fans. So it made sense to expand his brand into spirits, since he already had experience working with manufacturers and distributors through sponsorship deals with his cook team. He has released three versions of sourced whiskey under the Peg Leg label, each one a little different from the previous. His first batch was a fairly straightforward whiskey distilled in Tennessee, but never filtered through charcoal in the traditional mellowing process of Tennessee whiskey. That was a personal preference of Bringle’s, since he’s a fan of unfiltered products. His second release was a hybrid of the “Lincoln County Process” of charcoal filtration, except that this whiskey was strained through hickory charcoal from the pits at Bringle’s restaurant instead of sweet maple like Tennessee whiskey designation requires. His latest whiskey is a limited run of 12-year-old purchased whiskey that was met with great acclaim, even more so than his previous whiskeys, which were also award winners. The whiskey was awarded a Double Gold at the prestigious San Francisco World Spirits Competition, a designation that the product was “an exceptional spirit that is

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near the pinnacle of achievement; sets the standard for its category.” It also sold out from most liquor stores and bars within weeks of first appearing on the shelves. Bringle sees no need to change course just because he doesn’t actually produce his own products. “At this time we have no plans for a distillery,” he says. “We will continue to source our product. However, we will start to lay down some product this year with a contract distiller here in Tennessee to ensure our long-term supply. We will not build a distillery until we are forced to build one due to our success.” Not everyone respects Bringle’s path, but he is no shrinking violet. “We have been called fakers by some, and I am OK with that,” he says. “I have thick skin. We understand what it takes to run a successful brand and business. Sometimes people get so caught up in terms like ‘organic,’ ‘the real thing’ and ‘sustainable’ that they lose sight of running a successful business and brand. Nothing is ‘sustainable’ if you can’t pay your bills, and there is no ’right way’ to be in the bourbon business. There are a lot of folks doing great things in Nashville right now, and they are proving that there is more than one way to skin a cat.” Bringle sums up the realities of the local spirits industry in his own inimitable way. “One thing is for sure: If you want to be in this business, you better have deep pockets and big balls!”

NASHVILLE SCENE | JUNE 29 – JULY 5, 2017 | nashvillescene.com

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6/26/17 5:24 PM


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nashvillescene.com | JUNE 29 – JULY 5, 2017 | NASHVILLE SCENE

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15

6/26/17 3:33 PM


A Guide to Nashville Beer W

e’ve come a long way from 1994, when Blackstone and the now-shuttered Market Street were the only beer producers. For 15 years, Yazoo and Cool Springs Brewery were the only other current breweries to open in town, but then the wave came: Jackalope in 2011 and a steady flow since. Beer lovers can find quality local craft options at almost any bar and restaurant in town. Thanks to innovations like mobile canning operations, it’s possible for even small brewers to get onto the shelves of grocery stores and compete with corporate conglomerates. So here’s a view of the regularly occurring beers that Nashville brewers are producing. The beer scene is evolving so fast, in fact, that two of the best new breweries — Smith & Lentz and Southern Grist — don’t even have a set lineup and instead make an ever-changing variety of small-batch beers. In fact, most breweries are creating oneoffs, limited runs and seasonals at a staggering pace. It’s a good time to love beer in Nashville. —STEVE CAVENDISH

Blackstone Brewing Co. (1994)

Hangtime Pale Ale APA

Nut Brown HopJack AMERICAN BROWN ALE IPA

Session Player IPA

Adam St. Charles Chaser Pale Bomb BROWN KOLSCH WEST COAST PORTER STYLE IPA

Cool Springs Brewery (2009)

Pecker Wrecker IPA

Franklin’s First KOLSCH

Nice Rack MANGO IPA

Little Harpeth (2012)

Chicken Scratch PILSNER

Titches Wit BELGIAN WIT

Thunder Ann APA

Boro Blonde BLONDE ALE

Angry Redhead RED ALE

Velvet Hustle PALE ALE

Cutaway IPA

Evil Octopus IPA

Avec Moi SOUR PALE ALE

Rompo RED RYE ALE

Bearwalker MAPLE BROWN ALE

Sly Rye Porter PORTER

Extra Easy ESB

Grapefruit IPA IPA

Fennario IPA

Inner Sanctum IPA

Silk Mill OATMEAL STOUT

Watermelon Peanut Wheat Butter Milk WHEAT Stout ALE STOUT

Lil Darlin WHEAT BEER

Daddy-O PILSNER

Hopry DOUBLE IPA

Portly Stout STOUT

Portly Stout Nitro STOUT

Another Way to Rye IPA

Sue BALTIC PORTER

Fat Bottom (2012)

Red Ale AMERICAN RED ALE

W.A.C. APA

Saison SAISON

Ruby Knockout AMERICAN IPA RED ALE

Soul Dark Lager DARK LAGER

Old Salem Batch #5 Peach Sour SOUR ALE

The Rose BELGIANSTYLE BLONDE ALE

Naked Statue LIGHT LAGER

The Special The Chapter BELGIANHouse STYLE BELGIANABBEY ALE STYLE RED

Ida GOLDEN ALE

Czann’s Brewery (2013)

Black Abbey (2013)

The FortyFour AMERICAN PORTER

The Five Points Champion WEST AMERICAN COAST IPA PALE ALE

Czann’s Czann’s Dunkelweizen Pale ale DUNKELWEIZEN PALE ALE

Czann’s Blonde BLONDE ALE

Czann’s IPA IPA

Honky Tonk Brewing (2014)

Southeast IPA IPA

Mill Creek Brewing (2015)

Battleground Japa Saffron IPA FARMHOUSE MILK CHAI IPA ALE STOUT

Hop Perfect Gerst IPA AMBER ALE

Turtle Anarchy (2012)

Tailgate Brewery (2014)

Mantra Artisan Ales (2015)

Amour Rouge SOUR FLANDERS RED ALE

Dos Perros Hefeweizen AMERICAN HEFEWEIZEN BROWN ALE

Mayday Brewery (2012)

Upstream SAN FRAN LAGER

Basil Ryeman SAISON

Pale ale PALE ALE

Jackalope (2011)

Fatback ALTBIER

Tennessee Brew Works (2013)

Southern Wit BELGAIN WHITE ALE

Yazoo (2003)

Barn Out Back Red IRISH RED

Honey Blonde BLONDE ALE

Black IPA IPA

Lebrown James BROWN ALE

West Coast IPA IPA

Cherry Berliner TN Jed Weisse WHEAT BERLINER WEISSE

Bearded Iris Brewing (2016)

East Nashville Beer Works (2016)

Landmark Silo Woodshed LAGER FARMHOUSE IPA ALE

Miro Miel BLONDE ALE

New Heights Brewing Co. (2016)

Cumberland Woodland Punch Street AMERICAN Session WHEAT IPA IPA

4 3

Young Hickory SMOKED PORTER

Roaming Dog ASB

Badonkadonk Stout IMPERIAL STOUT

East Bank Citra IPA

Swing Bridge IPA

Homestyle IPA

Overtones DOUBLE IPA

NUMBER OF NASHVILLE BREWERIES OPENING BY YEAR

2 Bitter Serenity SESSION IPA

Holy Mole MOLEINFUSED MILK STOUT

Nothing Fancy CREAM ALE

coverstory_BEER_6-29-17.indd 16

Sweet Munich APA

Batch #1 IPA WITH COFFEE

Tryestar RYE IPA

New Heights IPA

Beerded Recluse AMERICAN STRONG ALE

Navel Gazer IMPERIAL STOUT

Animal Gobsmacked Style BARLEYWINE IMPERIAL IPA

1 1994

...

2003

2009

...

2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

6/26/17 5:53 PM


W

ith a change in state law on Jan. 1, it’s now much easier for brewers to make and distribute high-gravity products — that is, beer with more than 6.2 percent alcohol by volume — so say hello to new beers like Jackalope’s Fennario, an IPA with a kick, at 7.2 percent ABV. On the left are brews from Czann’s infinitely sessionable Blonde

Ale, just 4.25 percent, all the way up to imperial stouts like New Heights’ Navel Gazer, which will sit you down in a hurry at 9.2 percent. On the right are each beer’s International Bitterness Unit scores. Scan down if you’re a fan of West Coast-style hop bombs like Black Abbey’s Five Points (94 points) or up toward the top if you prefer a maltier, less-bitter style like Yazoo’s Gerst (11 points).

Brewery

Cool Springs Brewery Czann’s Brewery East Nashville Beer Works Mayday Brewery Mayday Brewery Mayday Brewery Mill Creek Brewing Mill Creek Brewing East Nashville Beer Works New Heights Brewing Co. Blackstone Brewing Co. Mantra Artisan Ales Yazoo TailGate Brewery New Heights Brewing Co. Yazoo Yazoo TailGate Brewery Mayday Brewery Mill Creek Brewing East Nashville Beer Works Jackalope Mantra Artisan Ales Yazoo Tennessee Brew Works Blackstone Brewing Co. East Nashville Beer Works Little Harpeth Brewing Co. Mill Creek Brewing Czann’s Brewery Tennessee Brew Works Black Abbey Blackstone Brewing Co. Cool Springs Brewery Fat Bottom Brewing Fat Bottom Brewing Honky Tonk Brewing Co. Honky Tonk Brewing Co. TailGate Brewery Black Abbey Turtle Anarchy Black Abbey Black Abbey Cool Springs Brewery Czann’s Brewery Jackalope Little Harpeth Brewing Co. Yazoo Mayday Brewery Black Abbey Blackstone Brewing Co. Jackalope New Heights Brewing Co. Yazoo Blackstone Brewing Co. Yazoo Mayday Brewery Black Abbey Fat Bottom Brewing Honky Tonk Brewing Co. Honky Tonk Brewing Co. New Heights Brewing Co. Bearded Iris Brewing Mantra Artisan Ales Turtle Anarchy Mayday Brewery New Heights Brewing Co. Cool Springs Brewery Cool Springs Brewery Czann’s Brewery East Nashville Beer Works East Nashville Beer Works Fat Bottom Brewing Honky Tonk Brewing Co. Honky Tonk Brewing Co. Honky Tonk Brewing Co. Mantra Artisan Ales Mantra Artisan Ales New Heights Brewing Co. Turtle Anarchy Turtle Anarchy Turtle Anarchy TailGate Brewery TailGate Brewery Mayday Brewery TailGate Brewery Blackstone Brewing Co. East Nashville Beer Works New Heights Brewing Co. Bearded Iris Brewing Blackstone Brewing Co. Jackalope Yazoo Bearded Iris Brewing Tennessee Brew Works Mayday Brewery Mayday Brewery Mayday Brewery Tennessee Brew Works Bearded Iris Brewing New Heights Brewing Co. New Heights Brewing Co. New Heights Brewing Co. Yazoo New Heights Brewing Co.

coverstory_BEER_6-29-17.indd 17

Beer

Style

HOW BITTER?* ABV

Franklin's First Kolsch 4.20% Czann’s Blonde Blonde Ale 4.25% Young Hickory Smoked Porter 4.50% Boro Blonde Blonde Ale 4.50% Soul Dark Lager Dark Lager 4.50% Berry Blonde Fruit Beer 4.50% Lil’ Darlin Wheat Beer 4.50% Woodshed IPA 4.50% Session IPA IPA 4.60% Bitter Serenity Session IPA 4.70% Session Player IPA 4.90% Avec Moi Sour Pale Ale 4.90% Dos Perros Brown Ale 4.90% Watermelon Wheat Wheat Ale 4.90% Holy Mole Mole-infused Milk Stout 5.00% Hefeweizen Hefeweizen 5.00% Daddy-O Pilsner 5.00% Barn Out Back Red Irish Red 5.00% Kelsey's Secret Stash IPA 5.00% Landmark Lager 5.00% Miro Miel Blonde Ale 5.10% Bearwalker Maple Brown Ale 5.10% Battleground Saison/Farmhouse Ale 5.10% Gerst Red Ale 5.10% Southern Wit Belgian White Ale 5.15% Chaser Pale Kolsch 5.20% Roaming Dog ASB 5.20% Chicken Scratch Pilsner 5.20% Silo Farmhouse Ale 5.20% Pale Ale Pale Ale 5.25% Extra Easy ESB 5.25% The Champion APA 5.30% Hangtime Pale Ale APA 5.30% Fatback Altbier 5.30% W.A.C. APA 5.30% Ruby Red Ale 5.30% Honey Blonde Blonde Ale 5.30% Cherry Berliner Weisse Berliner Weisse 5.30% Naked Statue Light Lager 5.30% The Rose Blonde Ale 5.40% Red Ale Red Ale 5.40% The Chapter House Belgian-Style Red 5.50% The Forty-Four Coffee-Infused Porter 5.50% Titches Wit Belgian Wit 5.50% Czann’s Dunkelweizen Dunkelweizen 5.50% Thunder Ann APA 5.50% Upstream San Fran Lager 5.50% Hop Perfect IPA 5.50% Old Salem Batch #5 Peach Sour Sour Ale 5.50% Five Points West Coast IPA 5.60% Nut Brown Brown Ale 5.60% Rompo Red Rye Ale 5.60% Nothing Fancy Cream Ale 5.60% Sly Rye Porter Porter 5.70% St. Charles Brown porter 5.80% Pale Ale Pale Ale 5.80% Velvet Hustle Pale Ale 5.80% The Special Belgian-Style Abbey Ale 5.90% Knockout IPA 5.90% Lebrown James Brown Ale 5.90% TN Jed Wheat Beer 5.90% Sweet Munich APA 5.90% Homestyle IPA 6.00% Japa Milk Chai Stout 6.00% Another Way to Rye IPA 6.00% Angry Redhead Red Ale 6.00% Batch #1 IPA w/Coffee 6.15% Pecker Wrecker IPA 6.20% Nice Rack Mango IPA 6.20% Czann’s IPA IPA 6.20% Cumberland Punch American Wheat 6.20% Swing Bridge IPA 6.20% Ida Golden Ale 6.20% Black IPA IPA 6.20% West Coast IPA IPA 6.20% Badonkadonk Stout Imperial Stout 6.20% Amour Rouge Sour Flanders Red Ale 6.20% Saffron IPA 6.20% Tryestar Rye IPA 6.20% Portly Stout Stout 6.20% Portly Stout Nitro Stout 6.20% Saison Saison 6.20% Grapefruit IPA IPA 6.20% Peanut Butter Milk Stout Stout 6.20% Evil Octopus IPA 6.20% Southeast IPA IPA 6.25% HopJack American IPA 6.30% East Bank Citra IPA 6.70% New Heights IPA 6.90% Picture Book IPA 7.20% Adam Bomb West Coast IPA 7.20% Fennario IPA (new) 7.20% Hopry Double IPA 7.20% Red Handed Double IPA 7.50% 1927 IPA 7.50% Inner Sanctum IPA 7.60% Silk Mill Oatmeal Stout 7.60% Brandy's Silk Panties Oatmeal Stout 7.60% Basil Ryeman Saison 8.00% Overtones Double IPA 8.20% Animal Style Imperial IPA 8.60% Beerded Recluse American Srong Ale 8.80% Navel Gazer Imperial stout 9.20% Sue Baltic Porter 9.20% Gobsmacked Barleywine 12.40%

