"nashville to kentucky... my heart, it draws the line."

when two of your favorite artists play within a 3 hour radius of your town, you go.

one of the reasons i love lindsay so much is that she, too, was a music loving, band tee wearing, heartbroken teenager. we grew up loving the same music, and so when i told her andrew mcmahon was playing, she was in.

we left nashville around 10am on saturday morning and headed up the bourbon trail to louisville. we lost an hour due to the time change to we got there around 2pm and went to bardstown road for lunch.   a friend had suggested el camino, so we gave it a shot.  talk about yummy, swanky, mexican food!

i had the "mexican firing squad," to start which was heavenly and included omleca altos plata, lime, grenadine, and bitters. it was basically a pomegranate margarita and i loved it. for lunch i had a barbacoa taco and a kale & black bean taco. both were delicious!

after lunch, we checked into the marriott downtown and changed before the bar-hopping began. but not before linds could give me the most awesome birthday presents ever. i got an eric church album and the cutest coasters ever from anthropologie! and not just any eric church album... a LIVE FROM CHATTANOOGA eric church album. it's awesome. so are the coasters. so is lindsay.

our first stop on the afternoon bar crawl was bluegrass brewing company. linds had an ipa and i had a raspberry meade which was only served in a 6 oz. glass. it was weird and very different and very good.

after one beer, we walked down to sidecar where i decided it was a good idea to start drinking bourbon at 4pm. i had a "gold rush" which included maker's mark, honey, and fresh lemon juice.

our last pre-concert stop was a lyft ride away to a place called garage bar, which has made its way onto my "top 10 favorite bars of all time" list. 

{stolen from their website}

i had one of the most delicious drinks i've ever tasted. it was called honey lavender lemonade and it was vodka, lemon, honey, lavender, and club soda. i am still currently trying to figure out how to recreate it. i could have hung out at this bar all night!

after a 10 minute hair curling session at the hotel, we walked over the mercury ballroom for the concert! it was an intimate venue and there were probably only about 400 people there - just the way i   like it. andrew was up first and was amazing as usual. his music has been making my heart beat fast for over 10 years now and he never fails to move me. 

and next up was matt nathanson. Y'ALL. i had no idea how sexy that man is. he is also hilarious which only increases his attractiveness level. he is incredibly talented and i can't wait to see him play again. he sang all of my favorite songs of his, and also sang whitney houston's "dance with somebody" and "you're the one that i want," from grease. it was awesome. 

but the highlight of my evening was hands down seeing him and andrew cover tom petty's "american girl." do you ever have those moments where you just feel like all is right in your world and there isn't a thing that could ever bring you down? this was one of those moments for me. 

after an eventful evening at the hotel bar making friends with a 60 year old woman named ruby, we called it a night. we slept in on sunday and sadly had to make our way back to nashville to head into work. my first trip to kentucky was a success and ever since we left, we've been talking about going back. you sure are cool, louisville!

andrew mcmahon. i love you.

sometime around the age of 14, i started listening to a band called something corporate. their first major album, leaving through the window, is the first album i can remember falling in love with. sometime during the year of 16, i saw something corporate play for the first time in a teeny little punk rock venue called tremont music hall alongside two of my best friends from high school. it was a night i will always remember - i think everyone who loves obscure music will always remember the first time they saw a show in a hole-in-the-wall venue.

in 2004, something corporate took a little break and andrew mcmahon, the lead singer, formed a side project called jack's mannequin. 2 amazing albums later, i saw jack's mannequin open up for the fray in the summer of 2009, the first show to ever be played at the brand new nc music factory. it was an amazing night.

later in 2009, something corporate announced they were going to do a 10 year reunion tour. i was living in atlanta at the time and thankfully the infamous tabernacle was one of their tour stops. rachel, alexis, & i spent a wonderful evening singing along to our teenage favorite songs with a bunch of other people our age who were just as excited to see something corporate one last time.

sometime in late 2012, jack's mannequin posted this letter to fans announcing their break up. in early 2013, andrew announced a solo tour and sweet charlotte made the list. so this past tuesday night, my sis & i headed to the visualite theatre to hear andrew play. i love the visualite, it's the perfect size, maxing out around 700 people. you don't pay $11 for a beer, there are plenty of bathrooms, and every seat place you can stand in the venue has a great view.

getting to see your favorite artist, who is not by any means a big name, play 4 times in 10 years is pretty amazing. tuesday night was a special one, and getting to share the evening with my sister was the cherry on top. andrew & his band played something corporate songs, jack's mannequin songs, and even some new ones i'd never heard before. they encored with konstantine, my #1 all time favorite song that i have now been lucky enough to see live 3 times.

so thank you, andrew mcmahon, for continuing to make & sing music that is so special to me.

{andrew singing konstantine}

 

{set list via my iphone}

 

side note about andrew: in 2005, right before the first jack's album was released, he was diagnosed with leukemia the same day they finished recording the album. he made a documentary of his sickness, treatment, and time in the hospital called dear jack. i HIGHLY recommend anyone watching this great film - it is extremely raw & super real. you can watch it on hulu for free here.