Back in New York City, but had an excellent send-off in Memphis, including a chance to see Cat Power at the Hi-Tone. Memphis has a lot of slick venues, but this one, while not that authentic in age, is authentic in grime-factor. Cat Power was great until the expected freak out during the second half of the show.
Little Rock is an interesting case study for urban planners and travel buffs. It could go either way; into a hip southern town, maybe in the mold of Athens, or into something closer to Little Rock. Some of the locals were explaining to me that it's role as capital and center of industry has become so diminished of late, thanks to the growth of Wal-Mart and the Fayetteville region of the state in the Northwest, that it has become more like a small town in recent years. Devolving into hipness, I guess.
That said, it's still a crapshoot. The redevelopment is so typical, white bread and annoying, that it is close to heartless. What's the downtown redevelopment called? The River Market. Even my podunk hometown of New Paltz, NY has one of those, and it's not even near the river. There's not much flavor, in other words. Even the cool live music venue is called Sticky Fingers--no relation to the barbeque chain. I think. The number of bar bands rocking out was exciting, but there needed to be a better hook than that.
The Clinton Library, while trailer-shaped, looks cool and wouldn't be so mocked if it were built in a boring European town. Nice placement by the river.
As there's nothing for miles in every direction, Little Rock has a shot at being something worthy of a visit in a few years. More restaurants like NU--or even finishing the refurb of the old Capital Hotel, next to the Peabody--and less bars playing Journey un-ironically.
Also: The Peabody, where I stayed, used to be the Excelsior, where Bill Clinton and Paula Jones had their, erm, encounter. Little Rock--living history!
