The Stage

During the torrential downpour of rain on fireworks night we ran back through what felt like war-torn streets, filled with people running, dodging this way and that to avoid massive puddles and streams of rain. The sky turned a grayish yellow behind Nashville’s low buildings as the booming explosion of fireworks ricocheted throughout town. Back at the hotel hordes of sopping wet people crowded the lobby waiting for the next elevator back to their rooms. While it may seem like a major and uncomfortable inconvenience, the whole experience was rather energizing.

After changing into fresh, dry clothes and rain slickers, Mackenzie and I headed out for a second night of music on the main drag in downtown. We ambled back toward a place we had been at for awhile the night before, “The Stage”. This place differs from many of the other music bars on Broadway in that the crowd is younger and the music more contemporary. The bands that play here play mostly covers of country and pop songs that everyone can sing along to, naturally with a country twang.

We made our way to the front-right, staking our territory right in front of the stage. Strangely enough, it is roomier up there than toward the back of the bar. The band on this particular night was strong and filled with personality. The lead guitarist looked a lot like Ron Wood, with long British-like rock star hair, while the drummer appeared to be sixteen years old. The band leader, from Ohio, wore a simple white v-neck t-shirt and blue jeans and rocked hard. While Mackenzie and I were not impressed with the excessive PDA put on by some couples we were impressed with the music, which ranged from covers of Nirvana and Metallica teases to country music that only the locals (and Mackenzie) could sing along to. A great nightcap to our Nashville experience.