Day 12 – Darwin to Nashville

Wednesday 3rd. July 2013

Breakfast at a coffee house just around the corner.
Plane to Nashville. Feeling like I’m not ready to leave this great town.
Fluked the extra leg room plus my guitar as carry on!

Back in Gartland Street, Nashville I caught up with hosts Paul – and Janet who is looking well after the op. Went to 3rth East Nashville block party one block away.
Watched various bands on the back of a truck with a general surf guitar cowboy slant. The bands I mean. Home for laundry duties.

Went back to the street party for a few hours. Met Dave & Eva, Clayton etc. gassed. Hot Spicy Chicken & free beer.

Walked to the 5 Spot and watched the opening act being an instrumental duo with open tunings on a Danelectro and pedal steel. Beautiful ambience and kinda drifty as open tuning can be. Steelism jumped up for their weekly residency. 2 guys with beards, glasses and scrambled egg on their head gear – one is a captains hat, the other baseball cap…plus percussionist, very pale Tele, Hammond-ish keyboard sounds, drummer in a red shirt and a P bassist. We’re talkin’ cowboy surf instrumentals including one of my all time favourites Sleepwalk, then Geronimo or some such. Very Good, Bad and Ugly.

Out back in the beer garden ran into Marsh again with Kevin, Kevin, Paul, Jeremiah and Seth who invited us to his stoner pool party the next day with girls in bikinis – guaranteed. The rest of us agreed this may not be the best option, but a nice chap all the same.

Met Josh who resembles Yosemite Sam with his turned-back big black Hoss Cartwright hat and pirate beard. He gave me the lowdown on guitar shops that I’ll probably not have time to visit. Saw Andrew Combs sing with a Gibson ES125 (just like the one I almost fell in love with) and the ever present white cowboy hat. He sang real purdy and a variety of other guest singers got up.

The music was bouncy and funky in parts so much yelpin’ and dancin’ goin’ on.
Asked Andrew when he got the Gibson and was relieved to know it was a few years back.
If it had been the one at Fanny’s of course I would have kicked myself and wanted it more. Because it wasn’t, it meant the one at Fanny’s was quite possibly still available – so my desire for it subsided.

Watched the raffle then home on a balmy Nashville evening walk complete with balmy weather, fireflies and an anticipation of the July 4 fireworks.

Happy chappy aren’t I?