Brewery

Mantra Artisan Ales Mantra Artisan Ales Honky Tonk Brewing Co. Yazoo Mill Creek Brewing Black Abbey Black Abbey Tennessee Brew Works Black Abbey East Nashville Beer Works Mill Creek Brewing Yazoo TailGate Brewery Yazoo Blackstone Brewing Co. Czann’s Brewery Mantra Artisan Ales Yazoo Turtle Anarchy Turtle Anarchy Czann’s Brewery Honky Tonk Brewing Co. Mill Creek Brewing Mantra Artisan Ales New Heights Brewing Co. TailGate Brewery Jackalope New Heights Brewing Co. TailGate Brewery Blackstone Brewing Co. East Nashville Beer Works Little Harpeth Brewing Co. Mayday Brewery Mayday Brewery Black Abbey Fat Bottom Brewing Honky Tonk Brewing Co. Tennessee Brew Works East Nashville Beer Works New Heights Brewing Co. Yazoo Black Abbey Fat Bottom Brewing Jackalope Mayday Brewery Blackstone Brewing Co. TailGate Brewery Blackstone Brewing Co. Mayday Brewery Fat Bottom Brewing Honky Tonk Brewing Co. Little Harpeth Brewing Co. Tennessee Brew Works Jackalope Czann’s Brewery Blackstone Brewing Co. Mayday Brewery Turtle Anarchy Turtle Anarchy Mayday Brewery Yazoo Mayday Brewery Tennessee Brew Works New Heights Brewing Co. Czann’s Brewery Mantra Artisan Ales Cool Springs Brewery Blackstone Brewing Co. Mill Creek Brewing Turtle Anarchy East Nashville Beer Works Honky Tonk Brewing Co. Mayday Brewery New Heights Brewing Co. East Nashville Beer Works Mayday Brewery Yazoo East Nashville Beer Works Jackalope Yazoo East Nashville Beer Works Fat Bottom Brewing Blackstone Brewing Co. Honky Tonk Brewing Co. New Heights Brewing Co. New Heights Brewing Co. TailGate Brewery New Heights Brewing Co. Yazoo New Heights Brewing Co. Black Abbey Honky Tonk Brewing Co. New Heights Brewing Co. TailGate Brewery New Heights Brewing Co.

Beer

Avec Moi Amour Rouge Cherry Berliner Weisse Gerst Lil’ Darlin The Rose The Special Southern Wit The Chapter House Miro Miel Landmark Dos Perros Naked Statue Daddy-O Chaser Pale Czann’s Blonde Battleground Hefeweizen Red Ale Saison Dunkelweizen TN Jed Silo Japa Nothing Fancy Watermelon Wheat Rompo Holy Mole Barn Out Back Red Nut Brown Young Hickory Upstream Boro Blonde Berry Blonde The Forty-Four Ida Honey Blonde Basil Ryeman Cumberland Punch Sweet Munich Sly Rye Porter The Champion W.A.C. Bearwalker Kelsey’s Secret Stash Hangtime Pale Ale Peanut Butter Milk Stout St. Charles Velvet Hustle Ruby Lebrown James Chicken scratch Extra Easy Thunder Ann Pale Ale Session Player Silk Mill Portly Stout Portly Stout Nitro Angry Redhead Pale Ale Brandy’s Silk Panties 1927 Bitter Serenity Czann’s IPA Saffron IPA Pecker Wrecker HopJack Woodshed Another Way to Rye Woodland Street Session IPA Badonkadonk Stout Inner Sanctum Gobsmacked Roaming Dog Evil Octopus Sue East Bank Citra Fennario Hop Perfect Swing Bridge Knockout Adam Bomb West Coast IPA Batch #1 Navel Gazer Grapefruit IPA Beerded Recluse Hopry Tryestar Five Points Black IPA New Heights Southeast IPA Animal Style

Style

Sour Pale Ale Sour Flanders Red Ale Berliner Weisse Red Ale Wheat Blonde Ale Belgian-Style Abbey Ale Belgian White Ale Belgian-Style Red Blonde Ale Lager Brown Ale Light Lager Pilsner Kolsch Blonde Ale Saison/Farmhouse Ale Hefeweizen Red Ale Saison Dunkelweizen Wheat Beer Farmhouse Ale Milk Chai Stout Cream Ale Wheat Ale Red Rye Ale Mole-infused Milk Stout Irish Red Brown Ale Smoked Porter San Fran Lager Blonde Ale Fruit Beer Coffee-Infused Porter Golden Ale Blonde Ale Saison American Wheat APA Porter APA APA Maple Brown Ale IPA APA Stout Brown Porter Pale Ale Red Ale Brown Ale Pilsner ESB APA Pale Ale IPA Oatmeal Stout Stout Stout Red Ale Pale Ale Oatmeal Stout IPA Session IPA IPA IPA IPA American IPA IPA IPA IPA Imperial Stout IPA Barleywine ASB IPA Baltic Porter IPA IPA IPA IPA IPA West Coast IPA IPA IPA w/coffee Imperial Stout IPA American strong Ale Double IPA Rye IPA West Coast IPA IPA IPA IPA Imperial IPA

IBU

2 4 5 11 11 14 14 14.5 15 15 16 16 17 17 18 18 18 18 19 19 20 20 20 20 20 20 22 22 22 23 23 23 24 24 25 25 25 25 26 28 28 31 31 32 32 33 33 34 34 35 35 35 35 37 38 39 40 40 40 41 47 50 50 52 53 55 58 60 60 60 62 62 62 65 72 72 72 74 74 75 80 80 83 85 85 85 85 88 90 92 94 100 101 120 136

PHOTOS: ERIC ENGLAND AND DANIEL MEIGS

HOW STRONG?

*Note: Some beers by Bearded Iris, Cool Springs Brewery and Mayday did not have IBU ratings. Lists do not include seasonals.

nashvillescene.com | JUNE 29 – JULY 5, 2017 | NASHVILLE SCENE

17

6/26/17 5:53 PM


Whiskey Business

Come with me and you’ll see a world of Nashville’s best Old Fashioneds BY D. PATRICK RODGERS | PHOTOS BY DANIEL MEIGS

T HOLLAND HOUSE

he Old Fashioned isn’t for everyone. It’s a whiskey drinker’s drink traditionally made — according to the International Bartenders Association — with just a few simple ingredients: sugar, bitters, whiskey and water. Some, myself included, will tell you that ice and an orange-peel garnish are key. Others will say it’s best with a splash of club soda. It’s most often made with bourbon or rye, though occasionally you’ll find a drinker who prefers it with scotch. I’d argue, however, that if you’ve got a scotch worth drinking, it’s a scotch worth drinking neat or on the rocks — any additional flourish is sacrilege. As with the origin story behind any American institution, the exact locale and date of the Old Fashioned’s birth are shrouded in legend. Most agree that the term “cocktail” was born around the turn of the 19th century, and the Old Fashioned itself — along with a few siblings including the Sazerac and the Manhattan — came along at some point in the next few decades. Some credit the Pendennis Club in Louisville, Ky., as being the first establishment to officially use the name “Old Fashioned.” Fact of the matter is, any bar worth its margarita salt is going to present you with a perfectly drinkable Old Fashioned when you order one. Whether or not you enjoy it will almost certainly be influenced mainly by the company you’re in, the atmosphere of the bar, the quality of the liquor, and whether or not your bartender knows what he or she is doing. Thus selecting “Nashville’s Best Old Fashioned” would be a bit of a fool’s errand — this is no definitive ranking or comprehensive list, but rather a quick tour of some spots where I’ve ordered and enjoyed an Old Fashioned. An important note: You can order your Old Fashioned with any whiskey you like, but for the purposes of this piece, I requested mine (with a couple of exceptions) as they usually come, made with the house’s well whiskey. Another note: I’ve heard good things about the OFs at Patterson House, Old Glory, Rosemary and Beauty Queen, and Otaku South, but those will have to wait — one can only expense so many cocktails before the higher-ups start asking questions.

City House

If you’re making a stop at James Beard Award winner Tandy Wilson’s Germantown establishment, you’re almost certainly there to dine, and you won’t go wrong with a pre-dinner Old Fashioned. Made with Old Forester — appropriately enough, it’s America’s first bottled and longest continuously distilled bourbon — City House’s Old Fashioned was served to me on a recent Wednesday night garnished with an orange peel and a cherry, and light on the sugar. That’s the right way, if you ask me. At $10, it was exactly as good as it ought to be, and a wonderfully heady prelude to a top-shelf dinner. I got two desserts. (That last note isn’t relevant to the purposes of this story, but I thought you might like to know.)

Dee’s Country Cocktail Lounge

Some folks might think the “cocktail” part of this Madison bar’s name is there ironically or playfully. It isn’t. The selfbilled “’70s-inspired country bar” is good for billiards, riproaring rock ’n’ roll and country bands, and what may well be the best free jukebox in Davidson County. But when they say they make cocktails, they mean it. I was delighted to sip mine early one Sunday evening while a drunk fella scream-sang the words to “Gimme Shelter” on the barstool next to me. Dee’s Old Fashioned is made with either Four Roses Bourbon or Dickel Rye, both angostura and Peychaud’s bitters, lemon and orange peel, one great big cube, one muddled sugar cube, and a Luxardo Maraschino cherry. At $6.50, this one was indeed the best bang-for-buck OF I had — and the atmosphere is free.

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NASHVILLE SCENE | JUNE 29 – JULY 5, 2017 | nashvillescene.com

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6/26/17 5:25 PM


L.A. Jackson

I recently stopped in at L.A. Jackson — the rooftop bar at the Gulch’s relatively new Thompson Hotel — for a friend’s DJ night and sampled the bar’s $12 Old Fashioned. Made with Rittenhouse Rye and a nice, easy blend of sugar and bitters, Jackson’s Old Fashioned was about as straightforward as they come, quickly but competently made. This one also came with my favorite ice form: one big cube, which I shall refer to as an “OBC” henceforth. The drink was fairly standard, but the tunes and the view were well above average.

Public House at Urban Cowboy

Lockeland Springs bed-and-breakfast Urban Cowboy is nice and swanky, and its bar and kitchen, Public House, is one of the finer recent additions to East Nashville’s scene. The food, though on the pricier end, is truly excellent. Like City House, Public makes its Old Fashioneds with Old Forester, and like Dee’s, Public uses — you guessed it — an OBC. Priced at $13 and mixed with house-made bitters and a splash of cognac, Public House’s Old Fashioned was one of the more balanced, and maybe even the best, cocktails I sampled.

The Oak Bar at the Hermitage Hotel

Rather than ordering my Old Fashioned with the well whiskey, I let my bartender at

the Oak Bar downtown talk me into trying it with Buffalo Trace’s W.L. Weller. Weller is a good bourbon — not a great one — with lightly sweet, caramel-like notes, but it also raised the cost of my drink to $17. My companion ordered his Old Fashioned with Ransom Old Tom Gin rather than whiskey. Sacrilege, naturally, but it made for a nice, light summertime drink, and it was about $5 cheaper. Adjacent to the Capitol Grille, the Oak Bar is beautiful and ornate, known for its opulent Art Deco bathroom and the oaken walls from which it gets its name. It’s the kind of old-school place where you might expect to find salt-and-pepper power brokers sipping brandy in the corner. The Old Fashioned was perfectly satisfactory, but the main attraction here is the ambiance.

Holland House

Frankly, you could skip this whole damn list and just show up Thursday at Holland House for your very own six-stop tour of Old Fashioneds. The East Side cocktail-anddining establishment offers a special Thursday Old Fashioned menu with three tiers: Economy, Business and First Class, each with a bourbon option and a rye option. I opted for the economy rye (James E. Pepper 1776, priced at $7 per drink), but the options run the gamut from Old Charter 8 Year ($6) to Woodford Reserve Rye and Jack Daniels Single Barrel Rye (both $12). Mixed with gomme (an emulsifying sugar-and-water syrup), standard cubes and the traditional sliver of orange peel, the Holland House Old Fashioned is simply made, and well made — a vehicle for the whiskey, with a nice little collection of options to choose from.

TOWNHOMES at The Edison

THE OAK BAR

nashvillescene.com | JUNE 29 – JULY 5, 2017 | NASHVILLE SCENE

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19

5:24 PM 6/26/17 5:34


TÁNSUǒ, JADE EMPEROR Green tomato juice, scallion, garlic, ginger, chilies

MAS TACOS, MICHELADA Modelo Especial, lots of hot sauce, lime, splash of mary mix

AND I COULD USE SOME DIM SUM

EIO & THE HIVE, HAIR OF THE DOG Tomato, carrot, celery, lime, ginger, tamari, cayenne — don’t say I never gave you anything, vegans

GIVE ME TACOS!

DINO’S, STIEGL RADLER DRAFT Grapefruit juice and beer

PROFESSIONAL GRADE

LIGHTWEIGHT

DETOX STARTS TODAY

BROWN’S DINER, DRAFT BUDWEISER This and Brown’s cheeseburger is the best hangover cure in town

FAT BOTTOM, NASTY WOMAN Gin, campari, grapefruit, bitters, golden ale

AND I NEED GREASE

I’M A GOOD OL’ BOY

TENNESSEE BREW WORKS, WALK THE LIME Wheat ale with citrusy finish

AND I’M READY FOR ROUND 2

I’M CRAFTY HUSK, BLOODY MARY Pickle juice, lardo garnish, not too thick

AND KEEP IT CLASSIC

SALTY

NO

YES

LE SEL, WEEKEND BRUNCH PUNCH Gin or rum and a bunch of other citrusy stuff — bring friends

BEER

AND GIVE IT A TWIST

Brunch

JACKSON’S, KENTUCKY COCKTAIL Bourbon, pineapple

I’M CALLING IN SICK TOMORROW

Nashville

M.L. ROSE, BLOODY MARIA Spicy house mix and tequila

MARGOT CAFÉ, RHUBARB JULEP Bourbon, orange, anise, pickled rhubarb

BARCELONA, LUCY B. Cachaça (rum-ish but stronger), rum, coconut, smoked pepper, agave, pineapple

SAVORY

THE GOLD RUSH, BLOODY MARY Salty, straightforward and just $3

BLACKBERRY FARMS, SAISON DRAFT Hoppy, orangey farmhouse ale — find it lots of places, including Henrietta Red

I’M FANCY

STRAIGHT

BLOODY MARY?

