Thanks for joining us online for the 2006 Beale Street Music Festival! Comments will remain open through the end of May, so feel free to talk back to the bloggers and give 'em a piece of your mind.

See you next year!

I believe Bo Diddley is responsible for several of the greatest recordings in rock and roll history, including “Dearest Darling,” “Say Man,” “Who Do You Love?” and “Road Runner,” to name a few.

So I was very happy and honored to be able to spend almost 20 minutes talking to Bo in his trailer dressing room at the South End of Tom Lee Park prior to his 7:20 p.m. performance at the Beale Street Music Festival.

Seated in a low chair and wearing his trademark black hat and big-rimmed glasses, Bo held court, surrounded by band members and managers. He answered questions posed by myself and the other reporter present, a representative of Y’all magazine. (In general, he was more eager to give advice than to ponder record-nerd inquiries about specific recordings.)

Herewith, some words from Bo Diddley, as he approaches his 78th birthday:

Bo’s advice for young people: “Stay in school... stay away from drugs. That’s it. Bo knows.”

Bo on being President of the United States: “I wouldn’t want that job and get my butt kicked every 15 minutes.” (He said he is not among those who “dog” George W. Bush.)

Bo on whether he has plans to retire: “Yeah, when Arthur gets me. Now, do you know who Arthur is? Arthur-itis. Arthur is mean.”

Bo on being a living legend: “Weird, it’s weird. I ain’t no sex symbol.”

Bo’s favorite part of playing live: “Making people laugh and jump around and go crazy.”

Bo’s other favorite part of playing live: “Dollar bills is a thrill.”

Bo on rap music: “Our girls deserve a little bit more than that.”

Bo on 21st Century music-making: “Technology has messed up a generation of potential good musicians. We’re getting dependent on buttons. I was wondering when someone was gonna build a keyboard with my beat on it. I found one, and I wasn’t happy about it.”

Bo on why he writes so many songs about Bo (“Bo Diddley,” “Hey! Bo Diddley,” “The Story of Bo Diddley,” “Bo’s Vacation,” “Bo’s Guitar,” “Bo Meets the Monster,” “Bo Diddley Is Loose,” “Bo’s a Lumberjack,” “Bo Diddley Is a Gunslinger,” etc.): “That’s just my style. I like saying ‘Bo Diddley.’ In fact, I love me.”

Trapt didn't particularly appeal to me.
Maybe you really like rock cliches. i don't. Next!

The BSMF is great for weird people in funny t-shirts. I can't really talk about the best ones i've seen without jeapardizing my newfound relationship with the CA. But i think i found one that's clean.
"you looked better on myspace."
Seen that one several times today.

I stopped in to see Hubert Sumlin, but it looked like G.E. was stealing the show a bit. So, i took his picture.

Then, i walked down to Gov't Mule and ended up staying a while because i saw some good friends.

I think we can chalk that up as another set i enjoyed slightly more than i thought i would. It's nostalgic just to listen to Warren Haynes' tone for a minute. But i would say i'm not nearly as sentimental as the majority of the audience. I saw several grown men who looked like they were going to cry during "Soulshine."

We retired to the Flyer tent for Amstyl Light and BBQ sandwiches.
(btw, you people that drink a lot of free beer, and don't tip your "bartenders" deserve to be shot)

On the way there i reached an impasse.

This placed smelled really bad.

I bet these girls smelled really bad, too.

Then my choice was thus: Shinedown, Yellowcard, or Chicago.
I know. i went to see Shinedown because i freaking hate Chicago and i didn't want to see that other stuff either. And i'm tired of walking around. And i thought there would be "more interesting" people there. I was right. But my little powershot doesn't work so well at night so you're just going to have to trust me on this one.

They played what i understand to be a pretty standard set. Old stuff and new stuff and Simple Man. Apparently they play in Memphis pretty often. (i would look it up and tell you, but i don't really care and i'm just too tired)

They obviously have a very strong audience here.

I can't dig it though. Really overdone and overblown vocals and some lowest common denominator rock licks. If you don't agree with my opinion, that's too bad. It's what i'm here to give. I'm sure you'll get over it someday.

It did sound true to their stuff on the radio, but chances are if you don't like that, then you won't like them live. I also don't appreciate stupid audience participation exercises and annoying questions like "Who here has seen us before?!" and "Who bought our record?!"
Who the hell cares? Play a song.

And i can't like Stained either. (Sorry guys)
Not for a lack of musicianship or production or anything.
It's just not compelling to me. I just don't get it.
And James Brown was about to start.

"The eighth wonder of the world,"
"Mr. Magnificent,"
"Mr. Showtime,"
"Mr. Please, Please..."

I'm sorry i called it the Last Legs Fest earlier. If James is on his last legs, he had me fooled.
J.B is not a young man, and he's been crazy for a long time. I've seen a decent amount of footage to prove it. (thanks Drew)
But the godfather of soul looked fabulous.
His band was pimp tight (this was established way before he took the stage)
And when he was there, he was right there holding the reigns.

