Loud Love: Tips on show-going in Nashville

by Drew Wilson on Sep 19^th, 2011

 

Now that everyone is up to speed on where you’re going out to see all the killer shows coming to Nashville nowadays, we felt like we needed to take the next step, and let all you readers in on some of the tips and tricks we’ve learned over hundreds and hundreds of concerts.  Not talking about general attendance etiquette like we went over a few weeks back, no this is specific small tips and tricks to make attending shows in Nashville more fun.

When you go see a show at The End, it’s always easy to tell the people who have never been there before. That’s because the side door to exit onto the smoking porch only opens if you press in on the metal bar while pushing/kicking the door open. As fun as it is to watch someone stuck there for a minute until someone comes over and presses the bar in, we figure Loud Love readers should skip that embarrassing moment. Other things to know when you head to show there is that if you’re feeling money conscious, make sure to get your PBR orders in early. As the only low priced beer there, they usually end up running out at most crowded shows, so drink early! It’s also fun to know that in the summer, when every show in Nashville feels like a free trip to a horrible smelling sauna, there is one spot at The End where you can stand and get nice cool airflow. Seriously, one spot.. it’s up the stair in the seating area, over towards the door of the green room.. near where the last table is usually set up you can get right in the one sweet spot an air vent will be blowing nice cool air. Fun!

Across the street at Exit/In, the same situation applies — they also have an air vent sweet spot to keep you cool during those brutal sweaty shows. This one is at the top of the far stairway, the one that goes over the sound booth. Exit/In also has an especially nice backstage/green room area for the bands and good spots on the side stages for photographers to set up. However, make sure you bring cash, cause the ATM there rarely works, and watch out for the step in the middle of the room, it’s painted, but tough to see in a crowd, and no one likes being the one that falls walking back from the bar.

The sister spots of Mercy Lounge and Cannery Ballroom also share the same nice feature. For some reason, at both of these venues, you can usually work your way near the stage pretty easily no matter how crowded the show is simply by walking all the way to the far wall and then just following it down. At Mercy, this involves going up the step and weaving between some tables, but there’s nearly always some good space once you get back down near stage-right. At Cannery, you can head all the way down against that far left/stage-right wall, but if you do you’ll be right in front of one of those giant speakers they have on each side of the room. So if you really want good sound there, you’ll have to find some way to work your way near center stage. Don’t give up that center stage spot at Cannery if you can help it, you’ll appreciate the sound for sure. While you’re at Mercy Lounge, and those hunger pangs start hitting you but the show is still going on and it’s not time to skip on over to 24/7 Fish ‘n’ Grits yet, go on over to the end of the bar and get yourself a hot dog. Yeah, that sign isn’t just for show, if you’re lucky you also get a pretty great hot dog the likes of the famous Chicago dogs.

The dive bars have their own unique attributes.  Go down to either Springwater or Betty’s, and order yourself a pony if you’re a fan of cheap beer. For $1 you’ll get an adorable 7-ounce bottle of the High Life, making it the most beer for your money at any venue… plus it’s just kind of fun knocking back a bunch of the mini-bottles. But don’t get fooled by the Bitchin’ Betty’s Brew on tap; it’s just renamed Natty.  Also surprising to folks who don’t spend enough time at Betty’s or Dino’s Bar & Grill out in East Nashville, these two places will make you just about the best burgers around, with some impressively thick bacon slices on top. Other personal favorites include the chicken fries at Betty’s and the mini-corndogs at Dino’s to pair with your mason jar of beer.

When you’re hanging out on the smoking porch at The Basement after a great show, and it’s time for the end of the night and to get out of there, you don’t really have to walk back inside and around and out the door. There’s a latch on the inside of the gate on the fence of the smoking porch, you can just lift it up, open that gate, and head on out. They also have a few small food items you order to fix you up, but not many do. Now you can grab yourself a shot of absinthe while you’re there as well if you feel like going for a big night, of course, it’s the non-hallucinogenic american legal absinthe, but hey, why not?

Out at the Muse, they have a surprising good bar and pizza upstairs at Undertones — although it’s 21+ to enter the upstairs, so tough for the young’uns at the shows there. The bathrooms upstairs are also about 50-times nicer, one even has a shower. And of course, make sure you don’t park in the porno shop next door’s lot, there’s enough street parking nearby, and nothing ruins a good night faster than coming out of a show to find your car towed.

No secrets here, but if you’re in Nashville going to shows, maybe you didn’t know one of these tips and your nights just got a bit nicer, and hey… if we can save just one person from getting stuck at that side door at The End, we consider it a job well done. Get out there, enjoy all the great local bands, and have a good time doing it.  If you’re not in Nashville… well come visit, and look like a veteran from day one!

D.Rew
Loud Love