Fresh from the food-fest known as Thanksgiving, we return with the second installment of our victory lap of a blog. A few of our favorites from Spring 2009:

GHOSTLAND OBSERVATORY

Spring came quite graciously to the Cannery Row, blessing us with golden showers of sunshine and smiles. But even the sun istelf couldn’t hold a candle to the light show that Ghostland Observatory brought with them to the Ballroom on March 27. For their second sold out performance in less than six months, the duo absolutely wowed attendees with a jaw-droppingly awesome (literally, the we were in awe kind of awesome) display of lasers, smoke, and glowing shit. Coupled with their trademark brand of full-volume “electro-dance soul rock”, it’s safe to say that there wasn’t a person in the building passing on the opportunity to party their face off. Our friend Janet Timmons at Out The Other has some interesting musings (and photos and her own account of the show) over on her blog. You can check it out here.

And don’t forget! They will be once again gracing our stage at the Cannery Ballroom on December 10. Get your tickets here ASAP because they will, repeat, WILL SELL OUT.

TIN PAN SOUTH/HANSON

From March 31 through April 4, we were honored to be one of the host venues for the nation’s largest festival of songwriters, Tin Pan South. In addition to many incredible, intimate performances, were graced with a performance from everyone’s favorite band of teenybopper brothers, Hanson. As part of their set we had the distinct honor and privilege of finally getting the inside scoop on “MmmBop”, as well as finally getting to meet the long rumored fourth and fifth Hanson brothers (around the 2:24 mark in this video). [not factually accurate] Drew’s favorite moment of Tin Pan South, however, was not the Hanson brothers’ performance but rather that of his favorite singer of all time: Mr. Michael McDonald!

KATY PERRY

Katy Perry, known in her former Music City-based gospel career as Katy Hudson, delivered on big expectations of an over the top homecoming display when she sold out the Ballroom on April 14. Although these days she sings chart-toppings hits about the sexual orientation of ex-lovers (“Ur So Gay”) and the virtues of kissing members of the same sex (“I Kissed A Girl”), she still knows how to put on one of a hell a show. Queen covers, charming onstage antics, and a giant red-eyed cat backdrop all translated into one of the more entertaining shows we’ve seen this year. She strutted her stuff for around an hour and wowed her flock of followers the whole way through.

Metromix has a nice collection of photos you can view here.

ROAD TO BONNAROO

We all know that blogging is serious business (yes, that’s a nod to Justin Kase), so why not let a seasoned pro tell you about the glory that was The Road To Bonnaroo series? Here’s what our friend Adam Gold had to say in his write-up of “The Best Local Rock Contest” in the Nashville Scene’s Best of 2009 feature:

“With so many local artists dead set on success, Nashville is a competitive town. At no other event was the tension in the air more palpable than at 2009’s inaugural installment of the Mercy Lounge and BMI’s “Road to Bonnaroo” 8 off 8th series: a three-round battle that sent three local bands to play the largest music event in the country. Everyone expected Middle Tennessee’s favorite band of the millennium, The Features, to win round one—but when they did so by only a single vote, it suddenly felt like anyone’s game. By round three, bands were pulling out every stop they could conjure—crowd-parting entrances, bikini-clad dancers—to secure victory in a knock-down-drag-out scrum for glory. Eventually The Protomen and Heypenny joined The Features in gracing a Bonnaroo stage.” [credit to Nashville Scene]

We would just like to add that the band that was one vote shy of stealing the Features’ thunder was the now-defunct Kindercastle, a band we all love(d). Rumors abound that their tragic loss led to the band’s demise.

Plans for a bigger and better version of this concert series are already in the works for 2010.

ADELE

When we ran into her earlier in the day at local coffeehouse Fido, Adele graciously spoke of how excited she was to be in Nashville. If her performance later that night was any indication of her true feelings about our humble city, then she definitely has a sincere appreciation of and respect for our hometown. I mean, the 21-year old English native brought it like it was a homecoming show. The Grammy-winning singer’s set was all soul and smiles; her onstage banter was charming and humble, and her performance was one of seeming gratitude. She mixed in a few covers in her set of mostly originals and kept the crowd enthralled with the power of her pipes. It’s rare that we’re especially impressed, but Adele definitely stunned.

Check it out: