The Black Lodge was on fire last weekend. Not literally, though firemen were discussed at one point. There was a massive dance party on Saturday night. Guerilla Stone was cooking, young folks were loitering. I have it on good authority that some of the people inside were dancing too! I was only able to manage a drive-by because Saturday was full of events city-wide. I spent the previous night at Black Lodge enjoying a different show, but I’ll get to that in a minute.
On Saturday, I started out downtown. The Brass Door hosted the Plan B Comedy Tour and I was eager to see what some out-of-town comics had to offer. Thomas Oler, host of P&H open mic, was warming up The Cavern when I got there. There was barely a seat in the room and standing room only at the bar. I found a friend in the crowd and settled in for an evening of Irish whiskey and amusement. As host for the evening, Oler’s credibility was intrinsically linked to the Box O’ Fun (trademark pending) ostentatiously displayed onstage.
The night got rolling with some local favorites – Doug Gillon, Richard Douglas Jones, and Thomas Jenkins. The special guests were headliner Jamie Ward, Jennifer Lynch, and Shayl Patel. This hilarious trio from Atlanta graced Memphis with a full dose of fresh perspective. Lynch’s take on being a woman in the modern world had be nodding my head the whole time I was laughing. Patel lamented the tribulations of being an Asian that’s from India and then I think started rapping, if memory serves. Finally, Jamie Ward was the highlight of the evening, hitting all points with the audience and leaving Memphis a little more mirthful than he found it.
I hope this is the start of a trade agreement with Atlanta for funny people. After the show I went off in search of hot food and small crowds. I found one of the two at P&H and, luckily, Robert was willing to serve me on the terrace that evening. The Veggie Melt there is a completely cure-all for cold, weariness, and bitter hunger. Keep it in mind next time it’s 23:30 and you don’t feel like heading downtown for a Soul Burger.
After that, Saturday night got a little hazy and I never quite made it to the dance part at Lodge. So instead I’ll tell you about Friday at Black Lodge. They put on a little electro-ambient show and I got over there just in time to catch The Pop Ritual‘s set. If you haven’t heard this particular Memphis sound-scape you are missing out. Electronic motifs woven through compelling aural amusements, it’s easy to relax and get lost in the eerie vocals of Colin Wilson. This is just one of the great music technicians I enjoyed that evening.
Next up was Ghost Trees, a two piece psycho-jazz experience from North Carolina that was a surprising as it was restrained. After seeing Sammy Marten warm up his sax last weekend, I’m a sucker for the shape of that particular instrument. Last up was Holy Gallows, a local project by Mark Brake that experiments with ambient post-rock sounds on a droning, dream-like base. I was quite taken with the performance.
This was a perfect low-key Lodge experience. All it takes is good music, good company, and nothing scheduled the next day. So hopefully everyone has cleared their calendars for this weekend. Halloween celebration kicks of at Black Lodge Video with their 15th annual Masquerade Ball. This event is only $5 and comes with a plethora of entertainment. Local bands and killer DJs will keep the party rolling while everyone puts on their Halloween face for a night of fun any mystery. The event is even a Switchblade Kid album release so the early birds will get a free 7″ record until they are all gone!
This will be the party of the season. You don’t want to miss out. A little squirrel told me there might even be a live photo booth available!