Month: January 2021

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Film/TV Film/TV/Etc. Blog

Sundance in Memphis: A Soul Explosion and All Light, Everywhere

Sly Stone performs at the 1969 Harlem Cultural Festival in Summer of Soul.

For me, day 3 of Sundance was a more indoor affair.

The drive-in is great, except in the wind and rain. So when the weather decided not to cooperate, my wife and I decided to stick to streaming. It turned into a pretty epic binge day that resembled the analog festival experience’s rush from screening to screening.
We started off with the film that was, for many, the most anticipated of the festival. Summer of Soul (… or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised), which opened the live-premiere streaming offerings on Thursday, is a music documentary directed by Amir “Questlove” Thompson, better known as the drummer for The Roots and bandleader on 

The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.

Questlove and his producers found out 12 years ago about a forgotten stash of footage of the 1969 Harlem Cultural Festival. In the months before Woodstock, the free music festival ran for several weekends in a New York park, attracting some of the greatest Black musicians of the time, including Stevie Wonder, Sly and the Family Stone, The Fifth Dimension, and Gladys Knight and The Pips. The Memphis area was very well represented, with B.B. King, Mississippi’s Chambers Brothers, and The Staple Singers. Hundreds of thousands of people attended the concert series and the show was professionally recorded and taped by a four-camera crew with the intent to make a television special out of it. But the TV show never materialized, and the 45 hours of footage sat in a producer’s basement for 50 years. Thompson and his team transferred and restored the tapes, and secured interviews with many of the surviving musicians and audience members, for whom the forgotten show seemed like a distant dream.

Thompson was introduced by festival director Tabitha Jackson as a first time filmmaker, which is true enough. Breaking new talent is what the film festival is all about. But Thompson had an advantage over the normal first time director, in that he is a relentlessly omnivorous music scholar and author, which gave him the intellectual discipline to do the research and make Summer of Soul more than just a concert film. But most importantly, Questlove is a DJ who grew up obsessively making mix tapes. Those are the skills which served him best in the editing room, as he chose the best musical moments from the concert series and put them the right order.

The performances captured on the moldering tapes are spectacular. The film opens with Stevie Wonder abandoning his keyboards and taking to the drums. Did you know Stevie was a kickass drummer? Neither did I. B.B. King is captured at the top of his game. The Chambers Brothers reveal a deep, jammy groove beyond their hit “Time Has Come Today.” Thompson puts each performance in context, such as when Marilyn McCoo and Billy Davis, Jr. tell the story of how they came to record “Aquarius/Let The Sun Shine In” from Hair, as their younger selves sing and dance up a storm onscreen.

The highlight of a film full of highlights is an emotional, impromptu duet between Mavis Staples and her idol Mahalia Jackson of “Take My Hand Precious Lord.” Jesse Jackson introduces the song, telling the story of how he was on the balcony at the Lorraine Motel when Martin Luther King, Jr. asked bandleader Ben Branch to play the song for him moments before the civil rights leader was assassinated. As the band swells, an emotional Mahalia Jackson pulled Mavis Staples from her seat and put the microphone in her hand. Stunned at the anointment by the gospel legend, Staples takes center stage and lifts off in what she called the most memorable performance of her life. Then, Jackson takes the second verse and turns it into a wail of mourning and declaration of Black power.

Summer of Soul is an instant classic that delivers both goosebump-filled musical moments and a clear and well-organized history of a pivotal cultural moment that was almost lost to time.

‘LATA’

Short film programs are always my favorite part of any festival experience, and the 50 or so shorts strung across seven programs feature some real gems, proving that the pandemic couldn’t hold back the creativity. Andrew Norman Wilson’s “In The Air Tonight” uses altered stock footage and killer sound design to retell the urban legend behind Phil Collins’ 1980 hit song. He put it together in his apartment during quarantine. Alisha Tejpal’s excellent and moving “LATA” is a naturalistic examination of the life of a domestic worker in India that bears the meditative stamp of Chantal Akerman’s Hotel Monterey. Joe Campa’s animated short “Ghost Dogs,” in which the new family pet can see the apparitions of all the dogs who have lived in the house, veers between funny and unexpectedly poignant.