I remembered that i was supposed to be having a good time, and felt myself stuck with a really dumb smile on my face.

And now i'm tired.
I'm going to crawl into the Hightone for the Pre-Ponderosa Stomp party.
You should already be there by now.

It usually takes a lot to rub me the wrong way. But I hit my limit tonight. The security at the festival this year was the most unhelpful rude batch I've come across in three years. As a courtesy, not because I have any interest in the band at all, I went over to the pit to snap a few pictures of Staind at the beginning of their show.

As soon as I walked up a security person walked up to me and told me to leave. I asked where Michelle, the lady who was handing out photo passes, was. She said she didn't know, and that I needed an escort. I explained that Michelle was the escort and I needed to find her. She said she didn't know and I needed to leave. I again tried to look for guidance as to how to solve my problem and she again told me to leave. So then I told her she didn't have to act like a bith. (B-i-t-h).

She most likely misundestood my web language and in turn called me a bith - but with the c. So I gave her the evil eye and a rude hand gesture and walked away. Then she told on me.

Silly lady. I was told that if the festival weren't over than I would not be allowed back in the pit. Which was laughable because I was never allowed anyway without a huge ordeal. And it almost seemed like for most security people it was just a power play, cause I would go hunt down someone who would go down to the stage and tell them to let me in. Then I would come back at the next show and they would tell me I needed an escort again. It's just silly and so not worth the hassle it to get shots of third teir grunge metal acts.

So, this may well be my last foray into covering the BSMF. It's really not worth the trouble. The lineup is laughable, the hoops I've had to jump through in the mud have been degrading, and having to constantly argue with security so that I can do my job is totally ridiculous.

Last night when I was kicked out of the back stage area during Huey Lewis and the News , I started to argue with the guy but then stopped in mid-sentence and instead said,"You know what? I don't really care." Then I turned on my heel, slipped and busted my knee open. I sure showed him!

Today I heard from a reliable source that Huey agreed to do press after his performance. But no one showed up.

After 'The Incident" I was about to come back here and make one last post that said:

Screw BSMF! I'm goin' home! (Cartman Voice)

But, for you, my readers, I made one last sacrifice of my valuable time and made my way down to the Autozone stage to catch the only worthwhile reason to come downtown this weekend:

James Brown

Ok,

Screw BSMF, I'm going to the Ponderosa Stomp pre-party at the Hitone!

More tomorrow, or if I am fired from the CA tomorrow, just check my blog for the info:

Rachelandthecity

I was not sucessful at my nap. Some band named Shinedown that sounds like a heavy metal Creed interupted my slumber when they hit the Cellular South stage located directly in front of the window of the media trailer.

The kids really love the Shinedown. There's nothing more heartwarming then seeing a couple thousand people sing in unison, "Staring down the barrell of a .45!" Actually there is one thing more heartwarming, watching couples make-out during this song. "Oh, sweetie! It's our song!"

High Res

If you didn't get a chance to see the show, you totally missed out on the "One, Two, Eff You!' chant. Which is a real pity.

High Res

I left the Rock 103 booth before I got a chanc eot take the picture of the crwod when he told them to jump, or put up their lighters. Look kids! It's Simon Says Rock and Roll!

Today has definitely been the best turnout I've seen.

High Res

See these semi-cool pics I snapped of Gomez yesterday? They were taken on the riser next to the stage. I was subjected to three security guys looking up my skirt in order to obtain them. Today when I returned to the Autozone stage to check out Chicago I was told that I could not go on the same riser as it was reserved for 'VIP's", all three of them. When I asked where I could watch the show from I was told snarkily in the audience. You see, at the BSMF, having a media pass is akin to having leprosy. Instead of explaing to the knucklehead that it would be pretty hard to tke notes next to Jim Bob dancing and spilling his beer on me, and pointless to try to watch the show from 300 yards away, I just left. Afterall, it was Chicago and I was trying to be a good sport.

I'd rather take a nap before James Brown anyway. Can someone call and wake me up at 8:45?

Here's how my day is going so far: Media parking was full so I had to drive around half an hour to find a free spot (cause paying for parking is for suckers!). I left my press pass in my car. I think I broke my camera when I dropped it in a mud puddle last night (not to be confused with Puddle of Mudd). it cost me $3.50 to take money out of the atm. My funnel cake was undercooked. And I just had to sit through Trapt's set and listen to every rock cliche in the book.

"This next song is about when someone really eff's you over. Does anyone out there know what I'm talking about?"

Number of times they used the eff word in their set? 809,345. But the kids really dig it!

Oh, and did I mention the hangover? Today's gonna be a good one, I can tell.

In other news, I just witnessed my first crowd surfers of the festival. How retro! Oh, and from the media tent I can see the crowds are starting to throw mud at each other. Yay, as if the ring of dirt round my tub isn't thick enough already.

Beleive it or not, I guess i'm going to go see Chicago, my true other options are Yellowcard and Shinedown. Irony is always better then angst.