BUT MAKE IT PRETTY NO FUSS PLEASE

SWEET

COCHON, RIK SLAVE Shot of bourbon and Miller High Life

PINEAPPLE

RUM GIN

Beverage Finder

CLEAR

VODKA

SMOOTH

Discover your new favorite brunch drink AND GIVE LETHAL IT A TWIST

BUTCHERTOWN HALL, GINGER TAMARIND MIMOSA Touch of warmth and umami

CITRUSY

I have a friend who doesn’t like brunch. Naturally, we mock him and shun him on weekends, but I get it — he’s a boy, and before the #BrosWhoBrunch came to town with their flat-billed caps and BNA tank tops, brunch was a pretty girly ordeal. But in today’s Nashville, brunch knows no gender, so I have to ask the haters: What’s not to like about brunch? Is it the copious amount of pork? The lessexpensive meals at nice restaurants? A socially acceptable excuse to drink before noon? Disliking brunch is silly and sad, but it does raise one question: What do I drink if I don’t like “brunch drinks”? To that I say: ALL OF THIS. Whether you like Champagne, beer or the “Champagne of Beers,” there’s a drink for you in this town, and we’re going to help you find it. Bottoms up. —ASHLEY BRANTLEY

EARTHY

NO

YES

MIMOSA?

SWEET

RHUBARB

SWEET FIZZY

STRONG BOURBON

TEQUILA

MARGARITA? AND LET’S GET CRAZY NOT TODAY

I’M DOWN

AND MAKE IT CLASSIC

CINCO DE MAYO, CORONARITA Frozen margarita (it’s neon green — don’t ask questions) with a mini Corona jammed in the top

CHOCOLATE, LEMON OR LIME?

FIZZY FROZEN TAVERN, BLOOD ORANGE MIMOSA Great for gettin 2-for-1 girl-tipsy

FLAT

PHOTOS: ERIC ENGLAND AND DANIEL MEIGS

SINEMA, BOTTOMLESS MIMOSA $15 gets you access to both bottomless mimosas and bloodys — get that Lyft app updated PINEWOOD SOCIAL, GOOD SINNER Gin or vodka, St-Germain, Pernod Ricard, pineapple, sparkling wine — please note, there is only one ingredient here that is not booze, thus its lethal designation

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URBAN COWBOY PUBLIC HOUSE, ROSÉ PALOMA Rosé, lime, salt, grapefruit

SAKE EVEN MADE WITH BEER?

BOTTOMLESS

AND I NEED CAFFEINE

STEALTHYSTRONG

CHOCOLATE

OK

TROPICAL

AND I NEED TO DETOX

BUT GIN WOULD DO

LIME

THE CENTENNIAL, PAINKILLER Rum, pineapple, orange, coconut, crushed ice

STILL NO YES, PLEASE!

SILO, SEELBACH Bourbon, orange liqueur, bitters, sparkling wine

HENRIETTA RED, PALOMA Grapefruit, chilisalt rim

LEMON

OTAKU RAMEN, ENSO Bourbon, sake, orange blossom

OH, HELL NO

HOW ABOUT BOURBON? DINO’S, LUNCHBOX Coors, OJ, shot of amaretto

WINE

5TH & TAYLOR, SUMMER SANGRIA Strawberry, basil and white wine over ice

THE PHARMACY, THE RICKEY Maraschino and lemon syrups, phosphated soda (think fizzy cherry lemonade)

STEADFAST, COFFEE SODA To devirginize, make it a “Wolf Pack” — coffee soda, amaro, mint

EDLEY’S, BUSHWACKER Adult Frosty, stronger than it seems

MANGIA, SGROPPINO Housemade limoncello granita, Prosecco, vodka

LE SEL, FRENCH 75 Crémant (sparkling wine), gin, lemon

LOCAL TACO, MARGARITA Fresh lime, great frozen or on the rocks

6/26/17 5:30 PM


This Week’s LisTings:

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Tuesday Bluesday with Dennis Drummond 6PM – 10PM Dennis Drummond was raised on blues, soul, and classic rock. He quickly found a voice on the instrument that was uniquely his own. Dennis has turned many heads and quickly made a name for himself as an up-and-comer in the Nashville music scene.

www.dennisdrummondmusic.com

Sunday Champagne Brunch 9:30AM - 12:30PM

NEW CONDO, APT OR DORM

?

Great deals on sofas, dining tables, dressers, desks, shelving, coffee tables & much more!

Nightly drink and food specials

Thursday, June 29 aT 6:30

Grant Ginder The People We Hate at the Wedding Friday, June 30 aT 6:30

Kate O’Neill Pixels and Place PARNASSUS BOOKS WILL BE CLOSED ON TUESDAY, JULY 4.

Join us For These greaT evenTs coming up in July. Thursday, July 13 aT 6:15

Roxane Gay Hunger

at Blair School of Music

Tuesday, July 18 aT 6:15

Alan Alda If I Understood You, Would I have This Look On My Face? at Blair School of Music

In Nashville: 1004 8th Ave S • 615.736.7515 In Murfreesboro: 2 11 Robert Rose Dr. • 615.295.2355

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More than 10,000 Square feet of Furniture, Rugs, Artwork & Decor from all genres & generations!

OPEN DAYS 7 WEE A K

SUMMER STORYTIME WITH EMILY ARROW every Tuesday in July aT 11:00 am

www.parnassusbooks.net 3900 hillsboro Pike in green hills

615.953.2243

nashvillescene.com | JUNE 29 – JULY 5, 2017 | NASHVILLE SCENE

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PHOTO: ERIC ENGLAND

Not Your Parents’ Zima Alcoholic seltzers and spritzers are all the rage, but are they any good?

B

lame it on LaCroix. Or maybe blame it on paleo. Whatever the reason, low-cal, low-carb alcoholic seltzers (and slightly less low-cal alcoholic spritzers) are exploding on the market. But these drinks are not the Bartles & Jaymes of the 1980s, nor the recently resurrected Zima that folks of a certain age remember fondly from 1990s high school parties. Some are mass-market, but some are from smaller independent producers. Most are gluten-free, and many are vegan. And most are not malt-based, the way Zima and B&J were. So we at the Scene decided to put a range of brands and flavors to a taste test and suss out which, if any, of these beverages are worthy of your hard-earned cash. What we found is that some are, some might be if you’re desperate, and some are still making us cringe days later. The good news is that whatever you buy, even if you hate it, you won’t spend too much money. Prices ranged from $6.99 for a fourpack of Barefoot Refresh Summer Red Spritzer — with “aromas of ripe berries and oranges” — to $17.99 for a 12-pack of assorted flavors of White Claw Hard Seltzer. Most sixpacks were around $10, consistent with craft beer prices. And most of the options we tasted come in cans, not bottles — perfect for the pool or a park. The overwhelming favorite of our tastetesters was Bravazzi Hard Italian Soda. We

22

BY CARI WADE GERVIN

tasted only the grapefruit flavor, but it’s also available in limonata and blood orange. “Bright, tart and puckery,” commented one reviewer. “Pleasant scent and grapefruit taste closest to actual fruit,” said another. The only taster who didn’t like the drink has an admitted aversion to grapefruit flavorings. White Claw Hard Seltzer also has a grapefruit flavor, along with black cherry, raspberry and lime. White Claw seems to be in direct competition with Spiked Seltzer, which offers Indian River Grapefruit, Valencia Orange, Cape Cod Cranberry and West Indies Lime flavors. Both come in white 12-ounce cans; both are available in mixed 12-packs. And both taste like faintly sweet, slightly flatter and less flavorful LaCroix. “Just drink a damn LaCroix,” one commenter said after tasting the White Claw lime. “Buy some vodka if you’re that desperate.” Another commented on the White Claw Indian Grapefruit: “This tastes like someone poured old LaCroix into a cup that used to have grapefruit juice in it.” “I wish that one of these would taste like the fruit it claims on the label,” a different taster said after trying all the Spiked Seltzer flavors. “I’d risk losing friends if I dared serve them.” Still, two or three tasters said they’d use either brand’s lime flavors in place of tonic water to mix with gin. The lemon-lime Henry’s Hard Sparkling was one of the few malt-based beverages we tried, with the general consensus being it tastes like watered-down flat Sprite. At least two tasters compared the flavor to piss, but

that was before we tried the Flip Flop Fizzy Crisp White, which smelled like actual cat piss — no joke. (We suspect our cans might have somehow gotten spoiled, but we were too scared to try again.) “Made with actual flip-flops?” asked one taster. The Barefoot brand spritzer had a couple of fans, but most thought it was far too sweet. Opinions were mixed on cans of Portland Sangria’s Dry White Wine Spritz — we tried “lemon-ginger with rosemary” and “blueberry with basil.” “I’ll call this one ‘cleaning up the dinner dishes after my dad spilled half a bottle of chardonnay on the counter,’ ” one taster said after the lemon-ginger. Another thought the blueberry-basil had “too many flavors competing,” but someone else thought most fans of blueberry-flavored drinks would enjoy it. The Mighty Swell Sparkling Cocktails in lemon — with 20 percent actual juice — were a little too sweet for some of us, but others loved the refreshing lemonade spritzer. Far less popular was the Press Sparkling Pomegranate Ginger Alcohol Seltzer, in which not a

single person could taste pomegranate. Even more unpopular was the Truly Spiked & Sparkling with a “hint” of grapefruit and pomelo, which was mostly described as “bland” with a “weird, weird aftertaste.” But the malt-based Smirnoff Spiked Sparkling Seltzers were unanimously deemed the worst of the bunch. A couple of people said they could tolerate the watermelon flavor, if mixed with vodka and cut with LaCroix, but the orange-mango flavor was spit out by almost the entire room. “Aftertaste is like spoiled milk,” commented on person. “Smells like sushi, tastes like sunscreen,” added another. The consensus was that only if held at gunpoint would we ever taste it again. There are other brands on the market, and other flavors of these brands we didn’t try. And maybe your palate is very different than those of the 15 or so of us who tried these. But our honest recommendation is that you’re probably better off mixing up your own spritzers or spiked seltzers at home, with real slices of fruit and no weird aftertaste. EMAIL EDITOR@NASHVILLESCENE.COM

NASHVILLE SCENE | JUNE 29 – JULY 5, 2017 | nashvillescene.com

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CRAFT COCKTAILS ENTERTAINMENT LIGHT BITES CABANA RENTALS SKYLINE VIEWS

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nashvillescene.com | JUNE 29 – JULY 5, 2017 | NASHVILLE SCENE

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24 NASHVILLE SCENE | JUNE 29 – JULY 5, 2017 | nashvillescene.com

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CRiTiCS’ piCkS W e e k l y

R o U n d U p

o f

T H i n g S

T o

d o

PA G E

MUSIC CITY HOT CHICKEN FESTIVAL

25

TUESDAY, JULY 4 East Park

PLANNED PARENTHOOD BENEFIT

Gretchen Peters plays with Mary Gauthier and more

PA G E

28 KATE O’NEILL

THE THIRTH OF JULY

India Ramey plays the East Nashville block party

MUSIC

THURS/6.29 [LOVE AND TROUBLE]

PLANNED PARENTHOOD BENEFIT FEAT. GRETCHEN PETERS, MARY GAUTHIER & KIM RICHEY

You may find my taste for genteel singersongwriters strange, but there it is, and

Nashville singer-songwriter and country hitmaker Gretchen Peters is one of my favorite genteel musical artists. I admire Peters’ ability to turn her unexceptionably liberal sentiments and closely observed tales of discontented marriage into songs that have an emotional core. In other words, Nashville’s fusion of country narrative and singer-songwriter aesthetics has created a variant on the work of pioneering singer-songwriters Joni Mitchell, Judee Sill and Jackie DeShannon that is both commercial and arty. Check out Peters’ fine demo for her song “The Chill of an Early Fall” on her 2016 compilation The

THE EARLS OF LEICESTER

Essential Gretchen Peters, and then attend to Louisiana-born singer-songwriter Mary Gauthier’s superb 2014 album Trouble and Love, which Gauthier sings in her decidedly non-genteel voice. Meanwhile, fellow Music City tunesmith Kim Richey creates interesting quasi-country on her 2013 full-length Thorn in My Heart. Thursday night’s show benefits Planned Parenthood of Middle and East Tennessee. 7 p.m. at The Basement East EDD HURT [SONGS TO REMEMBER]

THE EARLS OF LEICESTER

I admire bluegrass from a distance, which doesn’t mean I don’t get off on the righteous instrumental savvy of bluegrass supergroup The Earls of Leicester. Formed by dobro player Jerry Douglas in emulation of the great ensemble of bluegrass innovators Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs, The Earls released a nice self-titled 2014 debut record that didn’t add much to Flatt and Scruggs’ concept. The sextet sounds a bit more relaxed on last year’s excellent fulllength Rattle & Roar, which also sports better material than the group essayed on their debut. They perform a superb rendition of the traditional fiddle tune “Buck Creek Gal” and sing Tony Lee and Onie Wheeler’s “Mother Prays Loud in Her Sleep” with an appealing mixture of humor and piety. Rattle & Roar contains plenty of virtuosic playing — listen to Douglas’ licks on the record’s version of Roy Acuff’s “Steel Guitar Blues” — but it’s the songs you’ll remember. Sometimes traditionalists have more fun. 7:30 p.m. at the Ryman EDD HURT

MUSIC

34

MUSIC

PA G E

PHOTO: STACEY IRVIN

Nashville native returns for a reading at Parnassus

[THREE-FER MADNESS]

ELISE DAVIS W/JASMIN KASET & ADAM FAUCETT

It’s uncommon for these three songwriters to be home from the road at the same time, so don’t miss this chance to catch them at full strength. Elise Davis released a fine record last fall called The Token, featuring songs about finding the tricky balance between feeling secure and feeling independent. The album showcases her confident voice on a foundation of solid rock. If you’re impressed by how Jasmin Kaset inhabits ignorant bullies and racist cousins in the satirical country duo Birdcloud, you’ll ELISE DAVIS

nashvillescene.com | JUNE 29 – JULY 5, 2017 | NASHVILLE SCENE

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6/26/17 4:56 PM


cRItIcs’ pIcks

July 19

TED NUGENT

with Tom Fuller Band

July 20

July 22

THE MOODY BLUES Days of Future Passed:

The 50th Anniversary Tour

August 7

be gobsmacked by the way she gets inside characters from suburban sales staff to the crew on Odysseus’ ship in her solo project. The easiest way to describe Adam Faucett’s work is to call it country-flavored Americana, but that doesn’t take into account his propensity for seeing something mystical in the ways people get by, illustrated using a musical palette that draws on the foreboding side of English folk — his record Blind Water Finds Blind Water sounds like it could break into metal any second. 9 p.m. at The 5 Spot STEPHEN TRAGESER

FRI/6.30 MUSIC

GILLIAN WELCH THE HARROW & THE HARVEST IN CONCERT October 27 & 28

MOON TAXI

with Too Many Zooz

ON SALE FRIDAY AT 10 AM .