Looking for love in ‘Searchers’

The second feature documentary of the day was Pacha Velez’s Searchers, an intimate and often hilarious look at dating online. Velez films dozens of different people as they swipe through their choices on dating apps, and interviews them about their experiences. In a couple of cases, his subjects turn the tables on their interviewer, and Velez reveals his motivations stem from his own experiences as a single guy who just turned 40. Shades of Ross McElwee’s Sherman’s March appear as Velez takes his own dating app test with his mother at his side. The innovative and insightful documentary starts off unassuming, then subtly worms its way into your brain. With subjects ranging from ages 19 to 88, Searchers reveals dating apps as the great equalizer of our age.

All Light, Everywhere

Tonight, the weather outlook at the Malco Summer Drive-In is much improved. The first show is Theo Anthony’s All Light, Everywhere. Using quantum theory’s spooky observer effect as its jumping off point, this essay film travels the blurred line between what we call “objective reality” and the often flawed assumptions that undergird our understanding of it.
The second show is the sci-fi feature Mayday by Karen Cinorre. Grace Van Patten stars as Ana, a woman from our reality who is transported into another dimension where a group of women soldiers are fighting an endless war whose origins they barely understand. The fascinating-looking Mayday is billed as the first feminist war film.

Sundance in Memphis: A Soul Explosion and All Light, Everywhere

You can buy tickets for the Malco Summer Drive-in screenings of Sundance films at the Indie Memphis website. 

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Film/TV Film/TV/Etc. Blog

Sundance in Memphis: Simple Men and Monsters at the Drive-In

Steve Iwamoto and Constance Wu in I Was A Simple Man.

The two Sundance films screening at the Malco Summer Drive-In Friday night could not have been more different.

The first was I Was A Simple Man by director Christopher Makoto Yogi. This is a film with a very different vision of Hawaii than the glossy tourist shots of Waikiki mainlanders are used to seeing. Masao (Steve Iwamoto) lives by himself in the mountains of Oahu. When the old man gets a terminal cancer diagnosis, he is forced to ask his family for help for the first time in years. As he slips away, past and present loses meaning, and a vision of his dead wife Grace (Constance Wu) appears to comfort him. Masao tries to reconcile with his estranged children and grandchildren as we see the painful history of loss that turned him into an alcoholic recluse. The story intertwines with the history of Japanese immigrants to Hawaii before and after the war, and the statehood movement that left so much of the original population as seemingly permanent underclass. It’s no coincidence that Grace died on the same day the statehood celebration parade rolled through Honolulu.

Yogi’s vision is meditative and inclusive, but where in his first feature, August at Akkiko’s, he emphasized the beauty of the surroundings, here he often concentrates on the messy details of dying. It’s a beautiful and moving picture with an amazingly unmannered, stoic performance from Iwamoto, whose craggy face and shaggy gray ponytail are both charming and sad.

Cryptozoo

The second show was Cryptozoo by Virginia-based graphic novelist turned animator Dash Shaw. As the programmer’s introduction pointed out, this film is as rare as the unicorn whose murder sets the plot into motion. It’s a completely hand-drawn animated feature produced independent of any studio, with the total creative freedom that implies. The credits indicated that it took four years to create, and from the incredibly detailed creature designs and backgrounds, I’m shocked they got it done that fast. Basically Jurassic Park with Medusa and Mothman instead of dinosaurs, Cryptozoo retains a lot of the plot curlicues that would be excised in a more polished production. Often, total creative control can mean tedious self-indulgence, but Shaw and his collaborators effortlessly pull off every big chance they take because they are so totally committed to the bit. The overall experience is like watching a 6th grader’s notebook sketches come to life and have adventures, and I was totally there for it.

Tessa Thompson and Ruth Negga in Passing.

Tonight at the drive-in, the Memphis end of Sundance 2021 continues with another double feature. Tessa Thompson stars in Passing by director Rebecca Hall. An adaptation of the 1929 novel by Harlem Renaissance author Nella Larsen, it’s a psychological thriller about a pair of Black women who can pass for white in the Jim Crow era, and the racial tensions exposed by the necessary deception.

