Month: December 2002

Okay, it s New Year s Eve and there s no way I can mention all of what s going on. So here s a sampling: There s a fabulous black-tie New Year s Eve Gala at the Madison Hotel with a five-course dinner, dancing, champagne at midnight and live entertainment by none other than Ms. Di Anne Price & Her Boyfriends ($150, call 333-1215 for reservations). There s a big bash around the corner at Felicia Suzanne s with a 6 p.m. 3-course seating for those who want to eat and go party later, then a 5-course food and wine pairing with cocktails and hors d oeuvres at 8:30 and then dinner at 9:30; live entertainment, party favors, complimentary parking, and who knows what else. At Butler Street Bazaar across from The Lofts on Tennessee Street in the South Main Arts District, there s a New Year s Eve Party hosted by MPACT Memphis, Tha Movement, and GAMUT Magazine with live neo-soul jazz, funk musicians, and vendors and artists. As for clubs and bands, Blind Mississippi Morris is at Blues Hall; The Reba Russell Band is at King s Palace CafÇ; Aquanet is at the Flying Saucer; The Maria Spence Band is at Patrick s; The Sallymacs are at the Blue Monkey; The Greg Hisky Rhythm Method is at the Full Moon Club; there s a New Year s Eve Party with 2 Mule Plow at the P&H; and, again trying to broaden my horizons, DJ Dennis Tha Menace is at Flashbacks on Raleigh-LaGrange Road. I m sure there are many, many more things going on, so pay close attention to the ads in this week s issue.

The Neville Brothers at Gold Strike Casino.

Back at the New Daisy, tonight s Holiday Gala of Beauty Hair Show will have stylists and industry professionals showcasing the trends in hair, fashion, and beauty for the upcoming year; singer Larry Springfield and Shelby County Mayor A C Wharton will be special guests. And pop singer Ashanti is at the Mid-South Coliseum tonight with special guests.

Speaking of the Blues Brothers, you are invited to come meet Dan Akroyd and Jim Belushi this morning at 11:30 at the Hard Rock Cafe when they receive their brass note on Beale Street. There s a free reception afterward at 12:30 at the fabulous Smithsonian Rock N Soul Museum in the Gibson Guitar Factory. Later, in the same factory, there s a Native Son CD-Release Party at The Lounge. Just around the corner, there s a FreeWorld CD-Release Party featuring Retrospect at the New Daisy. And there s a Lucero Christmas Party at Young Avenue Deli.

It s the last Friday of the month, which means the South Main Arts District livens up tonight with the South Main Trolley Art Tour, with free trolley rides and open houses at the numerous galleries and shops and new ones seem to be popping up every day. There s an opening reception at D Edge Art & Unique Treasures for artist and jazz musician Emery Franklin. The Memphis Grizzlies (are they playing like champs, or what?) are playing Orlando tonight at The Pyramid. Down in Tunica, the Go-Gos are playing at the Grand Casino and the Blues Brothers are at the Horseshoe Casino tonight and tomorrow night. And here at home, The Dempseys are at Elvis Presley s Memphis; The Gamble Brothers are at the Full Moon Club upstairs from Zinnie s East; Bill Parker & His Motherscratchers, The Pink Sexies; and The Limes are at the Hi-Tone; and the Chris Scott Band (still minus Chris temporarily while he heals up) are at Poplar Lounge. Also, it has come to my attention that I rarely mention any clubs other than Midtown, Downtown, and the U of M area, so you might want to check out Fear Factor Karaoke with Donnie Jo at the VFW Post 7175 on Cuba-Millington Road.

Okay. This is the last issue of The Memphis Flyer and the last We Recommend column of the year 2002. So I suppose some sort of year in review thing is in order. Not on your life. What we re going to talk about this week is the penis. Yes, the penis. If you have an aversion to reading about the penis or are simply not interested, just stop now and go about your non-reading-about-the-penis business. Go play the organ! If you don t have an aversion to reading about the penis, then you must go now and purchase a book I ran across recently actually a gift someone got at a holiday party and said someone was generous enough to share it with me called A Mind of It s Own: A Cultural History of the Penis by David M. Friedman. And let me tell you, this is a treasure. Or let James H. Brada, MD, Director of the Center for Male Sexual Health, Albany, New York, tell you, as he does on the book jacket, Anyone who has a penis, or knows someone who does, should read this book. I d say that covers just about everyone, save for maybe a sect of nuns who were born in the convent and have never left. We certainly know plenty of priests have seen them. Going back as far as the pagan mystics and ancient Greeks, the latter of whom, according to Friedman, considered it an act of courtesy for a man to touch another man s penis, and as far into the future as to discuss Anita Hill s public battle with Clarence Thomas about the size of his penis and thereby making his penis size a racial issue, Friedman chronicles the history of the penis in these chapters: The Demon Rod, The Gear Shift, The Measuring Stick, The Cigar, The Battering Ram, and The Punctureproof Balloon. In those chapters, Friedman covers such theories as A man can hold his manhood in his hand, but who is really gripping whom? Is the penis the best in man or the beast? There are many stories about castration festivals, religious rites of passage that involved lots of fires and excited dogs barking and people throwing swords around and drinking wine and vomiting and singing and limp bloody bodies. Sounds frighteningly like the New Year s Eve parties I used to throw although I don t recall anyone losing anyone s manhood. Cars, yes, but no magic wands. In modern times, Friedman writes, Because of recent incidents involving Bill Clinton [and that s not even in the Cigar chapter] and John Bobbitt [who, as I stated on this page many years ago, was lucky enough to have an addadicktome], to name but two, the word penis has appeared in more mainstream media outlets, and been said in conversations around more watercoolers, than ever before. And now it has appeared once again. You read it here. And with that, we will plunge into the real business at hand here: what s going on around town this week. Today is, of course, the day after Christmas, so many of you are probably drinking either Maalox or Bloody Marys. Tonight s Kwanzaa Celebration at the Pink Palace Museum Mansion Theatre is sponsored by State Rep. Henri Brooks and the Pink Palace Museum and features speaker Dr. Raymond Winbush of Morgan State University and the presentation of the Kwanzaa king and queen. Other than that, I d say, rest up for the weekend and New Year s Eve.