100.1 fm

November 22

ST. VINCENT

ON SALE FRIDAY AT 9 AM • ONLINE ONLY

[SKA-DAMN!]

THE TOASTERS

Few bands can get away with earnestly being ska in 2017, and the ones who do still sometimes end up the butt of the joke — The Specials, The Aquabats (shut up, I love them!) and, of course, The Toasters. Though The Toasters haven’t made a new record in a decade, since the release of 2007’s One More Bullet, they’ve earned undying love and respect from fans across the ska spectrum by playing genuine fun-but-not-goofy hornand organ-laced tunes inspired by reggae, calypso and more. There’s a reason they’re still going strong after more than 30 years — they stayed their course, refusing to cave to trends of the industry. So if you think the only ska that’s still around is Less Than Jake or Reel Big Fish, take your ass to a Toasters show and see how you feel about scoffing (ska-ffing?) at an entire genre. Lonesome Town Drifters open. 9 p.m. at The High Watt

MUSIC

MEGAN SELING

July 10

DANCING WITH THE STARS LIVE

head with the alley-cat drawl. Released in 1976, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers was a debut that — if not quite as commercially explosive as 1978’s You’re Gonna Get It! and 1979’s Damn the Torpedoes — was and is better than a debut record has any right to be. Most bands would be lucky to write a tune half as good as “Breakdown” at any point in its career, and these guys came out of the gate with that song and the iconic “American Girl.” Inside the Frist on Friday, artists Vanessa German, John Powers and Vadis Turner will lead programs, including a spoken-word performance, a soundscape and a tour of some of the Frist’s current works. Come for the rock ’n’ roll, stay for the art. 6 p.m. at the Frist PATRICK RODGERS

[MAKE IT LAST ALL NIGHT]

FRIST FRIDAY: THE LONG PLAYERS PERFORM TOM PETTY AND THE HEARTBREAKERS

If you missed Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers’ sold-out show at Bridgestone Arena two months back, you won’t find a better consolation-prize-slash-makeup-opportunity than this Frist Friday installment at the nearby art center. The Long Players have been paying homage to rock ’n’ roll’s biggest albums since long before tribute nights were de rigueur in Music City, and for this show, they’ll turn their attention to the first record by Florida’s best band — the band led by the heartland-rocking tow-

[YOU KNOW NOTHING]

COMMUNITY

INFAMOUS STRINGDUSTERS with Sara Watkins

THE TOASTERS

CON OF THRONES

THEATER

SPRINGER MOUNTAIN FARMS BLUEGRASS NIGHTS AT THE RYMAN

THE WATER’S EDGE

If you’re not a Game of Thrones superfan, I don’t know what to tell you, except for this: You’re missing out, you have shitty taste in television, you aren’t any fun. For the rest of us, there’s Con of Thrones, a worldwide spectacle that just happens to be held in Nashville, because — unlike every single character in Game of Thrones — we got lucky. The con is packed with cool (seriously!) events, like a panel on the show’s treatment of sex and sensuality (Is rape a necessary plot device? Is frequent nudity awesome or gratuitous?) and the historical and literary significance of flaying, as seen in House Bolton. Several GoT castmembers will be there for autographs, photo ops and some panel discussion — including the actors who play Lysa Arryn (what a freak), Shireen Baratheon (sniff sniff) and Ramsey Bolton (hubba hubba ... jk). But the people I’m most excited about are the many podcasters who have been recapping the show since it started — A Cast of Kings’ David Chen and Joanna Robinson (also of Vanityfair.com fame) and Bald Move’s A.Ron and Jim, to name just a few. Visit conofthrones. com for full details. And yadda yadda winter is coming yadda yadda. June 30-July 2 at Opryland Resort LAURA HUTSON [DADDY’S HOME]

You could say Theresa Rebeck is an overachiever. A prolific and awardwinning playwright whose 25-plus years working in that form have spawned more than 20 full-length plays and numerous one-

26 NASHVILLE SCENE | JUNE 29 – JULY 5, 2017 | nashvillescene.com

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N E X T T H U R S D AY !

JUL 6

LON G WAY HOME SU MMER TOU R

SUMMER LIGHTS

GOO GOO DOLLS

JUL 31

MERCY ME & JEREMY CAMP JUL 7

WITH PHILLIP PHILLIPS

MY MORNING JACKET

DOU B L E F EAT U RE

WITH VERY SPECIAL GUEST MARGO PRICE

AUG 5

STRAIGHT NO CHASER & SCOTT BRADLEE’S POST MODERN JUKEBOX

AUG 12

DASHBOARD CONFESSIONAL & ALL AMERICAN REJECTS

N E X T S A T U R D AY !

JUL 8

POKEMON: SYMPHONIC EVOLUTIONS WITH NASHVILLE SYMPHONY TH E H O NDA C IVIC TOUR FEATUR I N G

JUL 10

ONEREPUBLIC

AUG 13

HANS ZIMMER LIVE

AUG 19

WITH SPECIAL GUEST JAMES ARTHUR JUL 16 JUL 21

TOBY KEITH AUG 26

U NITE D W E RO CK TO UR 201 7 FEATUR I N G

JUL 22

STYX & REO SPEEDWAGON

T RA N SMOG RIF Y TOU R 2 01 7

SANTANA

UMPHREY’S MCGEE

WITH SPECIAL GUEST WHITE DENIM AS PA RT OF T HE REVOLU T ION COME...REVOLU T ION G O TOU R 2 01 7

GOV’T MULE & BLACKBERRY SMOKE

WITH SPECIAL GUEST DON FELDER

HOME OF T HE ST RA N GE TOU R

YOUNG THE GIANT

SEP 8

WITH SPECIAL GUESTS COLD WAR KIDS AND JOYWAVE

40 TH ANNIVER SA RY TOUR

JUL 28

JUL 29

FOREIGNER

WITH CHEAP TRICK AND JASON BONHAM’S LED ZEPPELIN EXPERIENCE

LOGIC

WITH SPECIAL GUESTS JOEY BADA$$ AND BIG LENBO

SEP 29

THE HEAD AND THE HEART

OCT 4

THE xx

WITH SPECIAL GUEST DR. DOG

T H I S S U N D AY !

JUL 2

SOUTHERN UPRISING TOUR

FEAT. TRAVIS TRITT, THE MARSHALL TUCKER BAND AND THE OUTLAWS AUG 18

LOOKING FOR SUMMER TOUR

OCT 6&7

KID ROCK’S THIRD ANNUAL FISH FRY

FEAT. LIFEHOUSE AND SWITCHFOOT

O N S A L E T H I S T H U R S D AY @ 1 0 A M !

WITH SPECIAL GUESTS GRETCHEN WILSON AND WHEELER WALKER, JR

AGA I N ST A LL O DDS TOU R F EAT U RIN G

JUL 25

MEEK MILL & YO GOTTI

WITH SPECIAL GUESTS YFN LUCCI AND MONEYBAGG YO JUL 30

SLAYER STR EN GTH O F A WOMA N TOU R

AUG 6

MARY J. BLIGE

WITH SPECIAL GUEST LALAH HATHAWAY NOV 6

alt-J | JUNE 29 – JULY 5, 2017 | NASHVILLE SCENE Charge By Phone: 800-745-3000. All dates, acts and nashvillescene.com ticket prices subject to change without notice. Ticket prices subject to applicable fees.

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critics’ picks products, it’s valuable for the people who will use those products, too. 6:30 p.m. at Parnassus Books STEVE CAVENDISH

[PIXEL PUSHER]

AUTHOR EVENT WITH KATE O’NEILL

There are a lot of reasons to love Kate O’Neill, not the least of which is that she describes herself as a “tech humanist.” Thank God, because somebody needs to be thinking about how the digital and physical worlds intersect. While most folks are concerned with building the #brand — personal brand, corporate brand, whatever — through some kind of digital presence, O’Neill has been busy looking at how experiences should respect the humans who are consuming them. She’s smart, funny (particularly if you follow her Twitter feed) and has a deep love and understanding of good design. Plus she’s a former Nashvillian who recently moved to New York. Though her new book Pixels and Place is aimed at the people running companies and marketing

MUSIC

BOOKS

acts, she was also simultaneously a major player as writer and producer for TV shows including L.A. Law, NYPD Blue and Law & Order: Criminal Intent. She’s also published fiction and nonfiction, crafted screenplays, and been active in mentoring younger aspiring authors. Teeming with gritty drama and emotional fireworks — not unlike some of Rebeck’s L&O scenarios — her 2006 play The Water’s Edge finds the wounds of a broken family reopened when the father returns after a 17-year absence. Jaymes Campbell directs the Nashville premiere for KB Productions, with a cast of five featuring Anastasia Zavaro, Gerald Pitts, Eric Butler, Maggie Pitt and Elisabeth Yancy. June 30July 8 at Darkhorse Theater MARTIN BRADY

[ON THE SIDE]

PETE LINDBERG W/CHARLIE WHITTEN & DAVID ISRAEL

Pete Lindberg and Charlie Whitten are two Nashville musicians who you’ll sometimes see playing alongside the likes of James Wallace, Erin Rae or Margo Price. But their own work is pretty stellar, if heard less often. Lindberg doesn’t have a record

FILM

fri/ 6.30

[PHONE HOME]

E.T. THE EXTRA-TERRESTRIAL IN CONCERT WITH THE NASHVILLE SYMPHONY

If you ever find yourself humming the score from a movie many days, months or even years after your last viewing, there’s a decent chance it was written by John Williams. From Star Wars to Superman, Jurassic Park to Jaws, Harry Potter to Home Alone, Williams has spent more than 50 years creating movie magic. Amid his catalog of more than 100 film scores, one still stands out for me personally: The score to 1982’s E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, which was Williams’ sixth collaboration with Steven Spielberg, remains one of his most masterfully crafted works. In sync to Williams’ music, an alien becomes a beloved companion, a thrilling bicycle chase takes flight, and a goodbye goes from heartbreaking to bittersweet. The film’s final five minutes alone — a beautifully triumphant marriage of cinema and music — should make a trip to the Schermerhorn Friday night worth your while. There you’ll hear the Nashville Symphony perform the score live alongside a screening of the film. If you can’t swing a night at the symphony, the Belcourt will also show the film Saturday morning. Happy 35th birthday, E.T. 7 p.m. at the Schermerhorn ZACH GILCHRIEST

28 NASHVILLE SCENE | JUNE 29 – JULY 5, 2017 | nashvillescene.com

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4:56 PM 6/26/17 5:05


L I G H T N I N G

1 0 0

P R E S E N T S

TICKETS AT MARATHONMUSICWORKS.COM MARATHON MUSIC WORKS BOX OFFICE OR BY PHONE AT 877-987-6487

1402 CLINTON STREET NASHVILLE, TN 37203 PHONE: 615-891-1781

01

JUL lighting 100’s MUSIC CITY BURLESQUE: 08 3rd annual camp mcb SAT music city mayhem

JUL

RAEKWON

JUL

SAT

26

AUG

13

MICHELLE BRANCH

AUG

THE MAGPIE SALUTE

25 FRI

UPCOMING SHOWS

SEP 13 sep 17 sep 21

lighting 100’s half christmas beer fest

AUG zomboy: rott n’ roll 04 DJ SHADOW W/ GRANDTHEFT, RICKY REMEDY FRI

Sun fri

SUN

SAT

30 19

MAY JUL

WED

JUL

15

BLEACHERS tove lo miner leage: andy mineo

sep 29 OCT 5 OCT 6

SEP

08

PENNY & SPARROW

FRI W/ LOWLAND HUM

whitney THE LANY TOUR: PART 2 PVRIS

OCT 7 OCT 8 OCT 13

jj grey & mofro yelawolf CONOR OBERST

MARATHON MUSIC WORKS EVENT RENTAL WEDDING | HOLIDAY PARTY | CORPORATE EVENT CONTACT: EVENTS@DRINKSANDMUSIC.COM | 615.477.1037

TICKETS AT EXITIN.COM | TICKETFLY.COM MARATHON MUSIC WORKS BOX OFFICE OR BY PHONE AT 877-987-6487

JUN

30 fri

jul

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2208 ELLISTON PLACE NASHVILLE, TN 37203 PHONE: 615-891-1781

SAVED BY THE 90’S

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FREAK ME FEAT. SPICE J, HYPE,

12

thu

SISTER SPROUSE

MONDO COZMO

jul

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TESSERACT W/ ASTRONOID, LILLAKE

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CLOWNVIS PRESLEY

jul

06

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jul

mon

W/ WELLES, SUP.

