Date Night: Bob's Steak & Chop House and Kristin Chenoweth at the Symphony

Date night sometimes means a balance or compromise...  so when I wanted box seats to see Broadway & Holiday with Kristin Chenoweth & the Nashville Symphony, I knew I needed to bribe Dan a little bit.  So I made reservations at Bob's Steak & Chop House in the Omni Nashville hotel.

Bob's is a traditional, upscale steakhouse.  It's definitely a special occasion place!  It has that dark steakhouse vibe while mixing its decor with a "Music City" theme of microphones, guitars, and more.  We had wonderful service while we were there, and our food was delicious!

We ordered a bottle of wine, and they served us a big loaf of hot bread.  They also have signature pickles and peppers to start!  Dan's a fan of pickles, so he indulged.  For our main courses, we eat ordered steak and potatoes, which came with a cooked carrot that was very sweet and almost like a dessert.

As you can see, the portions were huge!  We also ordered a special side for that night, the lobster mac 'n' cheese.  Dan was totally eating all the lobster bits he could find first!

We used the valet at the hotel, knowing the restaurant meal would validate the parking.  We left our bag of leftovers with the concierge (Dan couldn't part with all that food!  He took it to work for lunch the next day.) and we walked to the Schermerhorn Symphony Center.

It was a beautiful night for the walk, and the concert!  Kristin Chenoweth was so amazing, I cried a couple of times!  She was absolutely awesome, and so moving to hear live.

Sitting in a box, no big deal

It was pretty much the perfect weeknight date!

Capitol Grille (and some Kinky Boots)

Capitol Grille has been on my wishlist for a while, but the night I had my first meal there it was almost unintentional!  Lindsey and I were going to see Kinky Boots at the Tennessee Performing Arts Center, and we needed to grab dinner first.  I suggested we try the Oak Bar at the Hermitage Hotel less than a block from the theater, since they share a kitchen with the upscale restaurant.  Well, it turns out EVERYONE had the same idea, so the bar was jam-packed while the restaurant was wide open.  In addition, the show was starting 30 minutes earlier than usual, so we had just over an hour to eat.  What are two hungry girls to do?  Sit down to a fancy meal at the Capitol Grille, of course.

Hermitage Hotel in the background of our selfie, Capitol Grille Menu

Our server knew we had a timeline, but that doesn't mean he skimped on service!  Everything was so professional and formal.  We started the meal off with wine; there was a great selection, and my cabernet was delicious.

First off, I must compliment their bread basket.  I was famished, and they brought out a basket with three types of delicious, warm bread.  It was yummy!  The little rolls were my favorite, because they reminded me of the bread used for Chick-fil-a Chick-n-Minis.  (I'm so fancy... can't you taste this gold?)

I know my last restaurant review featured a burger, but I swear I don't just eat burgers all the time!!!  In this case, I felt a little guilty splurging on steak after splurging at Kayne Prime just a week earlier, so I decided I would sample the beef by choosing the more affordably-priced burger and fries.  I added a fried egg, because that's what I always do when given the option with my burger.  (I'm thinking of starting to order my burgers "à cheval" in the French style,  so it sounds fancier.)

The burger was delicious.  The meat quality was noticeably excellent, and it was prepared perfectly.  Very, very tasty!  I'd put it on par with the classic burgers at some of the better burger places in Nashville.   I'd like to come back for a fancy date night someday. P.S.  Kinky Boots was a great time!  We definitely laughed a lot.

P.P.S. Congrats to Anne for winning my Tea Box Express giveaway!!!

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Pentatonix at the Ryman

Back in November when VB and I were experiencing our 2nd annual Straight No Chaser date, we went ahead and bought presale tickets for another a cappella group, Season 3 of The Sing Off's winners, Pentatonix.  Never heard of them?  Allow me to interrupt this post with one of my favorite medleys of theirs, Evolution of Beyonce.

Our normal pre-concert ritual is to meet for Mexican food, but this time VB treated me to an early birthday meal of white sangria and delicious tacos at Local Taco.  (I finally got to taste the delish Korean BBQ tacos after my last visit!)  YUM!  She even had a lovely card for me.

From there, it was off to the Ryman, most definitely my favorite venue in Nashville.  Even though you squish together in the old church pews, the acoustics rock!  To quote VB, the place sounded like a high school.  The crowd was young and completing fangirling over Pentatonix.  We must admit, we aren't superfans (who showed up with posters and screamed randomly throughout), but we enjoy talented artists and the art of a cappella.  THIS CONCERT WAS AWESOME.