Real-life sisters Alessandra and Ani Mesa play estranged twins in Superior.

The second films is Superior by Eris Vassilopoulos. Based around a pair of identical twin actresses, Alessandra and Ani Mesa, the director’s feature debut is a tense, visually lush thriller of family heartbreak and dysfunction.

Sundance satellite screenings at the Malco Summer Drive-In begin at 6 p.m. You can buy tickets at the Indie Memphis website. 

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News News Blog

Unsheltered Point-in-Time Count Looks to Quantify Homelessness in Memphis

CREDIT: CAFTH

CAFTH

The 2020 Unsheltered Point-in-Time Count found that 90% of those experiencing homelessness in TN were sheltered.

This week, the Continuum of Care began conducting its bi-annual Unsheltered Point-in-Time Count to monitor the homeless population in Shelby County. Continuum of Care is one of the lead agencies tasked with working towards ending homelessness in Memphis. and group works with different service providers and partners throughout the city to tackle the issue.

The Unsheltered Point-in-Time Count keeps track of how many times people move in and out of shelters in the city, and is federally mandated by the Department of Housing and Urban Development. During the count, volunteers go through Memphis and create a list of those experiencing homelessness on the streets and in shelters. That data is then fed into the homelessness management system allowing for an accurate representation of the homeless population in Memphis, as well as nationwide.

The COVID-19 pandemic has affected how the Continuum of Care has tackled the count. Planning director Grant Ebbesmeyer explains that while this has been a difficult year, they have still been able to find positives.

“It’s certainly a difficult year. From a broad perspective, it changed how a lot of our partners have worked together, but it’s actually been kind of a positive,” says Ebbesmeyer “We have definitely been able to strengthen relationships with some of our partners, and amongst other partners as well, who in the past might have said we need to do something more on our own, but these days have realized that there is really strength in numbers through coming together and partnering with different agencies.”

This year the Unsheltered Point-in-Time Count will look a little different. Normally, around 100 volunteers would spilt up and begin canvassing the street at 4 am before heading to soup kitchens and meal sites later in the day. Due to COVID-19, Continuum of Care will instead ask 11 different service sites throughout the city to monitor and gather data from those stopping by the shelters. The canvassing period has been elongated to compensate for the change, and the organization will continue to send out small groups of people to gather data each day.

“We know it’s not perfect, but in a lot of ways, this is the best that we can do, working with some of our agencies that have very limited capacity or staff to be able to report data to us on a regular basis,” says Ebbesmeyer. “We definitely didn’t want to miss having a full data set for this year, especially since it’s been a very different year than in the past.”

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Food & Drink Hungry Memphis

City Silo Table + Pantry Brings Healthy Eats to Germantown

CREDIT: Samuel X. Cicci

Juice has never been so much fun.

Just ask anyone who’s been drawn in by the delicious and natural offerings of Scott and Rebekah Tashie’s City Silo Table + Pantry restaurant. In fact, the healthy Southern eats and variety of juices and smoothies at the original East Memphis location proved so popular that the couple knew it was time to pull the trigger on opening a second location.

Samuel X. Cicci

The Sunshine Burrito, stuffed with crumbled silo burger patty, two scrambled fresh farm eggs, seasoned sweet potato, red quinoa, brown rice, sharp cheddar, cashew ranch, sriracha aioli, and wrapped in a chili tomato tortilla, served with a side of pico de gallo. In the background, the Green Light Go smoothie has just enough sweet fruity flavors to finely balance out the sourness of the granny smith juice base.

“We’ve been really overwhelmed by all the support we’ve had from Memphis since we first opened,” says Rebekah. “We’ve just gotten busier and busier since we opened the first City Silo, so we wanted to have a bigger space that could accommodate more people.”

At 3,500 square feet, the Germantown spot has plenty of space for extra diners, and even includes a bar and an outdoor covered patio. And with COVID-19 in mind, the large space makes it easy to abide by social distancing guidelines.

The pair originally signed the lease for 7605 W. Farmington Blvd, Suite 2 at Saddle Creek Shopping center back in February, but the pandemic meant that their initial timetable of an August opening had to be adjusted.

