So I've never really been that big of a bluegrass lover. Last night we went to a local club in downtown Nashville called "The Station Inn." I got to hang out with Todd Roy our Regional Campus Pastor, Brandon Frazier, and his wife Kacie. Good times. Brandon took us to this little place. At first I was a little afraid for my safety but that feeling quickly waned with the realization that we were surrounded with people that were a tad bit older than us. (Usually middle-aged people don't get all riled up and punch you in the ear.)
The place was old. I'm talking like, possibly condemning the building old. There were pictures of people that I didn't know at all. Then the band got up and started to play some face melting bluegrass. Well, bluegrass doesn't really melt your face as much as it twists it...mine at least. However, the guys in the band were freaking amazing! I've never in my life seen someone play a mandolin (wiki) faster than this guy. The band was comprised of four instruments: mandolin, upright bass, acoustic guitar, and banjo. They would take turns soloing which was nice. The waitress came by and asked what we wanted to drink, I asked what they had, she responded, "Beer." Hmmm, my choices were pretty limited. I did have a "thing of popcorn."
Okay, so to wrap up this post, one thing I noticed was that there is apparently some sub-culture that exists with bluegrass. The lead singer guy would impressionate some bluegrass legend and the place would erupt with laughter. They would call out songs written about other bluegrass legends and we quickly realized that we were mere observers in this event. We had no real point of reference to appreciate all that the singer was talking about. We knew we must be missing out on something big....not sure if we really wanted in but the music and the thing of popcorn were good.
My thoughts went to our church. How many times have I made someone feel like we did. Told inside jokes and dropped names as if the first timer would actually know what I was talking about. We don't have beer or things of popcorn. The best we have is McAlisters Sweet Tea and Krispy Kreme.....but hopefully the music is good!