The Chronicles of Nat: Memphis Road Trip

Monday, October 20, 2014

Memphis Road Trip

Friends, Romans, Countrymen, I am here to assure you that I am, in fact, alive. I apologize for the long break in posts. Last week was extremely busy and I had little to no time to do any sort of blogging. The good news is that my time away from the blog was so busy that it has afforded me many topics to write about so I hope to do some posting every day this week - provided I find the time. Fingers crossed that I will.

Today, I'm turning back the clock to last Tuesday when my cousins Anna and Lauren and I went to Memphis for a Peal Jam concert. This was my fourth and their first Pearl Jam show. I'm sure I've mentioned it, but last year, I made myself a promise that I would see Pearl Jam every year they tour the United States and so far I'm keeping up the bargain with myself.

The three of us left Huntsville around 12:30 p.m. on Tuesday and made a stop for snacks and a bathroom break along the way. I'm not sure what time we arrived in Memphis, but I'm guessing around 4:30 p.m. We easily found our hotel and let the valet park the car. After checking in, we went up to our room to change clothes and get ready for the show. We stayed at the SpringHill Suites Downtown so everything was within walking distance which was nice. The hotel was clean and nice and had a great view of a courtyard. I think we were all pleased with the selection. I had booked on Priceline so I wasn't too sure of how the hotel would actually be.

After freshening up, we walked towards the FedEx Forum and found a local restaurant to stop in for dinner. The placed was really busy with what we assumed were concert goers. We had an appetizer of spinach and cheese dip and then for dinner, Lauren and I had a burger and Anna had chicken and waffles. The burgers were okay, nothing to brag about, but I think Anna really enjoyed her dish.

Once dinner was over, we walked to the FedEx Forum and every bar we passed along the way had Pearl Jam blasting from the speakers. We arrived at the arena and I got in line at the merchandise table that had the fewest amount of people. I was able to get a poster for this show and a bag (which subsequently shrunk in the wash) and a sticker for everyone. Pearl Jam does show specific stickers and posters and so I try to always get one of these.

We found our seats which were just as wonderful as I had hoped. We were to the side of the stage in the middle section with a great view of everything that took place during the show. I loved these seats. It was totally worth calling Ticketmaster and finagling my way to better seats all those months ago. The show time on the ticket was 7:30 p.m. but it was around 8:15 p.m. or maybe later before Pearl Jam came on stage. There was no opening act.

The band played for three hours, as per usual, but performed a lot of lesser known songs which was kind of disappointing because the crowd didn't get into it as much. Also, Eddie Vedder was a little under the weather and his voice was strained and I didn't feel as much energy off of him as I have in past shows; but, it was still a good show nonetheless. Anna and Lauren enjoyed it as best they could. After the first set, Lauren asked if it was over and I said that the first set was done. Her reply, "There's a second set?" After the second set she asked if there was a third set. I said, "No, just an encore." I neglected, however, to tell her the encore would be 20-30 minutes.

When the show was over, we walked back to the hotel and called it a night. We had free hot breakfast at the hotel the next morning which was really very good. After we got ready to hit the road, we left the hotel and went to the Nike Clearance Store before leaving town. On the way, we passed Graceland where people were lined up to take a tour. We shopped at Nike for a while and then headed home, making a stop in Corinth for some lunch along the way. It was a quick but fun trip and I'm glad I was able to spend it with these fun-loving cousins of mine.