Big Funny Productions, the company that produces shows at Skitz and at Minglewood Hall, will be presenting two Best Of Memphis showcases this Saturday night at 8:30 and 10:30 p.m.  Each show will feature 6 or 7 different comics who perform regularly around the city (and on the road).  The early show will feature current “Funniest Person in Memphis” winner Andy Fleming, past winner Michael Danziger (that’s me!!), a number of other finalists for the title, and Big Funny principal and long-time pro, John Marks.  The late show will feature past winner, Jeff White, and John’s Big Funny partner, Sammy Marten, among others.  Tickets for each show are $10.  Neil’s offers its full bar and menu to Skitz patrons. 

Over the last 4 or 5 years, I have watched the number of comics – local and visiting - and comedy stages steadily increase in Memphis, and it’s an area of creative growth in which we can all take pride.  I hope you’ll choose to support local live comedy and laugh – all at the same time – this Saturday night. 

Best of Memphis Comedy Showcases
Skitz Comedy Club (@Neil’s – 1835 Madison Ave.)
Saturday (9/26) at 8:30 and 10:30 p.m.
$10 per person

We can tear down the walls brick by brick, one by one
’til our love is greater than fear, ’til we remember why we are here

The words above are the chorus of a song called “Tear Down The Walls” by Rick Recht, who will be leading a community concert named after the song tonight at the Levitt Shell at Overton Park.  This fourth annual Tear Down The Walls (TDTW) concert is tonight (Sept. 3rd) at 7:00 p.m., and is open to the public with no charge for admission.

The Tear Down The Walls initiative seeks to remind people of all backgrounds of our common humanity, community, and hopes, and will feature music from Recht and his St. Louis-based band, gospel singers Courtney Franklin and Karen Brown, and choirs and ensembles from churches and synagogues all over Memphis.  The music will be intertwined with words from community clergy from congregations including New Directions Christian Church, Temple Israel, Hope Presbyterian, Germantown Methodist, Missisippi Boulevard Christian Church, and others.

Tonight’s concert gathering continues a strong tradition built by the last three TDTW concerts.  The first, four years ago, was held at The National Civil Rights Museum, and is the subject of a film that is on permanent display there.  Tear Down The Walls is participatory, inspirational, and fun, and it is appropriate for all ages.  The concert starts at 7:00 with a community picnic at 6:00 p.m.  Bring your friends, your dinner, your singing voice and your determination to tear down the walls that divide us.

More information is available at www.teardownthewalls.org and www.levittshell.org.   

Equal parts

1. stifling defense

2. overwhelming athleticism

3. reliable outside shooting

4. strong bench production

5. slow-smoked pulled pork

Generously vindicating me and my assertion in the first post of this “Dancing” series, the Memphis Tigers did, indeed, turn on the jets for their 2^nd round game in the NCAA men’s basketball tournament, soundly thrashing the Maryland Terrapins and reasserting themselves as a popular pick to advance to the Final Four.

The Tigers jumped on the Terps early, liberally mixing in dashes and pinches of ingredients 1-4 above. Meanwhile, I cheered along with a throng of blue-clad fans over lunch at Central BBQ on Summer. After the game, it occurred to me that I had now eaten barbecue during both tournament victories (Corky’s catering at a watching party for the 1^st round). In my superstitious sports-fan-mind, that is fairly strong scientific proof of a direct correlation between my dining and Tiger success.

As the Tigers now busy themselves in preparation for Thursday’s Sweet 16 matchup against 3^rd-seeded Missouri (also the Tigers), I will be doing my part to make certain that our city’s culinary specialty is on the menu wherever I find myself watching. It’s what I like to call “being a team player.”

Should the Tigers win Thursday and advance to an Elite 8 game on Saturday (for the fourth year in a row), things will get tougher. I’ll be on the road this weekend doing comedy and will, therefore, not have direct access to any of Memphis’s many fine proprietors of pork and pork products. I don’t want to look ahead to what barbecue I’ll be eating in the Elite 8, though, because as any coach will tell you, you have to take the Big Dance* one game at a time. A win Thursday will require a quick turnaround for the Tigers to prepare for another opponent. If they can do it, so can I.

I hope you, too, will do your part and continue this tasty, if a bit unhealthy march!

Memphis plays Missouri Thursday at 8:37 central time on CBS.

* The Big Dance is a nickname for the tournament; therefore the “Dancing” title for these tournament-related posts. There was some, evidently, some confusion regarding the dancing to which I was referring!

1)     Think back exactly one week, to the Conference USA tournament held here in Memphis.  The Tigers were coming off an ugly, sloppy, low-scoring win over Tulane, the lowest seeded team we would face in the tournament.  If that was how the team would play, another conference championship was certainly no guarantee.  The Tigers proceeded to completely dismantle two higher-seeded, more competitive teams over the next two days en route to the league crown.  Whether the ugly win served as a wake-up call or merely a chance to get their heads in the tournament, it clearly served as no indication of performances to come.

2)    Many a highly-seeded team in the big dance has survived an early scare to advance deep into the tournament.  Some of those close calls are great memories for lovers of the game, but they simply don’t impact what happens next.  Nor do commanding performances in the first round signify more of the same to come.  Take Kansas (I know.  Boooo!), last year’s champion:  two of the last three times they have been a 1-seed and have won their opening game by more than 20 points, they have been upset in the 2nd round.  Feeling better yet?

3)     Sure, the Tigers scared us fans yesterday, but I think the unveiling of yet another potentially dominating offensive presence - Roburt Sallie (who is currently featured on the front page of ESPN.com’s tourney coverage – likely scared potential future opponents even more.  Yet another wrinkle for which foes must prepare and another weapon that appears ready for deployment when needed.

4)     Scores don’t matter.  Survive and advance is the whole ball game at this point.  Done and done.

I make no promises about what is to come, but yesterday’s game gives me no reason to doubt that the Memphis Tigers are on the verge of another glorious march through… well… March.  Last year’s frenzy of city-wide unity and excitement in support of the Tigers is something I will always cherish, and a 2009 reprise is more than welcome!  Go Tigers.

Memphis plays the 10-seeded Maryland Terrapins Saturday at 2:20 (central) on CBS.

Williams is a bright, shining example of an individual who recognized an issue about which she felt strongly and dedicated herself – with great effectiveness – to creating meaningful change. Her reflections on that journey, and her willingness to mentor other change-seekers, should be most inspiring.

The talk, co-sponsored by the UofM Student Activities Council and Peace Jam, is free and open to the public.