CHICANO BATMAN

jul

thu

W/ BRAINSTORY

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14 fri

RECORD RELEASE

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JOE ROBINSON / THE STEPPIN STONES

jul

07 fri

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nashvillescene.com | JUNE 29 – JULY 5, 2017 | NASHVILLE SCENE

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of his own, but a cut called “Frijole” blasted around the internet not long ago, and it may be the richest and most nuanced answer yet to Marty Robbins’ “El Paso.” Whitten does have a handful of records of his own, which offer deft and imaginative songs that evoke early-’70s Beach Boys and Paul Simon. (He has a new four-song EP called Playwright due in August.) Austin, Texas, fixture David Israel joins them, bringing with him a burnished baritone and a propensity for intimate narrative songs that approach the surreal. 7 p.m. at Fond Object, 1313 McGavock Pike STEPHEN TRAGESER COMEDY

3RDANDLINDSLEY.COM

Lunch from 11am Mon-Fri Dinner from 6pm Everyday

critics’ picks

[LOW-HANGING FRUIT]

THE TEENY WEENY PRESIDENTIAL PEENY SHOW

Trump sucks. If you agree, you’re no doubt struggling these days, as the president and his administration continue to be simultaneously dangerous and completely inept. A winning combination! During times like these, it’s helpful to gather with like-minded people to laugh, cry and rant. The Teeny Weeny Presidential Peeny Show is “a totally depraved satire of the current administration” produced by Matthew Milo and Steve Aaron. While I think body-shaming the president (and the theoretical size of his dick) is a lame, lazy way to attack a man who’s done plenty of horrific things actually worthy of criticism, it’s possible that this show, presented as a “crass and satirical talk show,” will dig a little deeper, giving the audience a chance to feel less alone in the midst of the mess … or, at least, happily distracted for a couple of hours. 10 p.m. at Third Coast Comedy MEGAN SELING

sAt/7.01 MUSIC

Information and Tickets 3rdandlindsley.com 866-468-3401 • ticketweb.com

[YOU DON’T HAVE TO BE RICH]

THE THRILLA FOR TODDZILLA

Over the past couple of decades, Todd “Toddzilla” Austin has become something of a Music City icon, with his ferocious guitar playing, warm geniality (especially as Corner Music’s Minister of Electric Guitars), flamboyant Morris Dayinspired wardrobe and his party-in-thefront, party-in-the-back hairstyle. During the early hours of June 16, Austin’s East Nashville home caught fire, and when the flames were finally out, the devastating degree of the loss became apparent — besides the damage to the building, several of Austin’s beloved cats died in the fire, and decades’ worth of memorabilia and musical equipment were damaged or destroyed. Fans and friends have, as of press time, contributed more than $36,000 to a GoFundMe campaign, but it’s going to take a lot to help him get back on his feet. Three of Austin’s bands — the expansive JonesWorld, the more compact Funkhammer and his Prince tribute Purple Masquerade — are set to perform at this benefit show, alongside ace hard-rock tribute acts Thee Rock N’ Roll Residency and The Big Rock Show and KISS tribute Blonder Than Hell.There’s a suggested donation of $10, but if you can give more, it’ll surely be welcome. 8 p.m. at The Basement East STEPHEN TRAGESER

Private Parties Corporate Events Music & Entertainment Events

30 NASHVILLE SCENE | JUNE 29 – JULY 5, 2017 | nashvillescene.com

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THUR 6.29  SWEAR AND SHAKE

FRI 7.7  WAKEVILLE

ANTHONY DA COSTA

BRAVE HOLIDAY, GHOST LIT KINGDOM & MORE

THE HIGH WATT

THE HIGH WATT

THUR 6.29  STEELISM

FT. RUBY AMANFU, TRISTEN & ANDREW COMBS

FRI 7.7  JACK TO THE FUTURE

MUSHROOM JAZZ 25TH ANV. FEAT. MARK FARINA

SKYWAY MAN

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FRI 6.30  OTHERWISE

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THROUGH FIRE, RIGHTEOUS VENDETTA & MORE

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FRI 6.30  THE TOASTERS

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FOREST FIRE GOSPEL CHOIR, THE BUMPS

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DBMK, SLEEPTALK

PERFORMING WEEZER’S BLUE ALBUM

THE HIGH WATT

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THE HIGH WATT

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nashvillescene.com | JUNE 29 – JULY 5, 2017 | NASHVILLE SCENE

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critics’ picks

[UNGUARDED MOMENTS]

THE CHURCH

Although their 1988 single “Under the Milky Way” made Billboard’s Top 40, I’ve never heard Australian post-power-poppers The Church as a particularly commercial band. I like their 1981 tracks “The Unguarded Moment” and “Too Fast for You,” which combine British Invasion-style guitar jangle with fairly straightforward lyrics. Still, The Church developed a sound that was a little hazy for my tastes — they might have been inspired by Big Star and The Byrds, but leader Steve Kilby didn’t always write songs that lived up to the group’s production techniques. Working with Go-Betweens singer and songwriter Grant McLennan as half of rock duo Jack Frost on 1996’s excellent fulllength Snow Job, Kilby penned some of the strongest tunes of his career. The current incarnation of The Church features guitarist Ian Haug, who replaces longtime ax man Marty Willson-Piper. Check out “Miami,” a fine eight-minute psych-rocker from 2015’s Further/Deeper — it always helps to have something to write about. 8 p.m. at City Winery EDD HURT

JULY 19 7:30 p.m.

SEPTEMBER 24

sUN/7.02 MUSIC

8:00 p.m.

FREE PARKING

[ODD COUPLE]

MARK O’CONNOR AND THE O’CONNOR FAMILY BAND W/ THE NASHVILLE SYMPHONY

The pairing of classical and bluegrass musicians is a tough sell in many contexts. In

[BROKEN SOCIAL SINGERS]

MUSIC

MUSIC

sat/7.01

MUDDY MAGNOLIAS

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GET YOUR TICKETS NOW

principle, classical music’s refined, formalist approach clashes with bluegrass’s eartrained and improvisational ways. But as is evidenced by 2000’s popular Appalachian Journey — a collaboration recorded with Yo Yo Ma and Edgar Meyer — Mark O’Connor has trod this path before with positive results, and his extensive work as a composer is also a testament to this. Originally a fiddle champion, then a classical composer and educator, O’Connor has a pedigree that would make most indie musicians balk and turn green. The band is O’Connor and his wife Maggie, both on fiddle; son Forrest on mandolin/vocals; “future daughter-in-law” Kate Lee on fiddle/vocals; and Joe Smart and Geoff Saunders on guitar and bass. The Nashville Symphony is no stranger to collaboration, and the Schermerhorn is a beautiful setting for what I imagine will be a crowd-pleasing combo of classics and virtuosic explorations. 7:30 p.m. at the Schermerhorn CY WINSTANLEY

MYSTERY TWINS W/NEW MAN

Released in October, Muddy Magnolias’ stirring 11-song debut Broken People was easily one of the most timely releases of 2016. Since the album dropped, the duo — featuring Nashville transplants Jessy Wilson and Kallie North — has stood out among their rootsy peers with both their seamless fusion of roots-indebted genres like gospel, country and R&B, as well as compassionate and socially conscious lyrical themes. Songs like “Brother, What Happened?” and the album’s title track tackle tough topics such as hunger, poverty and division with empathy, hope, and perhaps most importantly, clear calls to action. These are themes that are particularly poignant in the wake of November’s election, which left the country painfully fractured and many Americans unsure of how to move forward. While “Brother, What Happened?” doesn’t necessarily provide a roadmap for healing and unity, it aims to inspire and empower listeners to take action: “Who gon’ do it if we don’t do it?” 8 p.m. at 3rd & Lindsley BRITTNEY MCKENNA [LOVE IS STRANGE]

There’s a good chance you know the story on Mystery Twins, but just in case you’re new to town: First, hi there! And second, the band is the project of drummer Stephanie Brush and guitarist Doug Lehmann, who’ve been part of Nashville’s

from 6:00 p.m. to 1:00 a.m. in the State lots behind the Supreme Court Building

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32 NASHVILLE SCENE | JUNE 29 – JULY 5, 2017 | nashvillescene.com

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upcoming shows UPCOMING SHOWS

w/ bubba sparxxx APR2913 Planned struggle jennings 29 car wheels on a June Parenthood Benefit JulyAPR 14 Nashville Is The Reason Presents Gretchen Richey, and quinn devaux copperhead Live Band Emo & Pop Punk Karaoke APR 14Ft.simo w/Peters, devonKim gilfillian road Mary Gauthier & more Julymay 15 Guilty APR 17 beast arts market 1 byPleasures george, the encore July 6 Lightning 100 PresenTS a17tribute todamn george michaelw/charlie worsham July Every monday APR 20Thunderground an east nashville revue ft. The Aquaducks, may 2 whiskey jam Tribute July 18 The Cars: 40th Anniversary Backup Planet, Welles & Charlie Abbott of willie nelson ft. texas gentlemen may 4 lightning 100’s thunderground July 20 Music City Booking Presents July APR8 21 Honky QDP Tonk Saturday Night w/ soohan mayNew 6 yheti Found Glory: 20 Years of Pop Punk July Monday APR1022Every theDamn boom bap arkells w/dj blackcircle & spice j Julymay 28 J.11human/luthi w/ Charlie Worsham APR1123Whiskey starlito 12 white reaper July Jam & don trip Aug may 14 Corporate Juggernaut presents APR1224Shechord overstreet w/ nick wayne mayJordan 24 vandoliers Carlos July shreds presents Report, Nightly Show) may(Colbert 25 robyn hitchcock triangle APR 27bermuda rock n’ grohl a tribute to dave grohl w/ & the cosmics, lilly hiatt (special guest), becca mancari, liz cooper Aug june 20 justin The2-4 Dead Daisies / The APR 28 thriftworks w/ flamingosis goat fest ivDives

S H A N I A T WA I N : R O C K TH I S C O U N TRY O PE N I N G J U N E 30, 2 01 7

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O P E N THR O U G H N OVE M B E R 5 , 2 01 7

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FAMILY PROGRAM String City: Nashville’s Tradition of Music and Puppetry*

July 1

AMERICAN CURRENTS: THE MUSIC OF 2016

DYL A N , C A S H , A N D T H E N A S H V I L L E C AT S : A NEW MUSIC CITY O PEN TH RO UG H F E B R UARY 1 8, 2 01 8

UPCOMING SHOWS upcoming shows

June1529planned Thomas Wynn & The Believers July 5APRTrent & the Newdutch Row Mobwhiskey 21 Summar timid death, APR parenthood/aclu benefit the ol’ Hank Flamingo Boys presented coldKogon lunchw/ recordings APRPlow’d 21 ft.them dirty roses June 29 bySam Rock Eupora & theMcHone sun, the voodoo fix APR 16 moThelowda & the humble July 6w/ wake Carson Medium (9pm) APRw/22 brother Patrick Sweany (solo)man (ep release) APR revival June1730folk Quietfamily Hollers (KY) w/ arc & stones, oginalii, lauren & the love-in July 7APR Reno Bo APR 18 bad culture w/ Roman Williams & the Prey (7pm) travers geoffray w/23 CREAMER, Joel Kingjames (of The Wild Feathers) APR w/ weston hill, beau June1830new Jaimefaces Wyatt w/nite Zach Schmidt July 8 Austin Hoke Family Band w/S.M. Wolf (7pm) APR 19 kaylee rose APR 24 alex stern July 4 New Faces Nite July 8APRCosmic Shift Album Release APR 19 sallie ford, 25 new faces nite Sponsored By Artistmolly Growth burch w/ Airshow, Grass2Mouth

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1:00 PM AND 1:45 PM

FAMILY PROGRAM Beginner Fiddle Workshop

July 2

Noon, 1:00 PM, AND 2:00 PM

FAMILY PROGRAM Make Letterpress Art with Hatch Show Print

July 7

1:00 PM

1:00 PM

FAMILY PROGRAM Line Dancing Workshop

July 8

LA EDWARDS/// 3 bombadil /Julyapril 28 w/ those lavender (FORMERLYwhales SMART BROS) W/BRUNS

1:00 PM

MUSICIAN SPOTLIGHT Mike Fleming: Bass

O PEN TH RO UG H F E B R UARY 1 1 , 2 01 8

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FAMILY PROGRAM Make A Shoebox Guitar

July 2

NEW MENU!

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10:00 AM – 1:00 PM

June 29–July 1, July 3– July 8 10:00 AM AND 11:30 AM

June 30

JAS O N A L D E A N : A S P H A LT C O W B O Y

every monday

CREATIVE ZONE Drop-In Family Fun

Starlito’s Hot Chicken Album Release Party // July 4

1:00 PM

FAMILY PROGRAM Songwriting 101: Miranda Lambert Style *Visit CountryMusicHallofFame.org/StringCity for more information

#PressPlayRecord • #CMHOF50 • @CountryMusicHOF CountryMusicHallofFame.org • Downtown Nashville PROGRAM FUNDERS: Museum programs are funded in part by The Bonnaroo Works Fund of The Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee, Epiphone, Fender, Jackson National Community Fund, Metropolitan Nashville Arts Commission, and Nashville Parent. Technology Partners: Cisco; NewTek; Personal Computer Systems, Inc.; and Promethean.

nashvillescene.com | JUNE 29 – JULY 5, 2017 | NASHVILLE SCENE

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critics’ picks rock scene in one way or another for almost two decades — perhaps most significantly as one-half of a quartet called The Clutters, who made some of the most perfectly imperfect local rock of the Aughts. Mystery Twins issue a melodious, anthemic, ragged, garage-y sound that’s situated between the crest of the counterculture wave and the rise of the punks, and when performing live they’re accompanied by a homemade footcontrolled light show using regular incandescent fixtures. Cody Newman’s New Man, purveyors of raucous and harmony-rich pop, makes a perfect pairing. 9 p.m. at The 5 Spot STEPHEN TRAGESER

the un-Google-able sam., and the fabulous Inglehood Allstars fronted by soul-singing dynamo Alexis Saski. Tickets (which include all the Yazoo you can safely drink) are $20 in advance, and are available at thethirth.com, and $30 at the gate. 4 p.m. on North 12th Street between Calvin Avenue and Ordway Place JACK SILVERMAN

ES/7.04

[LAND OF THE THREE, HOME OF THE BRAVE]

THE THIRTH OF JULY

It can be a blast (literally!) to head downtown for the Fourth of July festivities, but it can also be a bit of a clusterfuck due to crowds, parking prices, etc. East Nashville’s annual Thirth of July party provides a more manageable and equally festive celebration the day before — an epic block party featuring top-notch entertainment, plenty of Yazoo Beer and comestibles from Bao Down, G’z BBQ and Fleur De Licious, not to mention tasty soft-serve from Frisson. The music lineup includes Americana singer-songwriter India Ramey, fierce punk-metal practitioners The Dead Deads,

FOOD & DRINK

MUSIC

MON/7.03

[HOT HOT HOT]

MUSIC CITY HOT CHICKEN FESTIVAL

It’s been 10 whole years since a small coterie of Nashville hot chicken fans (led by then-Mayor Bill Purcell) started the Music City Hot Chicken Festival to celebrate the spicy poultry specialty that is uniquely Nashville. Since then, the gospel

tuES/ 7.04

MUSIC

NITTY GRITTY DIRT BAND [EXPLOSIVE FUN]

LET FREEDOM SING! JULY 4 IN MUSIC CITY

Nothing says “family-friendly” like 33,500 pounds of explosives launched into the air, especially when they’re choreographed to the sounds of the Nashville Symphony. Our city’s annual Fourth of July fest, Let Freedom Sing!, is not just any concert/ fireworks show/festival — it features the largest fireworks show in the nation and an array of award-winning artists. The concert will be headlined by Chris Young, a Grammy-nominated country artist from Murfreesboro. He’ll be joined by the Grammywinning Nashville Symphony, Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, R&B artist Jonny P (not to be confused with departed R&B artist Johnny P) and country-rock duo The Sisterhood. Nashville channels its inner Dollywood with the Family Fun Zone, a place to bring the kids for games, water slides, climbing walls and inflatables. The Family Fun Zone will be at the Music City Walk of Fame Park, and the concerts will take place at Ascend Amphitheater and The Green at Riverfront. Noon-10 p.m. downtown MADDIE JARRARD

