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OK maybe not. Actually those are all lies, but it’s fun at least. The truth is Metblogs is the largest network of locally focused blogs on the web, covering almost 60 cities around the world and we’re looking to add a few new bloggers/writters/authors to this fine site. If you wanna know more about us check out this wikipedia entry but it’s kinda boring so I won’t waste time repeating it all here again. If you wanna write for us, here’s the scoop:

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Additionally, because of our global network, there’s plenty of options for things you write to be read by people all over the world. Interested? Want more details? Post a comment and we’ll be in touch!

After reading Andrew’s pre-opening prospectus on Lot 7, I was intrigued when a friend of mine chose it for her bar-de-birthday. To continue MetBlog’s intrepid coverage of all things nightlife, here’s how they are doing now that they’re open:

Lot 7

125 12th Ave N

Nashville, TN 37203

(615) 251-9519

http://www.lot7.net

Standing outside Lot 7, your first impressions may lead you to believe that its just another chic ultra-lounge. It’s off-the-strip location and frosted exterior doors may lead you to believe that it’s desperately attempting achieve an air of exclusivity, reserved only for celebrity fly traps.

Inside, however, is a whole different ball game.

The first thing that hits you is that Lot 7 pulses with a distinctive beat, in part because of its brilliantly designed, conversation-friendly sound system, but also because of its great balance of style and intimacy. Using the space remarkably well, Lot 7 may feel a bit cramped once the party gets going (sometime around midnight) but otherwise it’s lounge-like tables and banquettes beckon both trendy as well as “trendy-lite” Nashvillians.



The Good

Heading up any list of this lounge’s features is service. From the door guys to the friendly and attentive servers and bar tenders, Lot 7 gets it right. Without pretension, without over-complicated menus the staff makes everyone feel welcome while reinforcing the style and sophistication of the venue.

The Bad

Though its a non-smoking club, avoid the “patio.” It’s a roofed space off the main dance floor that’s great for smokers (it actually features its own bar) but asphyxiating for almost anyone else.



The Bottom Line

Lot 7 definitely impresses. Crammed once it gets going, Lot 7 retains its stylish composure with affordable drinks and a great dance DJ. Check it out, bring your friends (with reservations, hopefully) and have a great time.

Technorati Tags: Lot 7, Nashville, nashville nightlife, nashville lounges

One of the things I enjoy about living in Nashville is finding our city in the top five or 10 of so many national rankings. Seems like every few weeks we’re at or near the top of some ranking I never even knew existed.

Kudos to Ryan Underwood, national editor for the Tennessean and curator of The Online Buzz, for discovering that Nielsen has ranked Nashville as ninth among the top US markets for adults who have read or contributed to a blog within the past month. Our 11 percent participation rate puts us ahead of the national average by a mere 3 percent and only 4 percent behind top-ranked Austin. Ryan speculates that Nashville’s strong showing might derive in part from the “MySpace.com blogs of aspiring singer-songwriter types.”

Nielsen also publishes some other interesting 2007 year-end trends, but I didn’t see Nashville listed on any of their other rankings. We’re not even in the top 10 US markets for adults who have downloaded music/listened to audio clips online within the past month. Must be all the live music and locally produced CD’s that keep us from downloading so much as the others.

What’s your take on Nashville in the rankings?

After four months in Nashville, it’s clear that my move here was a great idea.

Beyond the stuff I can say about my work, Nashville has surprised me in more ways than I can count. The only thing that I really wish I could have had before I moved here was a little more information about adjusting to life here in Music City, USA.

In an attempt to rectify that, I have tried my hand at listing out a few:

• Before you get the inclination to go shopping, realize that only tourists wear cowboy hats on Broadway.
• At most bars, if you order anything else other than a beer or a vodka/whiskey/rum cocktail you’ve probably already given away where you’re from.
• The weather is completely ADD…one day its warm, the next you are chipping ice-sickles off your truck. Pack accordingly.
• Parking downtown will cost you an arm and a leg so take cabs if you can.
• Don’t worry about re-discovering your southern roots, in a town like this they’ll find you when they’re good and ready.

I could go on for some time but you get the idea. Anyone care to add anything?

Attention fans of tequila, margaritas, and southwestern tapas: Agave Tequila Lounge is open, and as of my most recent visit, things seem to be in full swing.

I’ll admit, I was a little skeptical when I first heard about Agave. Not because I didn’t like the concept - indeed, I’ve been eager for something other than Las Palmas-style, semi-crappy Mexican food in Nashville. But I was a little put off for that same reason, worried that however strong the idea was, there might be some issues with execution. And I’m happy to report that I was wrong.

First of all, the old Pie Wagon space has been magnificently transformed. Agave’s owners, which include a number of music industry execs and Gulch developers, basically stripped the Pie Wagon building to the core and rebuilt it from scratch. An expansive roof was added, making the place seem much bigger than it actually is, and several garage doors were put up front. In nice weather this is particularly pleasant - and in cold weather, their patio heaters still do the trick.

Then there’s the food. I was pleased with our homemade chips and salsa, and my chorizo chicken was a refreshing change from the sloppy enchiladas I usually get at Cinco de Mayo. (The crowd’s beautiful people certainly distinguish this joint from other Mexican outposts, as well). And though I didn’t have any tequilas straight up since it was a work night, my two different margaritas, both on the rocks with salt, were quite tasty. Though they don’t beat the Margarita Fresca at Rumba, they were as close as any other restaurant in Nashville has come.

