TOTAL CON

I am obsessed with Total Control band of Melbourne, Australia.  They are pleasurably/painfully unavailable having released one of my favorite records this year and not touring in support of it.  I would've driven many hours to see them, too.  ALAS! Sometimes it's nice to be deprived of something when you want it.

ALL of their releases are good.  All of them.

BAND THAT NEVER WAS

Late last month, ATM + I went to Memphis - again - this time to see The Clean. For a good minute, as I watched them perform, I wondered if they were sauced or if this is how they do it? They played a lot of the songs I know and love. It was suitably lo-fi and just the right amount of embarrassing. They ended strong having members of the opening bands NOTS (of Memphis) and Boogarins (of Brasil) join in the fun and playing Tally Ho.

Me + ATM, post-show. I just quit cigarettes forever here:

This is going to be a foode + drinke-heavy post because I'm on this super strict dietary regimen with KMHD, so just allow me to recall the goode ole days here.

We stayed in a hotel downtown instead of Midtown or East Memphis, so instead of driving to our usual haunt Otherlands, we decided to find a coffee shop within walking distance.  We discovered Tamp & Tap, my new favorite thing about Memphis.  The coffee is kill-er.  It fills the space behind your face with pleasantness.  I recommend their pour over brew.  

Our current model for eating in Memphis requires us to: 1. not eat typical Memphis cuisine (bbq, fried chicken, Huey's, etc.),  2. sometimes resume our ever-continuing search for the perfect club sandwich, and/or 3. simply try a new place. I've always seen and admired the Bon Ton's neon sign and, after a quick scan of the menu, we discovered we'd be hitting all the marks.

Photo by R Virus

This club was not cut into four triangles, wasn't held together with cello-topped toothpicks, or even on white bread, but still gets high marks for good grilling and thick-cut turkey.  Fries were good, too, and they had vinegar for me to sprinkle on them.  ATM spoke highly of their eggs benedict.  Add Bon Ton Cafe to the YES list.


From Memphis, we drove down to Brandon, MS to celebrate ATM's mum's birthday. That evening, we went to Saigon Restaurant in Flowood.  It's your standard Viet restaurant with decent phở and vermicelli bowls, but one thing they have going for them is that they serve bánh xèo.  Most Viet restaurants don't serve that.  In fact, the only other place I've had it in my life is my aunt's kitchen! If you get the chance to have some, do.

On the way back home, we stopped at The Dock in Lake Providence, LA, something I've wanted to do for years.  It's a bit pricey, but it's yr chance to get a fantastic shrimp poboy before you're out of Louisiana territory.  Lemonade is good, but I suspect it's from a mix.  It looks like it'd be a cool place to hang out and drink beer on a Saturday night.  Here's the boat 'parking lot' out back:


Here's an exciting thing: my nephews got a new boxer puppy! She's a lovely little creature!
There were a lot of people at my in-law's house that weekend, so she'd sneak into our room and hide under our bed for quiet times.  Almost made me want a dog. 


See what I mean?

BREAKDOWN

A SIMPLE DESIGN

Gonna have to order this new The Juan MacLean track album. Gorgeous.

GRUMBLING FUR

Here lately my favorite thing to listen to is Grumbling Fur's new album Preternaturals. I'm still waiting for my vinyl to be shipped over from the UK - can you believe the shipping rates these days?! - but you can stream it right now. Their album Glynnaestra, released only a year ago, is pretty fantastic, too.  

Harmonized vocals, sweet lyrics.  Too true. 

Billy Bragg at the legendary White Water Tavern

Thursday before last I got a message from KMHD that said something like "Billy Bragg is playing a free show at WWT tonight."

A free, impromptu show with Billy Bragg?! I knew word would get out pretty quickly, this being (N) Little Rock + all, and I really wanted to witness, so I came up with a plan to rush home after work, eat a spoonful of peanut butter for supper, dress down + go to WWT to claim a spot.

It was every bit of lovely even though it was a very hot night + the A/C was broken. The people were jam-packed into that small steamy venue. People I haven't seen in years came out of the woodwork. Everyone was all smiles + hugs. Billy Bragg was fantastic + inspiring. Here's a man that speaks my language, which is a comfort.  I found it especially adorable when the crowd sang along with him in an English accent. Good show.


Photo by Everett