“Our landlord was awesome,” Scott says. “After COVID hit, we discussed things with them and they gave us a few extra months to really focus on adapting. So we were able to give our full attention to the new location without having to rush. It was a process, but we worked with a lot of great people, and that made things really easy for us.”

Diners who walk into the new City Silo, which officially opened today, won’t miss a beat. The Tashies made sure that they captured the essence of the original City Silo brand, with both the aesthetic and menu staying true to the first location.

“Our goal was to take our original store and bring a lot of the feel and textures over from there,” says Scott. “Our big question was how do we make this space feel awesome, feel safe, feel credible, but still have it feel like City Silo. So this new location, it’s an update on our first idea, kind of like a step up, but it’s still City Silo.”

“We’re going for an airy, fresh, light, happy, warm vibe,” Rebekah explains. “We have a lot of plants, a lot of wooden decorations, and wanted to bring in a lot of cool colors to really liven it up.”

Samuel X. Cicci

The Germantown City Silo’s spacious interior provides plenty of room and natural light, and crucially for this writer, a welcome sense of relief, relaxation, and respite after almost a year of working from home. The bar at the far end of the restaurant will soon serve City Silo’s specially curated cocktail menu.

In terms of food, the menu at the new City Silo will mirror the original. But the Tashies are working to slowly integrate new items here and there. “We put a lot of thought into new dishes,” Scott says. “If you go to our original store, you can see we just added tacos. It’s a limited-time menu item, so once they’re gone, they’re gone.”

“We’ll look to include more small plates and try out different things,” elaborates Rebekah. “And when we roll them out, we’ll do it in both places simultaneously.”

But a major change brought about by the new location is the inclusion of a new cocktail menu. Once City Silo gets its liquor license, expect to see an intriguing variety of cocktails that use the Tashies’ same clean, wholesome approach to their food.

“We’re not going to go crazy with our liquor selection, but we’ve carefully selected a vodka, a tequila, a mescal, a rum, and a gin,” Scott says. “And we’re going to incorporate our juices into the cocktails as well. When this is all ready, we’ll roll it out at our East Memphis location as well, and it will be the official City Silo cocktail menu.”

While the full cocktail menu hasn’t been revealed yet, a few hints from the Tashies point toward a potential beet margarita, or a carrot juice and mezcal concoction.

Samuel X. Cicci

City Silo owners Scott and Rebekah Tashie

City Silo Table + Pantry’s Germantown restaurant is located at 7605 W. Farmington Blvd., Suite 2. Open for dine-in, takeout, curbside pick-up, and delivery. Monday-Thursday 7 a.m.-8 p.m.; Friday-Saturday 7 a.m.-9 p.m.; Sunday 9 a.m.-3 p.m. thecitysilo.com; 901-236-7223

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Film/TV Film/TV/Etc. Blog

Sundance in Memphis: A Memorable Night Under the Stars

Niamh Algar as Enid in Censor.

I’ll have to admit, I didn’t expect to have my first Sundance screening at the Malco Summer Drive-In. But the pandemic makes for strange situations, and from my point of view, this is one of the better ones. As a filmmaker, none of my works have ever been accepted to Sundance, and as a journalist, no outlet has ever offered to pay my way to Park City, so I’ve never been to the mecca of American indie film in person.

When Indie Memphis adopted the hybrid online and in-person model last November, an unexpected thing happened: It turned into an opportunity to expand the reach of the festival. In the case of screenwriting award winner Executive Order, the Bluff City’s homegrown regional festival was suddenly attracting audiences from Brazil.
In the opening press conference on Thursday, Sundance Institute CEO Keri Putnam recognized the upside of Sundance’s move into the virtual world. “We think this will be the largest audience that we have ever had,” Putnam said.

Festival Director Tabitha Jackson was on the job less than a month when the novel coronavirus essentially shut down the film industry. She explained that the festival’s unofficial theme was the Japanese art of knitsugi, the practice of repairing broken pottery in a way that make the cracks visible and beautiful. “You see all those little fragments and shards, and that came from the sense that what the pandemic had done was to kind of explode our present reality, and we were left with the pieces. The festival actually is coming from a place of needing to completely reimagine and take the pieces that we know are part of our essence and build them into something different to meet the moment.”