I should note that the place is really more bar than restaurant. Though they clearly do focus on the food, with excellent results, the atmosphere is more geared toward facilitating interaction between Nashville’s attractive, young elites. They’re succeeding. Welcome to the Gulch, Agave.

If you’ve driven on West End Avenue between I-40 and Vanderbilt at all in the last few months, you’ve seen it. Big and blue and neon green and, well, kind of ugly… it’s the new Hotel Indigo at the corner of West End and 18th Ave. The former office building (and, as some of you may remember, home to a gentlemans club on the top floor) has been completely repurposed by Atlanta’s Wesley Hotels Group and is home to the boutique concept Hotel Indigo as of last Friday. The girlfriend and I had lunch at Atlanta Bread Company across the street on Saturday and therefore had the chance to look around the place.

First of all, kidding about the blue and green stucco aside, the exterior of the hotel isn’t particularly inviting. There’s no focal point at the building’s front, so it’s hard to tell where the main entrance is. The front doors look like the front doors of any average retail shopping center - certainly not the impressive entryway a hotel charging $250 per night should posess. Also, with all the money they spent on the renovation, they didn’t spend money to fix the roof of the solarium next to the front entrance. Seeing broken roof flashing before you walk in the front door of a hotel is never a good sign.

Upon entering the building, however, things improve dramatically. I’ve been in this building before when it was mainly office, and the transformation of the space is nothing short of dramatic. They’ve added an impressive staircase to the second floor directly in front of the entrance, and filled the walls with colorful, music-oriented murals - a nice touch. The softly colored wood floors were another plus, though you could tell they were a little cheap. Overall the lobby felt very hip, exuding a bright, casual but crisp ambiance that definitely impressed me.
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The City Paper today writes an editorial quite similar to the one I posted here a couple weeks ago. Compared to the Convention Center deal - and to a lot of the things Metro spends money on - the deal to keep the Predators in town is a no-brainer.

We’ll see if Dean feels the same way.

Last weekend, I attended the opening night show of Defying Gravity, performed by Tennessee Women’s Theater Project. Nearly all of my Nashville theater experience has been relegated to the realm of TPAC, so I knew I was in for something a little bit different than what hefty budgets and large auditoriums usually produce.

Watching Defying Gravity is a bit like watching Titanic or United 93. No matter how nice things seem, we all know how it’s going to end. Defying Gravity is the story of Christa McAuliffe, the first teacher chosen to go into space. She was on the doomed Challenger flight when it exploded 73 seconds into its flight.
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Enough posturing. Enough cat-and-mouse. It’s time for Karl Dean and the Metropolitan Government to step up to the plate and do what it takes to keep this Predators team in Nashville.

Now I know that this won’t be an altogether popular opinion. But it’s the right one. Right now, Nashville is on a distinctly upward and positive trajectory. It all started back in the 90’s, when we landed the Titans and the Predators. Crime was decreasing downtown. We landed a few corporate headquarters. Developers and locals alike discovered the magic that was happening inside the 40/65 loop. We’re growing like crazy. Nashville is hot - #1 on lists like Smartest Places to Live, Best Cities for Corporate Relocations, and Highest Quality of Life. And you know what? You don’t stay on those lists when your professional hockey team packs their bags for Canada, Kansas City, or anywhere else. Especially when your signature downtown ballpark for your AAA baseball team has already fallen through the cracks. (But don’t worry, because Memphis - yes, Memphis - pulled off a downtown ballpark for their baseball team with no problem.) And then of course there’s the high profile corporate office deals (think Verizon) that have bypassed downtown for Williamson County recently. And, oh yeah, crime actually is going up a little bit, and our schools still suck, and everything else that’s going on.

Nashville needs a win right now, not the morale-killing kick in the pants of losing 50% of our professional sports in one fell swoop. We need a win. We need the Predators here, giving it another go, with a local ownership that can reach out to the business community and get them to buy in. We need this!

Now the Preds can’t have a blank check from Metro. I understand that. But think about all the great things that are happening downtown right now. All the revitalization, and development, and everything else. That’s all diminished if we lose the hockey team, the anchor of our downtown strip. Sadly, the Music City Center is still up in the air, so we can’t count on that, either. So Metro needs to work out a deal, a five- or ten-year deal, to give the Preds another chance, with a different owner, to try to make it work. If five or ten years from now they still can’t do it? Well, then move to Kansas City or Canada or whatever. But not yet. Step it up, Metro. Give them what they need. Do it and don’t look back. In ten years, you’ll know it was the right decision.

One of the things I’ve always really liked about Nashville is that it’s a great city to play golf in. Now, I don’t know if any of the other MetBloggers are golfers (I don’t think they are), but my experience has been that it’s generally really easy and really cheap to play a good round of golf in this town. I’m originally from Atlanta, where all the public golf courses are terrible and overcrowded, so the fact that I’m able to go out to McCabe Park Golf Course and play nine holes for $10 borders on the miraculous.

For the almost seven years McCabe has been my home course, since I’ve never lived more than a mile or so from the clubhouse. But yesterday, McCabe was hosting some sort of tournament, so I wasn’t able to play a late afternoon nine. I was directed instead to Ted Rhodes Golf Course, another Metro-owned and operated facility located between MetroCenter and TSU off of Ed Temple Blvd. I was surprised to learn that I could take 28th Ave. N from the West End area and be there in about seven minutes. I was even more surprised when I teed off - yet another Metro course in great shape (even after a horrendous drought this summer) that’s accessible to anyone for amazingly low greens fees.
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