First off, each individual member of the group is phenomenally talented.  From their super deep bass who can sing two tones at once, to their beatboxer who can play cello, to their main vocalists who can imitate autotune and electronic overlays to their sound, it was unreal to hear such big numbers come out of just five people.
(Note:  Now I subject you to blurry iPhone photos of the concert, once again proving I was there but forcing you to wonder why I even post them.  Oh well.)

They even broke away from true a cappella to feature some cello.  Again, intensely cool!  It was entertaining the entire way through, and I especially loved singing along to their awesome covers.  (They opened with their Daft Punk number, which went viral on YouTube.) I'm glad I got to see this group live, and I'll continue to follow their progress to see how they change the misconceptions of what a cappella is all about!

Buddies

The Tenors

I was supposed to post this in February... yeah, oops. My friend VB and I both enjoy attending concerts, so when she asked if I would join her to see The Tenors at TPAC (formerly the Canadian Tenors) I said yes immediately!  I'd never heard their music before, but how could I resist four hot guys singing opera?

I was a little nervous when I saw a bunch of relatively older ladies wearing their TFF scarves (think Josh Groban's Grobanites), but knowing that they had such a dedicated following was a good sign.

It was one of the most moving performances I have seen in a long time.  I was almost moved to tears at a couple of points.  "Nessun dorma" was the song they did that I had been hoping for, and it was better than when I heard it at the Met in Turandot!  VB was thrilled that they sang "Hallelujah" as their encore, as it was her favorite by far.

What a great night, with a fantastic view of the stage! P.S.  I told VB I wasn't gonna toss this photo up on Facebook and I just wanted it for my annual photo album, but it's one of my fav pics from February so #sorrynotsorry that I put it on the BLOG.  I mean, we're super cheesing AND you can see a crazy fan with a TFF scarf behind us.  xoxo

Straight No Chaser, 2nd Year!

Straight No Chaser came back to the Ryman, so friend VB and I decided to anniversary last year's outing and got 3rd row seats in the Mother Church.  I love the Ryman.  I don't go to many concerts, mainly because I can't understand paying so much money to be in an arena where I can barely see the act.  At the Ryman, it's such an intimate venue; even the "cheap seats" have great exposure to what's going on.

SNC actually had an opening act this time, Caroline Glaser.  She was on Season 4 of The Voice apparently, and she has a great soulful voice.  Kind of a younger Nora Jones thing going on.  It's been a while since I've heard such a good voice live that didn't sound overproduced.  I'm interested in seeing if she makes it big.

SNC had a great show.  They had some old favorites for sure, but I loved the new mash-ups like Blurred Lines.  They are hilarious and talented and entertaining... even if you *think* you're too cool for the awesome sound of a cappella.

Our only complaint?  We wish the 2nd set was longer (of course) and that we got more Christmas music.  Though in retrospect, last year's concert was in December... so maybe that's why we got so much Christmas stuff vs. this year.

They always take some photos of the crowd... can you spot my dorkiness waving amidst the middle-agers?  Ha!  Where's Waldo Aubrey?  And do you see the guy that looks like Santa Claus too?

The show was amazing as expected.  I just can't understand how they can make such awesome music with just their voices.  A cappella takes such a good ear, talent, and more... you gotta give them props, people.  It's better than Pitch Perfect.

P.S.  I am super proud SNC started in my hometown of Bloomington, Indiana!  I always yell a "Go Hoosiers!" during the show at some point.  Because I'm an uber nerd.

P.P.S.  Pentatonix (of The Sing-Off!) are coming to the Ryman in March and we already have our tickets!

Luke Bryan

I'm not the biggest country fan, but living in Music City I can't help but enjoy a good country concert from time to time!  My friend LD got tickets for the sold-out Luke Bryan show at Bridgestone Arena, so I was along for the awesome country ride.  The pictures looks super far away, but they were great club-level seats with an unblocked view of everything.

Cole Swindell was the first opening act, and he wasn't too bad!  He has a lot of energy, jumping around on-stage.  I just wish he'd taken off his hat, because given he's a rising star we need to learn to recognize his face.  There were a couple of moments where I don't think he was getting the proper feedback in his ear, so we had a few cringeworthy notes... but still entertaining.

The next act was a full ten songs from Dierks Bentley.  It was interesting how you could see the increase in stage confidence and performance with each act.  Dierks was great, and he really got the crowd going.

I went into the concert familiar with a few Luke Bryan songs, but I may have left a fan.  The stadium was packed to its rafters with people singing along, and Luke and his band are very talented musicians.  He even took some time to sing solo while playing piano.  I was very impressed.