34 NASHVILLE SCENE | JUNE 29 – JULY 5, 2017 | nashvillescene.com

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nashvillescene.com | JUNE 29 – JULY 5, 2017 | NASHVILLE SCENE

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36 NASHVILLE SCENE | JUNE 29 – JULY 5, 2017 | nashvillescene.com

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critics’ picks of hot chicken has spread around the world, and Miss André Prince Jeffries — matriarch of Nashville’s hot-chicken royalty, the Prince family — has been recognized with an award from the James Beard Foundation in New York. The festival, held every July 4, definitely helped get out the word to the uninitiated about the fiery fowl, and it has continued to be a popular summer event in East Nashville. As is traditional, this year’s fest starts with a fire-truck parade, followed by a family-friendly party featuring samples from the city’s top hot-chicken purveyors, along with music, beer and other foodstuffs from local vendors. The action will then heat up as teams vie in the Amateur Hot Chicken Cooking Contest; the party winds down by 3 p.m. so patrons can cool off and make their way to the Independence Day fireworks display downtown. 11 a.m. at East Park (the parade steps off at 10:30) DANA KOPP FRANKLIN

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wed/7.05 [THE ART OF THE STEAL]

THE BLING RING

The first chapter of Nancy Jo Sales’ book The Bling Ring tells the story of two teenagers embarking on what would be the first of many nights spent burglarizing celebrity homes. Their first target? Paris Hilton. Exploiting the fact they are: A) white and B) trendy, they waltz past the mansions of the rich and the famous without detection until they get to Hilton’s front door. They look under the mat, and of course, the key is there. They go inside, rummage around, steal a bunch of clothes and a bottle of Grey Goose, and then they leave. Hooked yet? Sales’ book actually came after Sofia Coppola’s film of the same name, which was based on Sales’ 2010 Vanity Fair article “The Suspects Wore Louboutins” — the true story about a crew of fashion-and-celebrity-obsessed teens who burgled more than $3 million worth of bling from people like Hilton and Lindsay Lohan. The film version of The Bling Ring isn’t Coppola’s best work, but it’s a pretty good time, and you can’t make this stuff up. Plus, Paris Hilton appears as — who else? — herself. The movie screens as part of the Belcourt’s Coppola series, showing in conjunction with the debut of the director’s brand-new film The Beguiled (see our review on p. 52). 7:30 p.m. at the Belcourt STEVEN HALE

nashvillescene.com | JUNE 29 – JULY 5, 2017 | NASHVILLE SCENE

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Nine talented female artists are listed on the ticket for this show, an event to benefit Cheryl’s List, which turns “empty rooms into homes” for those in need. Powerhouse vocalist and gospel/blues rocker Ashley Cleveland has contributed vocals to more than 300 projects, and she’s made nine albums during her 30-year career. Cleveland’s fusion of rock, gospel and blues is best exemplified on 2009’s God Don’t Never Change, on which her songs are delivered with fierce, thoughtful and compelling arrangements. Also performing is Sylvia, who will likely reprise her signature ’80s pop-country hit “Nobody” along with songs from her latest, It’s All in the Family. Former American Idol runner-up and current rising country music talent Kree Harrison will help round out the ticket with songs from her emotionally powerful debut album This Old Thing. Cheryl’s List is devoted to providing beds and picking up/distributing furniture to those in need. Wednesday night’s show will feature a lot of talent getting together for a good cause. 7:30 p.m. at 3rd & Lindsley TOMMY BOYD

MUSIC

WED/7.05 MUSIC

Find out what’s going on

critics’ picks

[FLYING THROUGH THE COUNTRY]

JOHN COWAN W/DARIN AND BROOKE ALDRIDGE

I often write about the marketing term “Americana,” a word used to describe music supposedly devoted to extending styles that originated in the South. I define Americana as post-punk singer-songwriterdom with bluegrass and country influences that are thrown into the soup pots of Nashville, Austin and other locales. So while I enjoy the progressive bluegrass of Ohio-born bassist and vocalist John Cowan, whose ’70s work with New Grass Revival advanced the form, I’m put in mind of jazz giant Miles Davis’ numerous dictums about the value of mistakes in music. Being inclined to listen to Davis’ mistake-filled 1974 track “Calypso Frelimo” more than I am New Grass Revival’s excellent 1975 album Fly Through the Country, I ponder the divergent fates of jazz and bluegrass over the past 50 years. Meanwhile, Cowan is a masterful singer and player, and I also appreciate the stylizations of North Carolina natives Darin and Brooke Aldridge, whose fine new full-length Faster and Farther is a country record dressed in bluegrass clothes. Not even the hint of a mistake, though, which you may not mind as much as I do. 8 p.m. at City Winery EDD HURT

JOHN COWAN

38 NASHVILLE SCENE | JUNE 29 – JULY 5, 2017 | nashvillescene.com

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BESEEN

SCENE

art

SCENE SEEN SCENE BE

BE

Crawl SpaCe be July’s lineup includes Op Art illusions,

punk posters from another dimension, galleries on the move and more

be

If you haven’t already checked out Wesley Clark’s provocative The Prophet’s Library at Tinney Contemporary (read my review “Preach,

SEEN

Pops! Preach!” in the June 22 issue of the Scene), don’t miss your chance to see DOWNTOWN ART CRAWL 6-8 P.M. SATURDAY, JULY 1 it before the show closes next weekARTS & MUSIC AT end. The exhibition WEDGEWOOD-HOUSTON 6-9 P.M. SATURDAY, JULY 1 tackles heavy ideas about race and justice in black America, and Clark’s ability to incorporate text and literary allusions into his visual art never comes off as forced or unbalanced. The Prophet’s Library is definitely in the running for one of the best shows of 2017, and it’s the kind of deep display that rewards multiple viewings. At The Arts Company, Laura Nugent’s Boundaries of Color is a collection of large acrylic canvases that present muted palettes in abstract patterns of rhythmic lines and

June 30-August 25

JULY 4

MUSIC CITY HOT CHICKEN FESTIVAL

WHEN: July 4, 11a.m. - 3 p.m. WHERE: East Park, 700 Woodland Street WHAT: Celebrate the 11th annual Hot Chicken Festival with a fire truck parade followed by free hot chicken samples to the first 500 people. Enjoy hot chicken from Nashville’s best spots, plus cold beer from Yazoo and other local edibles.

JUNE 30, JULY 28, AUGUST 25

FRIST FRIDAYS

BE

WHEN: June 30, July 28, August 25, 6 p.m - 9 p.m.

WHAT: Frist Fridays is an annual outdoor summer concert series at The Frist. Bring the whole family to Frist Fridays and enjoy great music and food! Performers include ELEL, Nikki Lane and more. Tickets are free for Frist members and visitors 18 and younger. MORE INFO: Tickets are $7 - $12 and available at fristcenter.org

JULY 14

JIM RIDLEY MEMORIAL SCHOLARSHIP FUNDRAISER

WHEN: July 14, 6 p.m. - 9 p.m. WHERE: White Avenue Studio, 2517 White Avenue. WHAT: Join White Avenue Studio for the recurring SIREN arts event series celebrating our beloved late Nashville Scene editor Jim Ridley. Guests will enjoy a special evening of rare 16mm footage, a musical performance by Kurt Wagner of Lambchop, a silent auction, and special guests sharing personal thoughts on Jim’s impact and legacy. This event benefits the Jim Ridley Memorial Scholarship Fund at MTSU. MORE INFO: Ticket prices range from $60 - $100 and can be purchased at bit.ly/JimRidley

“SELECTED POEMS: WORKS ON PAPER,” LARS STRANDH

WHERE: The Frist Center for the Visual Arts, 919 Broadway

SCENE & BESEEN

ZEIGEIST GALLERY

textures. Marilyn Artus’ Her Flags presents bold banners made from cleared checks, old slides, tickets, measuring tape, S&H Green Stamps and matchbook covers, all sewn onto vinyl. The patriotic overtones are just in time for this weekend’s pre-Independence Day vibes.

THE ARCADE

Some of the Arcade’s most interesting spaces — including Coop, 40AU and Corvidae Collective — have recently been shuttered or relocated, which leaves the Arcade bleeding its cachet as a hotbed for contemporary art. That said, there are still sights to be seen at galleries like the Watkins Arcade Gallery, which is one of the most consistently exceptional student-run spaces

40 NASHVILLE SCENE | JUNE 29 – JULY 5, 2017 | nashvillescene.com

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flies in the face of your favorite multiverse theorizing, accepting that I’ve encountered in any moments in our lives city. This month, WAG is are predestined, conhosting a selection of video nected like the cars of a art by Micaela Herrera and train locked to a track. Henry Jeck. Herrera’s work Stuff your Mandela explores her MexicanEffect in that Large American roots with a Hadron Collider. satirical wink, and her In the meantime, “Puerta Abierta” animaCoop will start its sumtion of charcoal drawings mer series of guest-cu— a collaboration with rated exhibitions, House artist Ernesto Stewart — is a highlight of the show. Guests, with a show BLEND STUDIO Contemporary art is full organized by Atlanta of sports imagery, and that Contemporary’s Daniel often-potent combination has me equally Fuller. King Tide includes work by Tyler Beard, excited to see Jeck’s mixture of athletic Jamie Bull, Jane Garver and Kelly Kristin Jones. The footage and religious iconography to send exhibit examines climate change by reimagup America’s worship of physical gamesining Atlanta as a seaside resort destination. manship. Of course, betting makes it even Last year’s House Guests series ran at the more fun — what’s the over-under on this Packing Plant while Coop was still vacating exhibition? its space at the Arcade. The series was really Another stalwart Arcade space is Blend sort of a placeholder — and unfortunately, it often felt like that. I’m hoping this new series will be better planned and prepared, and might prove to win the season for one of Nashville’s best galleries. Zeitgeist Gallery will open a new show by one of the best artists on its roster: Lars Strandh’s

SEEN

5/28-6/4

SCENE & SEEN

BE

SCENE & SEEN

MORE INFO: hotchickenfestival.com

Is Linear (God Is Watching)

WILLIAM B.J. KIRKPATRICK

CENE SEEN

BY JOE NOLAN FIFTH AVENUE

just a few feet from its old Arcade mates at Coop, features work by Memphis-based printmaker Noah Miller. Time

Selected Poems: Works on Paper finds the artist

SCENE & BESEEN

Studio. Blend’s unique focus on community-

minded artists and projects means its exhibits are never just pretty pictures, and Saturday night’s show is no exception: William B.J. Kirkpatrick is a native Nashvillian and a Fisk University alum. The artist’s cutpaper portraits of historic figures celebrate personalities like Malvin Gray Johnson — a painter influenced by Impressionism and Cubism, and one of the youngest members of the Harlem Renaissance.

WEDGEWOOD-HOUSTON

After I’d already turned in last month’s column, I got a press release from Open Gallery announcing it would be christening a new space in the Packing Plant building in June. Open’s July exhibition in its new digs,

&

bringing the same minimal, rigorous lines and colors of his large paintings to a series of small ink drawings. One of the most compelling aspects of Strandh’s big painted canvases is their Op Art engagement of how his viewers perceive color. Here’s hoping that old magic is still at play at this new scale in this new medium. The gallery will also preview upcoming exhibitions with Point of Origin — a small show by

Zeitgeist artists Alex Blau, Paul Collins, Karen Seapker and Lain York. Another Wedgewood-Houston summertime tradition is the Bevy exhibit at Julia Martin Gallery. This year’s colorful group show includes work by Brett Douglas Hunter, Clint Colburn, Georganna Greene, John Paul Kesling, Kevin Reilly, Olivia Leigh Martin and Rebecca Blevin. But I’m most excited about Kelly Ahrens’ screen-printed drawings: These rough, symbol-filled works look like punk rock concert posters from another plane, and Ahrens ascribes their origins to a dimension she calls OZIII — Ahrens’ version of a Bizarro World where her alter ego, das Feuergod, creates messages of goodwill that read like hellish threats. EMAIL ARTS@NASHVILLESCENE.COM

3:28 PM 6/26/17 3:42


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nashvillescene.com | JUNE 29 – JULY 5, 2017 | NASHVILLE SCENE

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books

M ggs RickyaSndkyaHale

ConsCiousness and Chaos Paul

Madison Smartt Bell takes the reader on a visionary journey in Behind the Moon

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pirituality and the allure of violence are recurring themes in Madison Smartt Bell’s work, going back at least as far as his deliberately hypnotic 1991 novel Doctor Sleep. In more recent years, Devil’s Dream (2009) and BEHIND THE MOON BY MADISON SMARTT BELL The Color of Night (2011) explored the CITY LIGHTS PUBLISHERS 280 PAGES, $21.95 cathartic effect of violence in very different contexts, and the writer has talked often about his own spiritual practices and how they influence his fiction. In Behind the Moon, set in the stark landscape of South Dakota, Bell pursues those longtime concerns more avidly than ever, taking readers on a disturbing, hallucinatory tour of human and animal consciousness in the course of a story about a mother’s search for her lost daughter. The novel opens with 17-year-old Julie sneaking off to spend a night camping in the Badlands with her friend Karyn and three boys, Jamal, Sonny and Marko. As far as she’s concerned, there’s no plan for this outing other than to get high and maybe hook up with nice guy Jamal. Marko and Sonny, however, do have a plan — the one plan every parent fears when young men lure young women to remote places. Karyn is assaulted, and when Julie tries to flee, she winds up falling down a shaft inside a cave adorned with petroglyphs. While lying comatose, she commences a visionary journey among an ancient tribe and merges with both the spirit and the flesh of animals: “Beyond the infinite thickness of the stone her forearm suddenly pushed through, so she could move it freely now, turning it from the elbow, feeling the heaviness of the bone and paw-pad where her hand had been.” Meanwhile, the birth mother Julie never knew, Marissa, is on a spiritual quest of her own, which ultimately leads her to her daughter’s hospital bedside. In her dreams she shares Julie’s visions, while in waking life she and Jamal revisit the cave, deal with a vengeful Marko, and try to figure out a mysterious dope and porn dealer called Ultimo, who may also be gunning for Jamal. What is real and what isn’t begins to blur for Marissa, and she can’t be sure whether the frightening things she witnesses are what they seem. Bell draws the reader into a corresponding state of uncertainty by repeatedly looping back through the scenes, subtly (and sometimes not so subtly) changing events, thus creating a world in which there are multiple stories in progress at once. There’s no true solid ground to stand on, and yet the novel suggests there is a kind of grounding to be found in awareness of and willing engagement with the chaos. After experiencing a particularly harrowing episode with