While juggling other work assignments, I tried to get a full taste of the pandemic Sundance paradigm on the first day. I made a point of seeing Kentucker Audley’s new film Strawberry Mansion at the drive-in, then scooting home to watch Censor online. I’ve become quite the drive-in habituate during the pandemic, so I knew what to expect, but this experience was truly something special. Just as the opening credits were rolling on a hometown filmmaker’s Sundance opening night debut, a shooting star whizzed above Summer Drive-In screen 3. Crowding into a theater in Park City for the premiere would have been great, but it couldn’t beat being in Memphis in that moment.

Back at home, I nestled into a cozy robe for the world premiere of Censor. Welsh director Prano Bailey-Bond’s feature debut was an amazing revelation. Set in the dreary London of the Thatcher ’80s, it stars Niamh Algar as Enid, a censor who watches VHS-era violence all day long. Enid has a secret: Her sister disappeared under mysterious circumstances when they were young, but while Enid was the last person to see her, she has no memory of what happened. When she sees an actress in a particularly violent film who kind of maybe looks like a grown-up version of her sister, she becomes obsessed with making contact. Enid’s reality starts to implode around her, mixing up the gonzo images of slasher flicks with her lonely London existence.

Bailey-Bond is clearly a student of ’80s horror, and judging from the Videodrome influences, something of a Cronenberg cultist. In at least one way, she exceeded her influences. Where Videodrome’s characters are Ballardian blank slates, Censor is focused intently on Enid’s inner life. Algar gives the kind of remarkably subtle and finely observed performance rarely seen in the genre. Bailey-Bond’s arthouse meets meta-horror vision pushed all the right buttons for me.

Cryptozoo

Tonight, Sundance screenings continue at the Malco Summer Drive-In with I Was A Simple Man. Christopher Makoto Yogi’s August at Akkiko’s was a highlight of Indie Memphis 2018, and last year he had an experimental video installation at the festival. In his new film, he returns to his favorite subject, his native Hawaii, and the experience of the ignored people who have made the islands their home for thousands of years. The second screening couldn’t be more different. Cryptozoo is an animated feature by Virginia director Dash Shaw about a couple who stumble into a fantasy world where unicorns and yeti rule.

Sundance in Memphis: A Memorable Night Under the Stars

The Sundance Film Festival in Memphis begins at 6 p.m. at the Malco Summer Drive-In. You can buy tickets at the Indie Memphis website.  

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News News Blog

COVID-19 Vaccines to be Dispensed at Memphis Area Walmart Stores

CREDIT: Walmart

Walmart

Memphis-area Walmart stores will soon provide COVID-19 vaccines.

Walmart will soon administer COVID-19 vaccines in the Memphis area.

The retailer was chosen here and could begin giving the shots her next week, according to a story in The Daily Memphian. That story says, however, that the date for the Walmart rollout has not yet been confirmed.

But here are the eleven Memphis-area locations approved to give the shots:

Walmart has been gearing up to provide the shot over the past year, the retailer says on its website. At full capacity, Walmart and Sam’s Club stores could deliver 10 million-13 million doses every month.  

“As we look to a future when supply can meet demand and more people are eligible to receive the vaccine, we plan to offer the vaccine seven days a week at our pharmacies, through planned in-store vaccination clinics and through large community events,” reads a news release on the store’s website.

The retailer has been training “thousands” of pharmacists and pharmacy techs, building a new digital scheduling tool, and partnering with state and federal agencies on allocations.

“At full capacity, we expect we will be able to deliver 10 million-13 million doses per month when supply and allocations allow,” reads the site.

Here is a list of all Tennessee pharmacies approved so far to give the COVID-19 vaccine:
[pdf-1]

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News News Blog

Weekly Positivity Rate Falls for Third Straight Week

COVID-19 Memphis
Infogram

Weekly Positivity Rate Falls for Third Straight Week

New virus case numbers rose by 270 over the last 24 hours. The new cases put the total of all positive cases in Shelby County since March at 81,927.

