A stop across the street at Joe’s NY Style Pizza satisfied my appetite for real east coast pizza and got everyone interested enough that we decided we’d come back after the show and pick up some wings to take home. I mentioned Joe’s in my Mystiquero blog from our Northeast trip last summer. It was still really great.

For me, crunching around in the snow was great. We’re in Buffalo. It’s supposed to be winter. The Sportsman’s is in a state of change as they work to enlarge the place and while they’re not quite done, there’s a new stage and the room feels really good. Once again the “Closer” did not disappoint. We had a nice little afternoon crowd and a great time playing. Brian and I swapped songs back and forth and backed each other up on electric guitars. We got some folks up dancing and I think everybody had a few drinks and a good time. I love this town and I love this bar.

And now it’s time for the headlong rush back to Nashville. Then for me it’s on to Ruston, LA and finally to Gruene Hall for a show with my favorite band………

Our plan was to hang with the Colvins on Friday night and enjoy a bit of down time before our shows on Saturday and Sunday. I always like to stick to good local beers that I can’t get in Texas when I’m away and while Gary drives to Pennsylvania to pick up cases of Shiner Bock I wanted to hang with my old friend Genesee. You really can’t get anymore western New York State than that. So Gary makes a beer run and brings back the biggest beer I’ve ever seen! It was majestic.

We knew that our NY friends had planned a pre show dinner for us and a group of friends and fans on Saturday. To be honest, when they said we were going to a Barbecue place, I was not excited. I mean come on. I live in Texas! and I just spent time in Memphis! I figured I had my BBQ ground pretty well covered. Live and learn they say. As we approached the old train station building on the bridge over the rushing Genesee river that houses Dinosaur BBQ Brian and I noticed that if nothing else the place smelled right and man was it hoppin! Packed with people waiting up to an hour and a half for tables, we were lucky that Gary had made a reservation for our large group way in advance. Looking at the menu they used the word “Texas” to describe their BBQ. I was skeptical but very hungry, so I got a 1/4 rack of ribs and some brisket with Cajun corn and rice and gravy for sides. Wow. The brisket was better than many places I’ve got in Texas. Sacrilege I know, but it was perfect. Moist, Juicy, just enough fat. The ribs too were excellent. Smoky with a great caramelized crust on the outside and falling tenderness off the bone. The sides were the real thing and it’s not often that you can find mace choux and rice and gravy that will pass cajun muster. And since I’m traveling with a cajun…….

The only problem with my fantastic meal at Dinosaur BBQ is that I ate it all and was way too full to play a show! However, the show must go on. Brain and I managed to waddle our way through set up and I learned that a little whiskey helps in digestion. Our show at the Abilene Bar was was great fun. The crowd was fun and I’m looking forward to heading back that way this summer with the Mystiqueros.

If you told me 2 years ago that I would end up having a home away from home that I didn’t want to leave in Washington DC, I would have seriously doubted the claim. However, the Mansion has turned into just that. Our time in the District last week was really great. Both of our girls came in for the weekend and we started off with a well attended and fun show at Shamrock Music Shop in Purcellville, VA. Owner Scott Kinney has ties to the blockbuster movie and series of books, Diary of a Wimpy Kid (he’s the real life big brother of writer Jeff Kinney), and is a down to earth good guy. I don’t think he really knows what a great performance space he has above his store, but hopefully he has a better idea of it since Brian and I rocked the place. We did a nice 90 minute set then an encore, and as it was the first time we had ever done a full show as a duo, I’d say we won.

We played a house party in Alexandria on Saturday night and Brian got to see lots of old friends from when he lived in the area. We also managed to taste one of the best Chicken Pot Pies ever at the Daily Grill on Saturday afternoon. Come on, you knew there would be food involved…..

Sunday was such a beautiful day that Julie (my girl) and I decided to get outside and see some sites. It was her first visit to DC so we headed for The Mall and the Lincoln Memorial, The Vietnam and Korean War Memorials and the Washington Monument. It was a beautiful early spring day in Washington. We had a nice crowd for our show at the Mansion on Sunday night. The energy of that place is really beautiful. I had a great time. We did the show with no p.a. so it was intimate and cool. We had old friends and new in the audience. A girl I went to school with in NJ many (many) years ago showed up and her boyfriend offered us a private tour of the Capital building for Julie’s birthday the following day. Once more I was struck by the incredible opportunity of being an artist at the Mansion.

The rain on Monday drove us indoors and we headed to the National Gallery for Canoletta and Gauguin exhibits as well as a beautiful lunch in the Garden Cafe. Dinner and Martinis at the mansion and then off to the capital. I’m sure I visited the Capital when I was a kid, but the majesty and history of building was no doubt lost on me. The artwork alone is overwhelming. I could have stared at “The Apotheosis of George Washington” on the ceiling of the rotunda for hours. Next time I visit I’d like to get up close to it on the catwalk. We stayed up too late listening to music and I knew the morning would come too quickly. And it did.