Ultimo, Marissa finds herself in a gentler version of their story and wonders whether she might possess “the power and good sense” to choose a more benign reality. Likewise, Julie’s persistent coma/visionary state is described by Ultimo as something she could escape if she wished. “Your girl now,” he says to Marissa, “she’s making a choice to stay where she is.” Bell is up to something ambitious here, exploring fairly esoteric ideas of chaos theory and spirit possession while simultaneously keeping a conventional plot chugging along. There are long hallucinatory passages involving wild animals alongside prosaic scenes of cooking and auto repair. By all rights the book ought to seem at cross purposes with itself, but it doesn’t. It’s a trip to the underworld where terror and wonder coexist, and it’s also a believable, involving story about a mother trying to recover her lost child. The fusion works, helped along by Bell’s gorgeous writing and his gift for the evocative image. (The phrase “white teeth” will never again seem entirely innocuous after you’ve read this book.) Behind the Moon is described on its title page as “a fever dream,” and it operates on dream logic that favors emotional effect and coherence over linear storytelling. The book is not going to satisfy a reader who needs everything explained and every dot connected, but surrendering to its spell means entering a world of intense feeling and extraordinary possibility. It’s a fascinating, unsettling journey. For more local book coverage, please visit Chapter16.org, an online publication of Humanities Tennessee. EMAIL ARTS@NASHVILLESCENE.COM

42 NASHVILLE SCENE | JUNE 29 – JULY 5, 2017 | nashvillescene.com

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A Special Evening of Film and Music Benefiting The Jim Ridley Memorial Scholarship Fund at MTSU FRIDAY, JULY 14 // 6-9 PM // WHITE AVENUE STUDIO P l eas e j o i n u s a s w e c e l e b r a t e J i m R i d l ey and h i s e x u b e r a n c e a n d p as s i o n f o r f i l m a n d m u s i c a t a n e v e n t b enef i t i ng t he J i m R i d l e y M e m o r i a l S ch o l ar s h i p F u n d a t M T S U . G ues t s w i l l en j o y a s p e c i a l s c re e n i n g o f r are 1 6 m m f i l m f o o t a g e , a m u s i c a l p er f o r m anc e b y K u r t Wa g n e r o f Lam b cho p , a s i l e n t a u c t i o n , a n d s p e ci al g u e s t s s h a r i n g p e r s o n a l t ho ug ht s o n J i m ’s i m p a c t a n d l e g a c y.

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44 NASHVILLE SCENE | JUNE 29 – JULY 5, 2017 | nashvillescene.com

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music

The DefiniTion of ism

Nashville’s own Steelism rises to the challenge of making a movie for your ears BY BRITTNEY MCKENNA

W

hen Steelism released their debut album 615 to FAME in 2014, they weren’t sure whether they would find an audience who shared their love for cinematic instrumental PLAYING THURSDAY, JUNE pieces inspired 29, AT MERCY LOUNGE; ISM OUT NOW VIA by composers like INTOXICATING SOUNDS Ennio Morricone. But they needn’t have worried: The album was released to heaps of critical acclaim, and the Nashville duo — Jeremy Fetzer and Spencer Cullum Jr. — found themselves headlining shows after years of playing behind artists like Miranda Lambert and Caitlin Rose. Three years later, Steelism has returned with ism, a sophomore album steeped in the eclectic influences of its predecessor but featuring newly confident writing and performances. “We knew with this record that we wanted to do something different,” Fetzer tells the Scene. “I think with our first record, it was more us exploring what we could do with an instrumental band and what we could pull off. With [ism], it was more about making an album with a flow that felt like a soundtrack, so we wanted to incorporate singers into this one. So with the first one it was more what we could do with the band, and then with this one it was more about what we could do with the record.” Though neither Fetzer nor Cullum sings on the album, the sonic signature the pair has crafted over the years is made stronger by guest appearances from some of the duo’s close friends, including local singers Tristen, Ruby Amanfu, Andrew Combs and Jessie Baylin. “Roulette” features Amanfu, and it’s dark and dramatic, with a noir-heavy arrangement lending the perfect backdrop to her sultry verses and powerful choruses. On “Shake Your Heel,” Tristen brings out the duo’s groovier, ’60sindebted side, her ethereal croon punctuated by Fetzer’s percussive chord stabs. “We chose the most talented friends we have and talked them into it,” Fetzer says. “It’s all people that we’ve worked with before in the past. Some of the songs began as instrumentals, and we would send them the melody and they would write lyrics to it. With the Ruby tune, we all sat together and worked on her vocal and the lyrics together. So there were different situations for each one. For the ‘Lonely Game’ song we just sent the melody to Andrew Combs, and he wrote the lyrics to that one.” Writing tracks to fit ism’s album-length narrative was a new musical challenge for Fetzer and Cullum, but writing songs that

STEELISM

made room for vocals was on another level entirely. “It’s a lot harder,” Cullum says. “The phrasing of lyrics, making it a fit was new to us, especially with the Ruby song and the Tristen song.” Ism producer Jeremy Ferguson of Battle Tapes Recording — who also worked with the duo on 615 to FAME — played an integral role in helping the group tackle these intriguing new complications. He also took a hands-on role in helping Fetzer and Cullum harness their myriad influences, which this time around include Brian Eno, Pink Floyd and Serge Gainsbourg. “When we’re in the studio, we’re focused on the performance,” says Fetzer. “We don’t have to worry how the sonic landscape is, because [Ferguson is] taking care of all the sound parts.” A handful of trusty players filled out the band. Robbie Crowell, who ended his sevenyear tenure with Deer Tick this spring, helmed keys. In-demand session musician Jon Estes handled bass duties and contributed his own track — the haunting surfrock tune “Anthem” — while Jon Radford filled out the rhythm section on drums. “On this record we wanted them to be more involved,” Cullum says of the additional musicians. “Each of them has a track that they’ve written.” For his track, Radford landed a solo from harmonica legend Charlie McCoy. Known for his work with the famed Nashville ATeam of session musicians from the ’60s and ’70s, McCoy was also a member of the group of studio aces Area Code 615, who recorded two mostly instrumental albums and to whom Steelism has been compared. “Radford has played with Charlie before,” Fetzer says. “We’ve always been fascinated with him, because he was the original Nashville session guy. When we

realized he still does session work, we hit him up and he played on six of the tunes on the record. He played vibraphone and harmonica throughout the record.” Steelism’s tour in support of ism will include Thursday’s date at Mercy Lounge, which features a slew of guests who appeared on the album. While they’re some of the best instrumentalists around, don’t

SUBLIME FREQUENCIES A talk with Mark Nevers about the closing of Beech House Recording and 30 years of evolving Nashville rock BY EDD HURT

“T

he Beech House is actually just a part of the whole Nashville experience,” producer Mark Nevers says about the renowned Music City recording studio he closed earlier this month. The closing comes after 30 years of hosting a remarkable assortment of rockers, folkies, soul singers and country legends. The disappearance of Beech House Recording marks the end of an era of Nashville music that saw local rock bands (many of whom Nevers recorded at the unprepossessing bungalow he converted into a studio) begin to achieve international prominence. It’s a sad time for Nashville music fans, but the Arizona-born producer, who is moving Beech House to Pawleys Island, S.C. — a small VISIT NASHVILLESCENE. town about 70 miles up COM/MUSIC TO SEE A PLAYLIST OF NEVERS’ the coast from CharlesWORK AT BEECH HOUSE. ton — takes a sardonic

expect a jam session. As they’ve done so carefully on ism, Steelism likes to stick to their thoughtfully crafted sound in live performances, too. “There’s definitely a little Grateful Dead monster in everyone in the band,” Fetzer says with a laugh. “But we just reel it back in and play the recording.” EMAIL MUSIC@NASHVILLESCENE.COM.

view of the situation. “I was gonna mow the yard one last time and let it die in dignity,” Nevers tells the Scene. “But I thought maybe it’d be better to let it just haunt for a while and scare the neighborhood before the lawyers come and erase everything I’ve ever done, like Tibetan sand art.” He isn’t exaggerating: Nevers says the house at 2021 Beech Ave. will be torn down in the next few months to make way for new development. As he says, he tried to make a deal that would have preserved the house itself, but the realities of Nashville real estate quashed that notion. I first met Nevers in 2006, when this paper asked me to profile him. Interviewing him at Beech House, I found Nevers funny, caustic and knowledgeable — a punk acolyte who viewed country music as a combination of high art and lowbrow folly. A few months after the Scene piece ran that spring, I returned to Beech House to talk to him about his production of country singer Charlie Louvin’s Charlie Louvin, a record that features guest stars Marty Stuart, George Jones, Tom T. Hall, Bobby Bare Sr. and Elvis Costello, who contributes vocals to Louvin’s rendition of “When I Stop Dreaming.” Nevers’ production turned Charlie Louvin into an uncommonly nuanced country record, and the album garnered a 2007 Grammy nomination for Best Traditional Folk Album. Born in 1964 at Luke Air Force Base near Phoenix, Nevers enjoyed a peripatetic childhood before his family settled in Myrtle Beach, S.C. He weathered experiences as an engineer on country sessions at Franklin recording studio The Castle that would >> P. 46

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color his perceptions of Nashville’s greatest export, and he quit the music business once in 1995 to work as a chef. Returning a few years later to toil again in the trenches of big-time big-hat country, he felt the indignity in working in a place where, as he told me in a 2012 interview, no one ever remembered his name. Nevers left mainstream country for good during the Castle sessions for Australian singer Jamie O’Neal’s 2000 single “There Is No Arizona,” which topped the country charts that year. “We were so happy when she wasn’t singing, because the guitar solo was comin’ up,” he told me in 2012. “Then she would start screamin’ up on it, and it just got to be ridiculous. We were

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mixing that song all day — ‘There’s no Arizona, there’s no Sonoma’ — and I just didn’t go back after lunch.” Drawing upon his time working on mainstream country hits, Nevers would create a post-countrypolitan sound at Beech House on later recordings by Bobby Bare Sr., alt-country singer Will Oldham and, perhaps most famously, pop-country avant-gardists Lambchop. A versatile producer and engineer, Nevers also recorded gospel music in the ’90s, capturing performances by such vocalists as O’Landa Draper and Shirley Caesar. You can hear gospel influences in Nevers’ production of Lambchop’s 2000 track “Up With People.” While recording had gone on in the space since Nevers moved in during the ’80s, he cites that song as the first true Beech House production, in which he and composer Kurt Wagner created abstract pop that is festooned with handclaps and disturbing

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youth-camp vocals. Nevers also recalls working with songwriter Vic Chesnutt, who died in 2009. “We’ve still got a whole record that’s not been released,” says Nevers. “It’s called Preachy, and it was done over the last 10 years before he died, just little chunks at a time. It was kind of his atheist record.” In addition to recording Chesnutt, Nevers cut records at Beech House by idiosyncratic rock band Silver Jews, Alabama punk rockers Dexateens and country singer-songwriter Laura Cantrell. He may be best known for his work with Lambchop, which includes production on their lauded 2012 full-length Mr. M. But he seems equally proud of his production

O

n paper, the marriage of metal and traditional Mongolian folk music might seem like a gimmicky, messy mash-up of styles. But if Tengger Cavalry founder Nature Ganganbaigal was going out PLAYING SATURDAY, JULY 1, AT THE EAST ROOM on a limb when he first conceived of

of Oldham’s 2004 release Sings Greatest Palace Music, an homage to ’70s country cut with a crew of veteran Nashville session musicians. Meanwhile, Nevers’ 2006 album with Music City post-formalist indie rockers Lone Official, Tuckassee Take, has gained a reputation as one of the finest rock records ever cut in Nashville. Nevers says he plans to concentrate on mixing and the occasional recording project at his new location in South Carolina. For now, he’ll retain the Beech House name, but that could change sometime down the road. I ask him to sum up his time in Nashville, and he gives it to me straight. “What was it I said the other day about my Nashville experience? ‘It’s been good: I recorded George Jones sing and I smoked Neil Diamond’s weed.’ It’s been all right. ” EMAIL MUSIC@NASHVILLESCENE.COM

this musical fusion, the group’s just-released fifth full-length Die on My Ride showcases how seamlessly the two schools of thought fit together. The sound of the Mongolian horsehead fiddle (whose traditional name is morin khuur) and the banjo-like tovshuur adapt perfectly to the slashing riffs, unusual harmonies and galloping Maiden-esque rhythms that the New York-based band draws from Western styles, and the controlled distortion of throat singing seems more ominous than the fiercest death growl. Lyrically, the record touches on time-honored themes in metal, like rising up against abuses of power, while invoking the horse — a part of Mongolian culture whose importance is difficult to overstate — as a metaphor for sticking to your guns and >> P. 48

46 NASHVILLE SCENE | JUNE 29 – JULY 5, 2017 | nashvillescene.com

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music going your own way. Clearly, the strategy is paying off, as the group has been invited to perform at highbrow venues like Lincoln Center and Carnegie Hall. But perhaps more important than that is the connection the music seems to be fostering between American fans and Mongolian traditions. “A lot of people at the shows know a lot about Mongolian culture,” Ganganbaigal, who goes by the stage name Nature G, tells the Scene by phone. “They even know specific words. Some of them come in Mongolian dress, and some have gone there. There have been horseback lovers too. But our fans have been really respectful.” One part of the group’s origin story lies in G’s love of metal bands like Slipknot, Dark Funeral, Rammstein and Metallica, an affection that dates back to his middle school years. But another critical moment came in 2009 when G walked into a music store in his native Beijing and heard a morin khuur playing over the PA. He already knew about the instrument — his ancestry is part Chinese and part ethnic Mongolian — but something about the sound caught his ear, and he signed up for lessons. He began disciplined studies of the shaman drum and the tovshuur as well, and started Tengger Cavalry as a bedroom project. At this time, G had finished an undergraduate degree that he wasn’t too enthused about — “Fuck this shit,” he says of his attitude toward school at the time. But he moved to New York to pursue a degree in film composition at NYU. His passion for his studies was considerably greater than