You can just tell, especially after watching the opening acts, that he takes performing to a whole new level.  I guess that's why he won ACM Entertainer of the Year!  He has a fantastic voice, a great stage presence and energy, and a very fun banter throughout the concert.

What's interesting to me is, every single artist at some point took the time to stop and thank the troops serving overseas, and talked about how great America is.  That is so very country music, right?  I think it's a nice touch for this veteran.

Look at all the cell phones glowing....

I don't see a ton of concerts here in Music City... sometimes I just don't want to pay the steep price to see some of the shows.  But then again, I'm not used to living in a city where EVERY SINGLE ONE of my favorite music acts comes to town.  I think I'll have to start putting away a little funny money to indulge from time to time.

CMA Fest

I'm not into the crowds downtown during CMA Fest, but since my coworker offered me free tickets to see the final night's show at LP Field, I took him up on it and brought my friend VB.

It was hot and jam-packed full of people, but we grabbed a beer at Honky Tonk Central, enjoyed their live band, then walked over the pedestrian bridge to the stadium.

Due to a thunderstorm warning, they abbreviated the show a LOT.  And by a lot, I mean artists who should have played for half an hour played like one song.  BOO.  But I got to see a number of people I've never seen perform live:  Lee Greenwood, Gary Allan, Brad Paisley, Charlie Daniels, Lennon & Maisy, The Band Perry, Jake Owen, and Carrie Underwood.

We were in the freebie nosebleeds, so we weren't too disappointed to call it an early Sunday night (especially since I was out until 1am the night prior!).  But it was kind of a nice way to take in the country music scene for an evening.  And I got to spend more time with VB, which is always a win!

Les Miserables... I dreamed this dream!

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I dreamed a dream.... that Les Miserables would become a movie so I could watch it over and over.

And that dream came true!  While I was nervous about a musical I love so much becoming a film (I've seen it twice on tour), I felt there was a good chance that it would be as good as, say, The Phantom of the Opera was.  I mean, the musical's writers helped pen the screenplay.  And the previews alone, with Anne Hathaway's rendition of "I Dreamed a Dream" gave me chills.  I was also excited about the casting of Hugh Jackman as Jean Valjean.

Now, I had my doubts about other casting choices... most specifically Russell Crowe as Javert.  I would have preferred Gerard Butler.  I even previewed the soundtrack on iTunes to hear Crowe's singing voice.  While I didn't cringe, I had to hope that he would have some good acting to back it up.   Because any fan of musical theater will tell you, it's not just about your singing voice, but that emotional and in-the-moment connection.

Another concern of mine?  I'd never heard of Samantha Barks, who plays my favorite character of the musical, Eponine.  But friends of mine assured me that she is a Broadway girl and a natural fit for the role.  I'm surprised they went with a relatively unknown actor for the iconic role, but in musical circles she was viewed as a great choice.

The verdict?  I loved it.  Anne Hathaway stole the show (I love her!) and everyone, even Crowe, acted and sang their hearts out.  Sacha Baron Cohen and Helena Bonham Carter were the perfect Thenardiers.  That said, the directors probably could have nixed some of the singing dialogue and spoken words instead.  I know, not a purist opinion, but I think it served other musical movies well.

I'll be buying this one on DVD!

Oh, and I saw a couple other movies of late: Django Unchained and Lincoln.  If you like Tarantino, the acting (Waltz, Foxx, Jackson, DiCaprio!) and action are top notch in Django.  But as always with Tarantino, be prepared for gratuitous violence and profanity.  For Lincoln, you might find it dull if you're not a fan of history, but again superb acting by Daniel Day-Lewis and Sally Field, and the supporting cast.  Plus, my beloved Joseph Gordon-Levitt is in it.  Swoon.

A Belated Gleek Roundup

Remember when I used to have time to recap shows every week?  Yeah, about that...

But since it's Saturday and I don't have any other posts planned (I'm cleaning my apartment for my family's arrival tomorrow), I figured I'd let you know how I'm feeling about Glee lately.

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Glee Club (in general):  The New Directions weren't going to beat the Warblers.  Sorry, the Warblers kicked major butt and totally made me a fan.  So they lost Sectionals, and it was the right thing.  What I didn't understand was Sue Sylvester's renewed interest in destroying them and rubbing it in their faces.  She ebbs and flows with hatred and compassion.  It's hard to figure out.

The New Kids:  Kitty is delightfully mean, and Marnie was interesting for a little while, but other than that they're weak sauce.  How come we aren't doing more solos for Tina and Artie?  What about Troutymouth Sam?  And Sam's solo as they somehow get him to fall in love with Brittany is stupid.  #1 most awesome new kid is Wade/Unique.  'Nuff said.