Time to pack the guitars and head off to our next stop, New York City. I put Julie on a shuttle to the airport and Brian and I had to leave. It was hard. I was ready to cancel the next two shows and spend a few more days at the mansion, but the show must go on…….

Here’s another poorly shot video for ya. I cut my own head off, but it sounds pretty good. It’s Brian and I at The Mansion…….  enjoy

When I left off, I had just arrived in Nashville from my quickly becoming legendary five day run with Jimmy Davis in Memphis. I mostly just slept my first day in Nashville, but once I was rested a bit, Brian and I ventured out to catch up with my good friend Bruce Dees. We had Bruce meet us for lunch at Bro’s Cajun Restaurant. You may have seen Bro’s on Diner’s Drive-In’s and Dives on the Food Network. I did and I was very interested in the stuffed pork chop they featured on the show. You knew I was going to talk about food a bit didn’t you?

Anyway, it’s a pork chop stuffed with pork! Slowly barbecued and doused with a homemade BBQ sauce, served on a bed of the best dirty rice I’ve ever had. I ordered black eyed peas and green beans as my sides and wondered when my plate landed in front of me if I would even get close to finishing. It’s a lot of food, but it’s so good that it’s hard to stop. I ate well past when my lunch compadres finished. I’m usually a pretty slow eater anyway, but I was determined to get as much of this glorious food in me as possible without feeling gross. The chop is moist and the sauce is tangy with the pork shoulder stuffing coming out as the star. Underneath became a mishmash of dirty rice and black eyed peas, all seasoned perfectly with a little bit of heat coming through every now and then in true cajun fashion. It was a great lunch and the next time I’m in Nashville you’ll know where to find me.

Brian and I had to hit the road by 6 am on Wednesday to make our WDVX radio appearance in Knoxville, TN. WDVX hosts and broadcasts live a daily Blue Plate Special lunch time concert from the Knoxville visitors center. There was a nice crowd of 40 or so and we shared the hour with the very talented Ben Carroll. Truthfully I was fairly delirious all day. Up at five and movin with 4 hours of sleep is a bit unusual for me I’ve been hearing about this show for a long time from both Jimmy and Walt. They’ve both been guests more than once and love the show and host Red Hickey. Brian and I both enjoyed listening to Ben Carroll’s performance and spent a little time sharing road stories and small talk. Then it was time to get moving again. The road won’t wait and we had many miles to go…….

Brian checks out the tub in the Presidential Suite

It’s hard to explain. Performances in every room on 3 floors. Hallways jammed with people coming in, going out, loitering, listening, networking, laughing, talking, playing singing and shushing. I got to enjoy a few minute of Austin’s own Betty Soo in the Jenni Finlay Promotions Room and then WW, Jimmy and I got up to do our 30 minutes and Brian joined us for our closing version of Big Shiny Cars. We made another stop in the Memphis Music Room and played for beer and then  found that we were all a bit overwhelmed with the swimming, swirling music madness so we hightailed it back to Casa Davis and spent one more night staying up too late and talking.

After a good sleep in, for me at least, we embarked on our last day in Memphis. The plan was to visit the Stax Museum and then go back to Gus’s Fried chicken so Walt could experience the beautiful fried goodness. Stax was amazing. There’s a 20 minute movie they show at the beginning of the tour and it was moving and cool. The foundation they have there does great work with kids and you really get a sense of the sheer talent that converged on that spot in Memphis in the 60′s. The museum is really well done and it will take me another visit or two to fully digest all the information they’ve compiled there. It’s all about american soul music. It’s also always more fun to visit places like this with Jimmy as he was lucky enough to meet and spend time with many of our soul music heroes in his life growing up in Memphis.

Gus’s was packed at 5:30 on Sunday. We should have known. Walt will have to wait until we come back this summer to get all up in some World Famous Gus’s. After a beer and some grub at The Blue Monkey, we headed back in midtown to Neil’s for our evening with The River Bluff Clan.

The last time we played Neil’s there were three people and the sound man there for our show.This time, the place was packed. It’s good to hang with the River Bluff boys. Just like last Thursday at Murphy’s, we got to sit and listen to them burn up the bluegrass for a set and then Walt, Brian and I joined in for the second set. Fun. Magic. A perfect way to end my Memphis stay. Friends new and old playing music together and people digging it.

I pulled myself out of bed after very little sleep, yes we stayed up talking again, and Brian and I packed my car and headed for his house in Nashville. It’s going to take more than the little nap I managed this afternoon to have me feel caught up again. Food, beer, world class musicians, great welcoming warm people……  I love Memphis. Thank you for a great week.

Now we rest up and get ready to head to DC for the weekend.

See you on the road.

Peace

Here’s a little taste of the mighty River Bluff Clan…. terrible video, sorry…