TENGGER CAVALRY

during his previous degree, and he won an award for his work. Still, he continued building up Tengger Cavalry in his spare time, and he dove even more deeply into folk traditions. Not long after moving to New York, G discovered Mongolian throat singing. As in the music store in Beijing, the sound moved his spirit in a profound way. “The first time I heard it,” he recalls, “I just felt like I was connecting with forest

and grassland. It feels like there’s something bigger than yourself. Living a modern city life, it felt like a part of my soul was yanked out of my body and tossed into the grassland or the mountains. It really made me want to master that skill.” After graduation, he worked on music for mobile games and documentary films, but eventually decided to focus on Tengger Cavalry full time, and assembled a group. The band’s stop at The East Room on Saturday is

part of a cross-country tour behind Die on My Ride that will also take them to Europe at the end of July. G looks with pride on the blend he and his riding partners have achieved, which brings the vast expanse of the steppe into the hustle of the contemporary world. “It really took a long time,” he says. “It’s only now, after so many years’ training, I finally feel confident with the outcome.” EMAIL MUSIC@NASHVILLESCENE.COM

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e tend to think of the past as sexually naive, though the existence of the writings of the Marquis de Sade and Victorian pornography suggests we may be the naive ones. Sofia Coppola’s The Beguiled imagines the Civil War-era South through the lens of the 1971 Don Siegel film starring Clint Eastwood, which was adapted from Thomas Cullinan’s novel. In many ways, Siegel and Coppola’s visions are similar: They’re both shaped by inside THE BEGUILED knowledge. R, 91 MINUTES Siegel’s The BeOPENING FRIDAY, JUNE 30, guiled, however, AT THE BELCOURT examined male privilege from a male perspective. Coppola’s The Beguiled is a film made by someone who knows what it’s like to be prey. She brings to the material a mixture of desire and danger not often explored in American cinema. To put it bluntly, the specter of pedophilia hangs over her narrative. Martha Farnsworth (Nicole Kidman) refuses to let a group of soldiers into the religious girls’ school she runs, fearing their “temptation.” Meanwhile, wounded Irish immigrant and Yankee corporal John McBurney (Colin Farrell), discovered in the woods by a girl out picking mushrooms, is recuperating from an injured leg. He’s the only man with a major part in the film; all the other characters are girls and women. Very soon, the atmosphere of sexual tension becomes thick. Coppola and cinematographer Philippe Le Sourd introduce a visual correlative to this dank air via

Good Times

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Alan Rudolph’s 1984 film Songwriter is the best movie about country music BY JASON SHAWHAN

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lan Rudolph’s Songwriter is one of the 10 best films ever made. It’s a musical that’s big on diegesis, a heist caper, a rags-toriches-to-rags-to-riches epic, a whiskeysoaked and bawdy picaresque, and a SONGWRITER deeply funny meditation R, 94 MINUTES SHOWING AS PART OF MUSIC on trying to leave your CITY MONDAYS, 7:30 P.M. mark on a world that’s JULY 3 AT THE BELCOURT passing you by. There have been a lot of great films made on those subjects and circumstances, but Songwriter is a movie I love like family. Most folks who still have chips on their shoulders about Altman’s Nashville don’t even acknowledge this film, as Songwriter’s portrayal of Nashville re-

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the mist that fills The Beguiled’s images. Some of the girls develop innocent crushes on McBurney, of the sort that a contemporary high school student might feel toward one of her teachers. The crucial difference here is that these characters have the ability to wander into his bedroom. They live in a highly religious environment, and no one has taught them anything about healthy expressions of sexuality — indeed, Coppola hired an etiquette teacher to tutor her actors in formal 1860s manners. Though bedridden, McBurney is a man capable of more aggression than his “nice guy” facade suggests. Something’s got to give. If Coppola puts a feminist spin on the narrative, emphasizing the difficulty of expressing female desire without endangerment, she’s not far off from the original. Made shortly after Siegel and Eastwood’s collaboration on Dirty Harry, 1971’s The Beguiled was one of the first signs that Eastwood wasn’t the Man With No Name in real life, but an actor and aspiring filmmaker interested in critiquing the machismo he embodied so well.

duces it to a business center where art is an afterthought. Indeed, other than some second-unit shots, Austin, Texas, plays the part of Nashville as needed. And while Nashville remains the best film ever made about America, Songwriter is both the best movie about the mechanics of country music, and the best movie made by country musicians. Some aspects of the biz never change, and it’s in recontextualizing a lot of the hokier, traditional narrative elements that Rudolph and the cast make something truly special. Doc (Willie Nelson), caught on the horns of a bad deal, calls upon his old friend Blackie Buck (Kris Kristofferson) to unleash a caper of ’70s-thriller intricacy and ’80s-success-porn scope. Along the way, scores get settled, fortunes are won and lost, careers end with a whimper and launch with fireworks, and just about everybody has two or three killer songs. It’s awesome. Everybody loves Willie as a character actor, but here he really gets to put it all out there, the shaky swagger and the eternal humanist in an uneasy balance. Nelson’s then-manager Bud Shrake evolved the screenplay along the emotional and financial roller

His debut as a director, Play Misty for Me, would later confirm this. On the surface, Farrell is a far more sensitive guy than early-’70s Eastwood — Ryan Gosling’s character in Drive might be a more direct contemporary parallel — but his performance and the story arc upend the film’s initial association of his weakened body with vulnerability, and femininity with strength in numbers. His very vulnerability leads to violence. These characters traverse a libidinally charged landscape, where phallic symbols — from mushrooms to limbs — abound, and their association with male power gets subverted. Much of The Beguiled takes place by candlelight, with some cinematography reminiscent of Stanley Kubrick’s Barry Lyndon. Coppola deliberately aims for a Southern Gothic atmosphere, with some omissions. Despite the story taking place during the Civil War, race is barely mentioned: The director has said that slavery is such a major subject that she wanted to either

coaster that Nelson was going through at the time, and the end result is a film that anybody who’s been on the business end of a terrible deal can relate to. When he sings “Who’ll Buy My Memories” to Melinda Dillon — who brings heart and soul to the role of “the ex-wife” that could have been wallpaper in the wrong hands — it’s as devastating a moment as movies can give. And damned if Kristofferson isn’t just as good, drinking and sexing his way across the country with a smile and a panoply of hits. The two together make a comic duo of irresistible goofy charm — Beckett via vaudeville — and they find the breezy in the brutal just as easily as they find the harsh in the hilarious. The rest of the supporting cast fits into this world effortlessly, with Lesley Ann Warren as ingenue/next big thing, Rip Torn as Machiavellian promoter and Richard Sarafian as the corrupt business honcho Rodeo

make it central or avoid dealing with it altogether. While there are many exterior shots, the film feels claustrophobic much of the time, probably because it devotes so many shots to the cloistered McBurney. The Beguiled re-creates — or possibly just creates — a world steeped in rigor and ritual far different from our own. Even so, the underlying dilemmas faced by its female characters aren’t alien: By acting on their desires, they run the risk of male exploitation. To put it mildly, they don’t find a safe way of dealing with this problem. In a world where Bill Cosby has been accused of rape by 60 women but nevertheless secured a mistrial, are the women of The Beguiled so distant? Coppola’s vision is different from Siegel’s mostly in toning down the omnipresent sleaze, but the two films are complementary visions of sexuality. EMAIL ARTS@NASHVILLESCENE.COM

Rocky. All take no prisoners with their performances. What ultimately makes Songwriter the best film about country music, and the one I will recommend to anybody and everybody for as long as I live, is that you don’t have to give a shit about country music to love it. Really, you don’t. This is a textually rich film, one that gets better and funnier with each viewing. But if you love country music and the people who make it, there’s not going to be another movie that scratches those itches like this one does. EMAIL ARTS@NASHVILLESCENE.COM

NASHVILLE SCENE | JUNE 29 – JULY 5, 2017 | nashvillescene.com

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910 912

LEGALS Legals

AUCTION Dad’s Towing, 401 Edenwald Rd. Madison, TN 37115 is having a vehicle auction on June 30, 2017 @ 8:00 am. 2004 Cadillac SRX White 1GYDE63A640122288 MORGAN WOOD 1997 Cadillac deVille White 1G6KF549XVU228779 JONATHON S BRICKLEY 1992 Chevrolet C1500 Silver 1GCDC14K3NZ203073 RICHARD STANBERRY 1986 Chevrolet S-10 Black 1GCCS14R7G2107552 JAMES NEAL 2000 Chevrolet Malibu Black 1G1ND52J6Y6266833 KIMBERLY VAUGHN 2007 Chevrolet Cobalt Silver 1G1AL55F777140899 MISEAN MOORE 2004 Chevrolet Cavalier Blue 1G1JC52F047315428 BRITTANY MANSFIELD & CARMEN ROBINSON 2005 Chevrolet Equinox Silver 2CNDL63F856082338 AMANDA FREEMAN 2007 Chrysler Sebring White 1C3LC46K17N552614 CHRISTOPHER HILL 2013 Chrysler 200 White 1C3CCBBB5DN570054 MICHELE FARDAN 2002 Chrysler Town and Country Gold 2C8GT64LX2R642259 GARCIA ARACELY 2008 Dodge Caliber Black 1B3HB28B78D661674 SHELBY HARDY 1999 Dodge Ram Wagon Green 2B4HB15Y1XK535894 ELEXIS S JONES 2017 Ford Fusion White 3FA6P0G79HR363732 MARQUES R WHITMON & CHARMEKA K GREEN 2003 Honda Odyssey Gold 5FNRL18743B129757 EMIL TANASIE 2004 Hyundai Sonata White KMHWF35H14A929151 ROSHA HIGHTOWER 2005 Nissan Altima Blue 1N4BL11D65C118282 JAMIE R KIMBROUGH 1998 Nissan Altima Green 1N4DL01DXWC103451 MA MAGDALENA GOMEZ 2006 Nissan Sentra Black 3N1CB51D06L576790 LAKENDRA LOWERY 2005 Nissan Sentra Silver 3N1CB51A75L455923 TIFFANY SCRUGGS 2005 Pontiac Grand Am Silver 1G2NE52E55159744 DESEAN WILSON 2000 Pontiac Sunfire Maroon 1G2JB1245Y7343835 STEPHANIE E WALKER 1992 Toyota Pickup Blue JT4RN81A7N5148929 KEVIN T YANT 1997 Toyota 4Runner Grey JT3HN86R9V0111148 THOMAS TAYLOR FORECLOSURE SALE NOTICE WHEREAS, Richard Kaniewski and Reba Kaniewski, by a Deed of Trust, dated January 17, 2007, of record in Instrument No. 200701240009657, Register’s Offi ce for Davidson County, Tennessee, conveyed to Robert L. McDonald, Trustee, the hereinafter described real property to secure payment of a promissory note as described in said Deed of Trust; and WHEREAS, Robert Evans Lee having been appointed Substitute Trustee by CedarStone Bank, the owner and holder of said note by an instrument of record in Instrument No. 20170523-0050955, Register’s Offi ce for Davidson County, Tennessee, with authority to act alone with the powers given the Trustee; and WHEREAS, default having occurred with respect to the note secured by the Deed of Trust, and the full balance owing having been accelerated; and WHEREAS, CedarStone Bank, as the owner and holder of said note, has demanded that the real property covered by the Deed of Trust be advertised and sold in satisfaction of said debt NSCENE_55.indd 55 of the foreclosure, in and the cost accordance with the terms and

FORECLOSURE SALE NOTICE WHEREAS, Richard Kaniewski and Reba Kaniewski, by a Deed of Trust, dated January 17, 2007, of record in Instrument No. 200701240009657, Register’s Offi ce for Davidson County, Tennessee, conveyed to Robert L. McDonald, Trustee, the hereinafter described real property to secure payment of a promissory note as described in said Deed of Trust; and WHEREAS, Robert Evans Lee having been appointed Substitute Trustee by CedarStone Bank, the owner and holder of said note by an instrument of record in Instrument No. 20170523-0050955, Register’s Offi ce for Davidson County, Tennessee, with authority to act alone 912the powers given theLegals with Trustee; and WHEREAS, default having occurred with respect to the note secured by the Deed of Trust, and the full balance owing having been accelerated; and WHEREAS, CedarStone Bank, as the owner and holder of said note, has demanded that the real property covered by the Deed of Trust be advertised and sold in satisfaction of said debt and the cost of the foreclosure, in accordance with the terms and provisions of said note and Deed of Trust; NOW, THEREFORE, notice is hereby given that I, Robert Evans Lee, Substitute Trustee, pursuant to the power, duty and authority vested in and imposed upon me in said Deed of Trust, will on July 13, 2017 at 1:00 P.M., Central Time, at the Bridgestone Arena by the door located at 6th Avenue and Broadway, 501 Broadway, Nashville, Davidson County, Tennessee, offer for sale to the highest and best bidder for cash and free from all rights and equity of redemption, statutory or otherwise, homestead, dower and all other rights and exemptions of every kind as provided in said Deed of Trust, certain real property situated in Davidson County, Tennessee, described as follows: MAP 096 GROUP 14-0 PARCEL 230.00 Being Lot No. 46 on the plan of Hickory Bend, Section 3, as of record in Plat Book 3600, Page 42, Register’s Offi ce, Davidson County, Tennessee. Being the same property conveyed to Richard Kaniewski and wife, Reba Duke Kaniewski by Quitclaim Deed from W. G. Traber, Trustee and to W. G. Traber, Trustee, from Reba Duke Cantrell, dated April 3, 1967 and of record in Book 4117, Page 190, Register’s Offi ce, Davidson County, Tennessee. Reba Duke Kaniewski and Reba Kaniewski is one and the same person. Subject property has the address of 3055 Boulder Park Drive, Nashville, TN 37214 The right is reserved to adjourn the day of sale to another day and time certain, without further publication and in accordance with law, upon announcement of said adjournment on the day and time and place of sale set forth above, and/or to sell to the second highest bidder in the event the highest bidder does not comply with the terms of the sale. Substitute Trustee will make no covenant of seisin or warranty of title, express or implied, and will sell and convey the subject real property by Successor Trustee’s Deed, as Substitute Trustee only. THIS sale is subject to all matters shown on any applicable recorded Plat or Plan; any unpaid taxes which exist as a lien against said property, including without limitation city and county property taxes; any restrictive covenants, easements or setback lines that may be applicable; any statutory rights of redemption not otherwise waived in the Deed of Trust, including rights of redemption of any governmental agency, state or federal; and any prior liens or encumbrances that may exist against the property. This sale is also subject to any matter that an accurate survey of the premises might disclose. INTERESTED PARTIES are Davidson County Property Tax Division THIS IS AN ATTEMPT TO COLLECT A DEBT, AND ANY INFORMATION OBTAINED WILL BE USED FOR THIS PURPOSE. THIS 6th day of June, 2017 Robert Evans Lee, Substitute Trustee Lee & Lee Attorneys at Law, P.C. 109 East Gay Street Lebanon, TN 37087 615-444-3900 NSC 6/22, 6/29, 7/6/2017

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