Rachel/Kurt:  I would watch this spinoff.  Kate Hudson is delightfully evil, Rachel has grown up so much as a person, and Kurt is really shining too.  I'd watch this but add in some Blaine, maybe an occasional visit from Mercedes.  (But let's stop with the fantasyland "Let's Have a Kiki" and Vogue stuff, no "starving artists" can afford that loft and luck into those connections.)

The Old Kids:  The only person I really miss is Santana, my smooth criminal.  I hate to say it, but I don't even miss Mercedes as much as I thought I would.  And it was nice to get rid of Will/Emma.  I'm sorry, it's true.  The haphazard way they've tried to throw everyone together this season is just weird.  The only episode that didn't seem contrived is when they came home for Thanksgiving.

So I continue to watch Glee, like the dedicated kid I am... but it's just starting to feel weaker than ever.  Every so often, there is an episode that gets me excited that it's back on track, only to be followed by one that is lacking.  Ryan Murphy is a genius, but American Horror Story has become my favorite show of his these days.

Come on, Glee, step it up!  I'm rooting for you.

Straight No Chaser at the Ryman

You know I love a capella.  I mean, I blog about The Singoff, Pitch Perfect, and Glee!  So when my friend VB offered me a chance to attend a Straight No Chaser holiday concert in Nashville, I almost screamed in the middle of my open office space.

Straight No Chaser was born at Indiana University a dozen years ago, while I was a kid growing up in Bloomington, Indiana.  (In fact, one of the members is the older brother of a kid a year ahead of me in school.)  I remember hearing about them singing at local bars in the beginning.  They started graduating when I began high school, but the group continued as a student group.

That is, until some of the original members re-formed to become Straight No Chaser once more!

After work, I met up with VB for a delicious dinner at Wild Iris in Brentwood, then headed to the Ryman to see the show.  It was my first time at the famous venue.

The show was AWESOME.  The people behind us gave us free wine, and VB and I danced and sang the night away.  We seriously rocked out the entire time.  We laughed a ton (these guys are hilarious) and it was just the perfect girls' night out.  We even stuck around to get autographs and meet the guys afterwards.

Seriously though, you don't understand how awesome these guys are until you HEAR them.  So go on YouTube and prepare to be amazed.  Really.  Because they're that good.

Ryman Auditorium was rocking!

We were 5th row!

Thanksgiving Weekend in Tennessee

Mom & Dad came down to visit me for the long Thanksgiving weekend.   We definitely kept busy!

We had a Thanksgiving lunch at Whole Foods, before we headed home to make sure our turkey dinner was ready to go... I had turkey breast, roasted red potatoes, homemade noodles, green beans, sweet corn, and yeast rolls on the menu.  I even had pumpkin pie as a dessert.  I'd say it was a pretty decent first attempt at a small Thanksgiving meal by me, perhaps a grade B.

That evening, we continued a typical holiday family tradition by heading the movies, this time to see the new James Bond Skyfall.  We really enjoyed it!

I had to, um, taste.

Turkey Breast, Homemade Noodles, Sweet Corn, Green Beans, Red Potatoes, Yeast Rolls

Friday morning, I made some Upside-Down Cinnamon-Apple Coffee Cake, which was super easy and a big hit with my parents.  We needed that energy because Mom dragged me out of the house for a morning of Black Friday shopping.  Fortunately, the Franklin area that morning wasn't as crowded; I think by 8 am the deal-hunters were already finished storming the retailers.

In the afternoon, we headed to downtown Nashville to tour the Country Music Hall of Fame.  I had been there before, but I wanted Dad to have a chance to see it.  And it just so happened that Craig Morgan was giving a free concert, so Dad was happy to stay around to hear his entire set.

Country Music Hall of Fame

Post-concert, we walked up and down Broadway, listening to the live music pour out of the honkytonks. The lights were on because it gets dark so early.  I made us reservations to eat at local favorite Puckett's downtown location.  Mom devoured her pulled chicken sliders and sweet potato fries.

Craig Morgan Concert

Saturday, we toured Franklin's Carter House and Lotz House, historic homes that were damaged but survived the bloody Battle of Franklin.   Dad is a history buff, and I think he really liked them both.  Mom preferred the ornate wood carved furniture and ornate porcelain pieces at Lotz House, while I preferred the Carter House with its more extensive grounds.

 Carter House

Lotz House

It was a jam-packed weekend, but they even found time to help me decorate for Christmas!  Our family is passing through here during the holidays, so we may end up opening gifts at my place.  Glad I could decorate a little to get into the spirit.