Nashville Star: Great show. Sucky line logistics.

John and I had a blast as audience members of Nashville Star last night. The show was GREAT. (Made me miss working in TV!)

However, the effort to get into the show was a royal @#$!&*? pain. Nashville Star needs to work on their crowd logistics and communication.

We arrived at 7:15 to meet Randi. The next 90 minutes were total chaos. Randi had VIP tickets (supposedly no waiting) but he, (along with several other VIP ticket holders) did not know how to get the tickets. He spent the better part of an hour trying to get some answers with no luck.

Throughout the adventure, there was a man with a bull horn shouting instructions to the 1500+ people waiting in line. The crowd could not hear or understand anything he was saying. So, after a while, I couldn't take it anymore. I went up to the guy with the bull horn, told them who we were and he immediately had our group get together and wait next to the entrance.

In the meantime, my friend Laura walked through (she's friends with Anastasia - Nashville Star judge) and had extra VIP tickets. So, John and I used those extra tickets and went on in.

The rest of our group wasn't far behind and we all ended up sitting in the same area.

What a mess!

Once we were actually in, we had incredible seats (Row F seats 1 & 2 in the Bellsouth Theatre next to the Opryland Hotel) just a few seats to the left of Phil Vassar. We were in the thick of everything and loved it.

Montgomery Gentry performed a song written by Jeffrey Steele and Bob DiPiero, "Gone." Good stuff.

Then, the show proceeded. Throughout the night, John and I formed opinions of our favorites and what we thought of the judge's comments.

From a "whole package" perspective, I like Justin David and Tamika Tyler (Randi's friend). They seem to have some staying power. Jason Meadows was good, too. And, I like Jayron Weaver's voice (He sang "Broken Road" better than the lead Rascal Flatts guy... "flat" being the key descriptor of the group's lead singer) but he needs to work on his presence and performance.

Really though, overall, it was hard to pick. I can see why the judges have a hard time finding something bad to say! Phil Vassar's feedback was pretty benign. He loved everybody. I think Anastasia practiced what she was going to say using last week's show...cause a couple of the things she said made me think she wasn't watching the same show as we were watching. Bret Michaels actually had some pretty constructive feedback...when he wasn't commenting on the "hotness" of the female contestants.

This show is WAY more legitimate than American Idol in that the contestants seem to be real musicians and performers. They play instruments, write songs and are used to performing with a live band. While I enjoy watching American Idol, the show is a glorified kareoke compared to Nashville Star.

If you live in the Nashville area, I would definitely recommend getting tickets and suffering through standing in line to see the show. It was well worth the trouble.

Familiar Faces in the Audience of Nashville Star

John and I are going to be in the live audience (as opposed to a dead audience) of Nashville Star tonight. Our friend Randi Perkins is friends with one of the contestants, Tamika Tyler, and asked us if we'd like to go. Sounds like we'll be in good seats so there is a good chance you'll get a glimpse of us.

The show is live on USA at 9 p.m. (Central time) tonight.

Dinosaur Blog?

Ran across a link to this on Buzzmachine's blog.
What a hoot!

Bad starters and cam sensors

Weeeehhhhlllllllllllll... let's just say my car has not had a good last couple of days.

Yesterday, as I was parallel parking in front of the Tin Roof to meet my friend Jane for lunch, my car conked out. I clutched to put the Forester in reverse, heard a big clunking noise and the engine stopped running. At the time, I thought my foot slipped off the clutch or something and I killed it.

NOPE.

A sinking feeling came over me as I tried to restart the engine. The key turned...the CD player came back on...lights...everything. The only thing missing was that familiar sound of the starter catching. Nothing. Nada. Nilch. So, after a few choice curse words, I popped it into neutral and coasted backwards, down the hill, into the parallel spot. It was the worst parking job ever... diagonal across the spot... but at least the car was out of the street.

Next, I called my mechanic, the Subaru dealership and then the wrecker service.

Within an hour my car was safely at the dealership to be fixed.
Within two hours I knew it was going to cost over $800 to get it back.
(Yikers.)
The starter had crapped-out and my "cam sensor" was not working.

OK. No biggie. The car's paid for... its got a lot of miles on it. Things are bound to go wrong...right? At least I don't have a car payment... right?

I hitched a ride home from work last night and back to work this morning with Bob (from work). My car was supposed to be ready today. Problem solved.