Total current active cases of the virus — the number of people known to have COVID-19 in the county — fell again to 4,193. The number reached a record high of more than 8,000 three weeks ago. The figure had been as low as 1,299 in September and rose above 2,000 only in October. The new active case count represents 5.5 percent of all cases of the virus reported here since March.

In Shelby County, 54,860 COVID-19 vaccines have been given, according to the latest data issued Friday. As of that day, 13,575 had been given two doses for full vaccination and 41,287 had been given a single dose.

The Shelby County Health Department reported that 2,837 tests have been given in the last 24 hours. Since March, 940,958 tests have been given here in total. This figure includes multiple tests given to some people.

As of Wednesday, acute care beds were 89 percent full in area hospitals with 263 beds available. Of the 2,100 patients in acute care beds now, 263 of them were COVID-19-positive. Intensive Care Unit (ICU) beds were 91 percent full with 36 beds available. Of the 377 patients in ICU beds now, 99 were COVID-19-positive.

The latest weekly positivity rate fell again for the third week in a row. the new weekly average for the week of January 17th was 8.7 percent. That’s down from 12.1 percent from the week before and nearly 9 points down from the so-far record high of 17.5 percent recorded three weeks ago.

Eleven new deaths were reported over the last 24 hours. Though, those deaths may not have all occurred within the last day. Reports come form many agencies and aren’t all reported on the day of the death. The total death toll now stands at 1,252.

The average age of those who have died in Shelby County is 74, according to the health department. The age of the youngest COVID-19 death was 13. The oldest person to die from the virus was 101.

For up-to-date testing and vaccine information, visit shelby.community.

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News News Blog

Local Group Pushes to Decriminalize ‘Magic Mushrooms’

CREDIT: Psilo/Facebook

Psilo/Facebook

Psilocybin mushrooms, sometimes called magic mushrooms, have achieved “breakthrough therapy” status from the federal government as a depression treatment, and a local group is working to decriminalize the drug in Memphis.

Memphis-based Psilo issued a petition last month in an effort to convince Memphis City Council members to pass a resolution “to decriminalize the possession of psilocybin-containing mushrooms and begin a psilocybin task force.”

In 2018, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) gave psilocybin its formal “breakthrough therapy” designation for the possible treatment of major depressive disorder (MDD). The process intends to speed the development and review of drugs for serious conditions that show big improvements over drugs now available.

However, psilocybin is still a Schedule I drug in the U.S., alongside heroin and peyote, and, as such, is considered a higher risk than opioids and meth. The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) says Schedule I drugs have no medical use and are highly addictive.

For mushrooms, the DEA says they can cause panic, “psychotic-like” episodes, and the inability to discern fantasy from reality. In the long term, the DEA says mushrooms can cause psychosis and even death. For all of this, possession of mushrooms in Tennessee can earn a prison sentence from two years to life.
[pullquote-1-center] Carlos Ochoa, executive director of Psilo, said psilocybin is found naturally and can be found in 20 miles of any direction from Shelby County. He fears FDA approval of psilocybin, though, may push costs of the drugs out of reach for many, and gathering your own could still come with jail time.

“Only the wealthy will be able to afford this medicine unless Memphians do what’s right,” Ochoa said on the Psilo website. “Psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy will cost patients [thousands of dollars] with synthetic psilocybin. Meanwhile, possession of psilocybin-containing mushrooms will still be considered a felony, which could lead to fines and prison time.”

Globally, psilocybin laws are a patchwork, legal in places like Jamaica, the Netherlands, and Brazil but illegal in Australia, Canada, and South Africa. A number of cities across the U.S. have recently decriminalized psilocybin, including Denver, Santa Cruz, and in Somerville, Massachusetts, a Boston suburb, just earlier this month.

The resolution passed in Somerville says “entheogenic plants,” like magic mushrooms can treat ailments like substance abuse, depression, and post-traumatic stress syndrome (PTSD). Decriminalization there is hoped to fight against the rise of opioid overdose deaths. It’s also hoped to calm the “War on Drugs,” which has “led to the unnecessary penalization, arrest, and incarceration of vulnerable people, particularly people of color and people of limited financial means.”

