ZZ MuffinTop

Last week, I decided that my hubby and I were not going to sit around all weekend watching Law & Order: SVU or going to dinner and then grocery shopping...WE WERE GOING TO GO SOMEWHERE AND DO SOMETHING DAMNIT!!!!! So, first things first...I needed to find the "what" that we were going to do. I didn't want it to be something boring that could be done any weekend. I wanted it to be something fun that we could make a real memory out of. We are fortunate enough to be stationed near a major city. That city being Nashville! So, I figured, big cities always have SOMETHING going on from music to museums or street fairs. Therefore, I started by looking at tourism websites for Nashville, which is a great place to start! Even for the city that you live in! What local could keep better records of a wide array of upcoming events better than people salivating over tourist dollars??? Certainly not me! I HIGHLY recommend checking out your city's tourism calendar! So, after some minor e-search, the first thing I thought of was the King Tut exhibit at the Tennessee State Museum, but we'd discussed this before and I wanted it to be a genuine surprise. I thought a concert might be more fun and I found out that ZZ Top (one of my hubby's favorite bands) was coming on Sunday! So, i bought the cheap lawn seats and started looking for somewhere wonderful to eat near the amphitheater. My first stop for great, peer-reviewed restaurants in my area or wherever I'm going is UrbanSpoon.Com! I LOVE this website for finding great genre-specific restaurants! I landed on Barbecue after watching too many episodes of Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives and discovered that the number one rated barbecue place had a location just ten minutes from the concert! I decided that I was going to make it a surprise, but anyone who knows me knows that I CANNOT keep a present a secret! I get too excited! Especially when I know that someone is going to like what I bought for them! So, when I broke down and told Mike where we were going, he was really excited. In fact, we were both really excited...UNTIL it started to pour that afternoon about an hour before we were supposed to leave. I went upstairs to take a shower, which by this time of the year has become a complete sauna even with the air on. I had two choices...crimpy, mousse-induced cholla hair or try to blowdry my hair...decisions, decisions. I had just done the lazy cholla look the day before and I made the mistake of choosing to TRY to look nice (you know, i'm trying to be LESS frumpy). Well, the joke's on me. It stopped raining and the sun came back out and the humidity jumped to 10000000000%. I WAS MISERABLE. I just got out of the shower and I was already sweating. Is anything grosser than sweating directly out of the shower??? I finally gave up and put it in a pony tail. I put on a black tank, some shorts and my lace-up vans. We got in the car to leave and realized we forgot the blanket we had set out to take with us. Leaving only the HARRY POTTER blanket in the car...Picture, if you will, a HARRY POTTER BLANKET at a ZZ Top concert...We laughed about it and moved on. I put my make-up on in the car after being blasted by the ICE COLD air for ten minutes and arrived at the barbecue place around 4pm. The concert started at 7pm which gave us PLENTY of time. The food was delicious! Seriously amazing barbecue! The restaurant was called Jack's Bar-B-Que. Their brisket was tender and smoky and served on a home-made bun. I chose the Kansas City sauce which is a sweeter, thick sauce over the Tennessee sauce which has more of a vinegar base and tastes a lot like Arby's Sauce, which I like but not on smoky brisket. I thought we'd hang out and drink sweet tea and sit in their cool air for a while, but my husband thought we'd go over early. We arrive in another 15 mins, park and walk over to the entry way to the gate ( a 10 minute walk from our car because my husband illegally parked in their restaurant's parking lot) and they inform us that the gate won't be opening for admission for over an hour. It was HOT outside and really muggy and we were there early because he insisted that we leave and so we naturally got into an argument. I walked away for about 5 minutes and then ask if he's ready to be nice. We walk BACK to the car and sit in the air conditioner for another 30 minutes because this is our last chance to be cool. We walk back with the resolve that we're not going to fight and that we will have a good time. We walk in, buy a water and set up camp on our Harry Potter blanket. Let me tell you, i got a FEW looks for that haha

Before the concert, the people watching was incredible. The very epitome of trash and class all commonplace in this amphitheater. From the bourgeoisie of Nashville in their best Brighton merchandise to the hicks missing teeth in their shredded jeans and boots with their sleeves freshly cut off. They came out of the woodwork for this concert. Here I sit, miserable in this humidity but the natives are smoking with one hand and drinking beer all while holding on furious conversations with friends about the music they love and the bands that they've seen over the years. What seemed to transcend the class system, was the easy way they just hung out with each other. There's an easy confidence about ones self in the South, from what I've seen. There's no stress about the heat or a little moisture on your forehead. There's no need to rush or trample each other. All the amenities of a big city with the leisurely feel of a small town. It's inexplicable but you can feel it. I really admire these people...most of them anyway. ;) So, in honor of the South, next time you're at a concert, pass the flask and get to know someone!

The concert started at 7 with The Cadillac Black. They embody the Southern rock of Lynyrd Skynyrd and there's something "Almost Famous"/Classic Rock about them and a Black Crowes cool. I'm not going to lie...their music was HOT and so were they haha (I actually liked them better than ZZ Top).  Here is a link to their music. You can listen to them on the upper right hand side. http://www.reverbnation.com/thecadillacblack
or their website at:
http://thecadillacblack.com/fr_home.cfm
They put on a hell of a show and I really enjoyed their music.

ZZ Top came on just as the sun went down to a mass of screaming drunks. In the beginning they played newer songs that even Mike didn't know (so there was no hope for me to know them). I understand that this is commonplace for old bands like this so I wasn't surprised. After a few songs, they began to talk about their old friend who wasn't with us anymore and who was responsible for plucking them up out of local shows and took them on tour with him. This person happened to be Hendrix. I had never hear this before so I thought it was interesting. After their story, they played "Hey Joe" which turned out to be the only song I knew the whole night! We decided to take off early because we saw the maze of cars parked in the field and how every person there went back and forth from the bar several times. As we were walking out, they played "Gimme All Your Lovin" and "Sharp Dressed Man"...go figure! We both had a good time, all in all. I'd suggest seeing them unless you have a problem with drinking, support for marijuana usage, second hand high and old bikers. haha

I'm due for a new at-home pedi, so I'll post pics of that soon! Also, I have a new product review coming along with a craft I used for my Father's Day cards! :)