Well, I just hung up the phone with the dealership. The parts for my car came in this morning. Unfortunately, they were damaged and had to be re-ordered. Guess I'm hitchin' a ride with "Bobby D's Shuttle Service" again tonight and tomorrow morning.

Keep your fingers crossed that I have a car tomorrow!

UPDATE - 03.04.05:
My car is fixed. I'm catching a ride to pick it up after work.
WHOOHOOOOOO.

Decompress with JTC and Jeanne

Just wanted to post a quick note to let you know about TWO things you can do to decompress this weekend.

7:00
Friday, 3/4 (tomorrow night)
Blue Mother Tupelo (My favorite drummer, Johnny The Clock, plays with these guys.)
3rd & Lindsley
818 3rd Avenue South
259-9891
(They'll be done by 9 p.m., so it won't be a late night. Let me know if you're going to be able to come!)

7:30
Sunday (3/6)
Jeanne Richardson, Melissa Sigler & Dawn Leaumont
Lipstick Lounge
1400 Woodland St
226-6343
(It's a school night, I know, but we'll have you home in plenty of time to get the rest you need!)

Hope to see you at one...or BOTH!
Thanks.
J

PS: Tell all your friends!

The Truth About Small Towns

My friend Sara Lee (yes, that is her real name) forwarded this to me today and I couldn't help but post it. It sums up my formitave years pretty well.

Those who grew up in small towns will laugh when they read it.
Those who didn't will be in disbelief.

The truth about living / growing-up in a small town:

1. You can name everyone you graduated with.
2. You know what 4-H means.
3. You went to parties at a pasture, barn, gravel pit, or in the middle of a dirt road. On Monday you could always tell who was at the party because of the scratches on their legs from running through the woods when the party was busted. (See #6.)
4. You used to "drag" Main.
5. You said the "F" word and your parents knew within the hour.
6. You scheduled parties around the schedules of different police officers because you knew which ones would bust you and which ones wouldn't.
7. You could never buy cigarettes because all the store clerks knew how old you were (and if you were old enough, they'd tell your parents anyhow).
8. When you did find somebody old enough and brave enough to buy cigarettes, you still had to go out into the country and drive on back roads to smoke them.
9. You knew which section of the ditch you would find the beer your buyer dropped off.
10. It was cool to date somebody from the neighboring town.
11. The whole school went to the same party after graduation.
12. You didn't give directions by street names but rather by references. Turn by Nelson's house, go 2 blocks to Anderson's, and it's four houses left of the track field.
13. The golf course had only 9 holes.
14. You couldn't help but date a friend's ex-boyfriend/girlfriend.
15. Your car stayed filthy because of the dirt roads, and you will never own a dark vehicle for this reason.
16. The town next to you was considered "trashy" or "snooty," but was actually just like your town.
17. You referred to anyone with a house newer than 1965 as the "rich people."
18. The people in the "big city" dressed funny, and then you picked up the trend 2 years later.
19. Anyone you wanted could be found at the local gas station, drive-in or the town bar.
20. You saw at least one friend a week driving a tractor through town or one of your friends driving a grain truck to school occasionally.
21. The gym teacher suggested you haul hay for the summer to get stronger.
22. Directions were given using THE stop light as a reference.
23. When you decided to walk somewhere for exercise, 5 people would pull over and ask if you wanted a ride.
24. Your teachers called you by your older siblings' names.
25. Your teachers remembered when they taught your parents.
26. You could charge at any local store or write checks without any ID.
27. The closest McDonalds was 45 miles away (or more).
28. The closest mall was over an hour away.
29. It was normal to see an old man riding through town on a riding lawn mower.
30. Most people went by a nickname.
31. You laughed your butt off reading this because you know it is true, and you send it to everyone who may have lived in a small town.

No butter for Bubba, the 22-pound lobster

Meet Bubba, a 22-pound leviathan of a lobster pulled from the waters off Nantucket, Mass. >>Read more at USAToday

UPDATE:
Bubba the large lobster dies
PITTSBURGH (AP) — He dodged lobster pots for decades, endured a trip from the coast of Massachusetts to Pittsburgh and survived about a week in a fish market. But a trip to the zoo proved to be too much for a 22-pound lobster named Bubba. >> Read more at USA Today.