Still, changing the minds of lawmakers, especially conservative Tennessee state lawmakers, could be a tall order. Cannabis reform has tried and failed before the Tennessee General Assembly for years. Lawmakers there trumped a city council resolution in 2019 to decriminalize cannabis possession here.

However, Ochoa takes the cannabis and psilocybin movements separately, especially given the serious clinical attention given to mushrooms at the moment. For him, the time to act is now, and the place to act is Memphis.

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Sports Tiger Blue

SMU 67, Tigers 65

Two days after a thrilling comeback win over SMU at FedExForum, the Tigers came up two free throws short at Moody Coliseum in Dallas. With his team down three points (67-64), Memphis guard Boogie Ellis drew a foul on a three-point attempt from the right wing as the clock stopped at 3.6 seconds. Ellis (a 66-percent free throw shooter) made the first free throw, but missed the second. The sophomore reserve forced a jump ball after SMU pulled down his intentional miss on the third, but Memphis — with the alternate possession — was unable to inbound the ball cleanly.

The Tigers seized the lead for the first time (59-58) on a DeAndre Williams dunk with under four minutes left in the game. A 17-2 run erased a deficit that hovered around double digits since late in the first half. Memphis had more turnovers (11) than field goals (9) prior to halftime.

Landers Nolley drained a three-pointer from the left corner with 1:30 to play to again give the Tigers the lead (64-63), but a critical offensive foul call against Alex Lomax negated a Tiger possession between four converted free throws by the Mustangs. The loss drops Memphis to 9-6 for the season (5-3 in the American Athletic Conference), while SMU improves to 9-3 (5-3).

For the second time in three nights, the Tigers made the AAC’s top scorer, Kendric Davis, look rather average. The junior guard (averaging 18.3 points per game) made only two of 13 field-goal attempts and scored but six points. But Feron Hunt scored 17 to lead SMU and Emmanuel Bandoumei added 15, including two of those crucial free throws in the game’s final minute.

Nolley led the Tigers with 19 points (hitting five three-pointers), Williams scored 17, and Lomax came off the bench for six points and eight assists. D.J. Jeffries was ineffective (one point) and freshman Moussa Cisse got in early foul trouble, finishing with three points and six rebounds.

The loss ends a three-game winning streak for Memphis.

The Tigers’ next four games will be at FedExForum, starting with a pair of meetings with UCF next Monday and Wednesday. (One of the games was rescheduled after a postponement at UCF on January 5th.)

Categories
Food & Drink Hungry Memphis

Madison Growler Filling Station to Close in Cash Saver

CREDIT: Madison Growler and Bottle Shop/Facebook

Madison Growler and Bottle Shop/Facebook

Taylor James at the Madison Growler filling station in 2014.

The Madison Growler and Bottle Shop, the craft beer space inside Cash Saver on Madison, will close its growler filing station after the last keg has been tapped, a store official said Thursday.

Taylor James, vice president of sales and merchandising for Castle Retail Group, the company that owns Cash Saver, said the store will continue carrying a wide selection of craft beer but will focus on packaged beer (cans and bottles) instead of growlers. The beer space inside the store will now be called Madison Bottle Shop.

James said the discussion to close the growler station has been ongoing and the decision is “not out of the blue.” The decision was made, he said, as craft beer trends have changed.

Most all of the city’s craft breweries are now canning their beers, not the case when the Growler opened in December 2013. That year, three breweries — Wiseacre, High Cotton, and Memphis Made — opened within months of one another. At the time, not much of that beer was being packaged, and the easiest way to get it was at a bar or restaurant. If you wanted to take it home, the growler — the stumpy glass jug — was the only way.

James said that has changed and “growlers aren’t what they used to be.” If packaging trends weren’t enough to doom the growler, COVID-19 stepped in.

“The growler is a very sociable beer package,” James said. “You get one and share it with your friends. We don’t really do that right now. So the sales just aren’t there as much because you can get [craft beer] in cans.”

James said all growler fills at the store are now $3 until his supply runs out. He wasn’t precisely sure when that might be but said if it lasts until Super Bowl Sunday (February 7th), he may go in and work one last shift behind the bar at the Madison Growler. The Growler’s first Sunday open was Super Bowl Sunday.