Tour Recap - Knoxville, TN and More
My trip to Knoxville included a stop along the way to visit to a Civil War Battlefield on Fathers' Day, and an impromptu brewery gig thanks to me and my big mouth.
I awoke on Sunday morning in Vienna, VA at the home of my hosts Mike and Julie Snider. The night before we’d had an amazing time with a house full of guests and a terrific evening of music, discussion, and stories. I had about eight hours on the road to get to Knoxville, but with no show scheduled for the day, I could take my time and see some sights along the way.
Mike graciously helped me load up the Buick and I hit the open road with very little traffic on a sunny Sunday in the Capital Area region. I pointed the car westwards and began tooling towards Manassas, VA and the Civil War Battlefield at Bull Run.
By the time I hit the Battlefield, the day had warmed up quite a bit and the hourlong tour of the grounds had me working up a sweat even after only a bit of light walking. The temps may have been hot, but the sky was a brilliant blue and the sights and scenes at Bull Run were brightly lit by the summer sun. It was a warm, but beautiful and somewhat haunting walk.
After the tour ended, I hopped in the car to cruise through a bit more of the area where the battle took place and make a couple of stops at sights along the way. The battle itself was the first major skirmish of the war. Up until the intense fighting that happened at Bull Run in the summer of 1861, the Union had believe the Confederacy would be a pushover. Conventional wisdom held that with a good whooping, the South would get back in line and the War would be over with in short order. They could not have been more wrong.
The disorganized and chaotic fighting at Bull Run was a notice to the North that the war would be a much longer and difficult affair than they had bargained for. For men of both sides, the battle also put to rest the fantastical concept of glory in battle. Instead, men fighting on both sides were subject to terrible agony, immense pressure, terrific heat, and were given a front row seat to the carnage of battle.
Leaving the site at Bull Run, I began the rest of my drive in earnest to Knoxville, TN and the home of my friend Scott Bennett. Scott is a proud member of the Stand Up with Pete Dominick community that I have talked about here at length. Scott was kind enough to host me and offered to help put a small house concert together on a Monday night. I arrived at Scott’s in time for a light dinner and some hang time. We chatted well into the evening and then made our way to bed.
Scott was up and out the door early the next morning to head to work. I lounged around the house fora bit with coffee and some blog work before I eventually decided to head into town and see some of what Knoxville has to offer. I started my tour by meeting up with Scott for lunch at a Food Hall near his office. The newly renovated space had been a bread bakery for a very long time and had just recently been converted to accommodate a host of small restaurants and shops.
Before Scott arrived, I stopped into a local paper shop to buy a batch of postcards to send out for the Postcard Program which helped to fund a portion of my tour. It’s been a bear getting these out from the road, but I have been getting the cards together and will begin sending them when I get back home. Thanks to all of you for your patience.
Scott and I snagged some delicious Ghanian food for lunch. I opted for the grilled chicken with a traditional rice that was reminiscent of a pilaf. The flavors were dense and smoky. Tomato, paprika, garlic and more were used to create a delicious lunch that was far too much food for me to finish. As Scott went back to work, I wandered around the hall and contemplated what to do with the rest of my day before the show.
My first stop was Nostalgia, a huge locally owned thrift and vintage shop in an old industrial neighborhood. The store was packed with everything from clothing to furniture, tchotchkes and clocks, to bikes and socks. I spent a bit of time with Oscar and Felix the store’s two cats and nearly dropped $75 on a dope vintage color wheel, but I wasn’t even sure I could get the damned thing home in working condition and it was unnecessary expense.
Next door to Nostalgia is Jerry’s Art-A-Rama, an arts supply store that was lovingly curated and put together. The friendly staff were very attentive to make sure that I found what I was looking for. The truth was that I was just looking for the sake of looking, but within twenty minutes I found myself at the counter with a set of colored pencils and a pair of sketchbooks. My illustration and drawing skills are very poor and I saw this as a chance to perhaps work on a skill that I would like to improve. Here’s hoping that I follow through with these new tools once I get back to the Sheddio.
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With my pencils and sketchbooks in hand, it was time for coffee. I pulled up the old Google Maps and was directed to a fairly new shop called Intrepid tat specializes in Nitro coffee. I got a cold brew that was a combo of a Kenyan coffee and a Mexican single origin. The combo of flavors was not intentional but a blown keg forced a second strain to get added to the cup. The cold brew was refreshing, delicious, and perked me up almost immediately with a jolt of caffeine.
After a coffee, lunch and some shopping, I did a bit of walking around town and eventually ended up at Hi-Wire Brewing just south of the Tennessee River. Hi-Wire is a massive space with concrete floors and an industrial style of decor. The long bar is the focal point of the room and is outfitted with massive signage that features moveable letters to allow the beer menu to be displayed in huge bold type. I ordered their flagship IPA and sipped with full enjoyment.
The plan for the evening was to have a very small concert at Scott’s house with just a few of his friends. My stop in Knoxville was mostly an excuse to see Scott on a circuitous route to Morganton, NC for a show the next night. We had put the show together somewhat at the last minute and expected it to be a very small crowd. However, Scott’s friends were slowly becoming unavailable and the chances were increasing ever further that it might just be me and Scott for the show.
There were just a handful of other patrons in the bar and I began chatting with Max, the bartender. After just a few minutes, I was in a full discussion with Max about whether it might be possible for me to have my show at Hi-Wire instead of Scott’s. Max gave it some thought and we chatted about times, logistics and the fact that I would only be playing for tips. It seemed like a decent setup to me and even if we had no crowd we could still document the evening and Scott could see me perform.
After a trip back to the house for a bit of prep and to pick up Scott, we were back at Hi-Wire by 5:30 or so. I set up my gear in front of an enormous screen and got things ready. Scott helped me set up camera gear, frame shots and make sure the scene was set just right. By 7:00, I was crooning to a room scattered with just a few patrons, but a few sat and listened intently to my stories and songs.
The house projector launched the background video that I made for the run of shows. The footage is a combination of birds in flight and some psychedelic light and film treatments to affect the color and clarity of the images. It looked simply incredible on the huge screen at Hi-Wire. My only disappointment was that I wish I could have watched me play for a bit with the video in the background.
The tiny crowd was receptive and kind if not fully invested across the board. Max and Scott seemed to be having a good time and I took pride in playing with my full heart and soul to just a few souls in front of me. The crowd may have been small, but it was still one of the better Monday nights I have had in quite a while.
We packed up the gear, thanked Max profusely and headed back to Scott’s for bed. It had been a full day with a surprising conclusion. The show, and the day itself were an example of the spirit of adventure that I have been trying to use as I tour the country. It was wonderful that Max and Scott were so game to help me make a fascinating day of it. It’s nice to have pals that help make shit happen.
Cheers,
Matty C
Man, I don't know why but when I'm an out-of-town visitor I always seem to end up in a local brewery.
And you're right, the owner/operators always seem to be genuinely good people. Good piece, Matty.
You’re in the saddle of this guy’s youth, Matty! Have some scrapple and grits, and don’t forget to put peanuts in your soda pop, Pop!