My wife and I are going to the Green Day concert at the Gaylord Entertainment Center in Nashville on Sunday, October 16th.
We figure on driving up (3 hours) early that morning, staying the night, and leaving mid-afternoon to early-evening the next day. We hope to get a room, drive to the concert then back to the hotel, then cab it to the night spots.
I was hoping some dopers could help me in the planning… and a few General Questions:
Does Nashville even have alcohol on Sundays (what time do the bars close)?
If so, is there a “bar street” or area with the greatest concentration of generally decent to upscale bars? Think: a younger to moderate crowd and cool music… but definitely no hiphop, techno, or country… maybe even Bourbon or Bealle Streetlike… We aren’t really looking for a crowd but we’ll deal with one if that’s the best thing going. I’m rambling but hopefully you get it
If so, are there any hotels within walking distance?
If not, can you recommend a reasonable hotel nearby? Proximity has priority over luxury, to a point. Days Inn… Ramada… etc. We expect to spend around $100 on the room.
How is cab service in Nashville? In Chicago you can usually hail a cab from the active bar areas at closing time. Is this feasible from this hypothetical bar area?
How would YOU do it?
Thanks everybody
p.s. Please excuse me if my tone is terse or anything, or if I’m late in responding to your much appreciated replies. It’s wayyy past my bedtime.
2nd Avenue and Lower Broadway (the 2 intersect) is the happening nightlife area. IT is Nashville, so they are most assuredly honky-tonk type places down there, but the is a good mix of other types of music as well.
For the college-age crowd, try the West End area (close to Vanderbilt campus)
There are hotels downtown, but I am not sure if they are in the $100 range. You might try something near the airport for a lower price.
Hub grew up with Billie Joe. Almost married his sister (dope-fiend bitch who calls my house after being married for 7 years!).
Enjoy the show…I love Green Day…listening to Boulevard mp3 right now!
There’s a string of hotels along West End Ave, in the area right next to Vanderbilt, the Parthenon, and the vairous hospitals. Those are cheaper than downtown, I think, though I can’t quote an exact figure as I’ve never stayed there. Try the Hilton or the Ramada, or just do an online search for hotels near the intersection of West End Ave and Fairfax Ave. There’s also a Days Inn where you could probably stay for $50 per night. As mid-October is certainly past the end of the tourist season, prices should be fairly low.
The only bars I’ve been to are Sam’s and Bosco’s. both are located on 21st Street in the Hillsboro Village area. The first is a sports bar and the second an Irish pub-type place. It’s within easy walking distance of all the hotels I mentioned. By contrast, I don’t think there are any bars near the hotel airports.
One night in Nashville makes a tough guy tumble
At Sam’s or Bosco’s where the beer flows free
Go and see Green Day at the Gaylord Center
Though that’s not music made in Tennessee. I feel Dolly Parton sidle up to me…
Thanks for the replies! As expected, my response comes at the end of another long night.
So given the new information I have now, it’s between 2nd and Lower Broadway, and the West End.
We’re hoping to find a bar that’s “kinda nice” and stays open late, with cool people who get just a tiny bit rowdy at the end of the night.
We really don’t want the drunk-frat-boy-spilling-beer-on-you crowd… so even if there are some cool ones on the west end, if it’s college bars, I don’t think us old fogies want to chance it. We’re both 33 for christ’s sake!
At the same time, we don’t want 2 people in a hotel lounge that closes at 10:00.
So I think we want “Downtown”, but just to be clear, that includes 2nd and Lower Broadway, right? And there will be some action down there at midnight on a Sunday?
What time do those bars close again?
I would stay at the Hilton (it is right across the street from the GEC) or the Renaissance which is up the street from the GEC. The Renaissance would have good views of the city too. There are plenty of places to hang out. If you’re going to Greenday, you might not like Legends or Tootsies. You might want to try the Red Iguana which is where the old Nascar Cafe was. Buffalo Billiards, on 2nd, is also fun. The bars by our ugly nekkid statue “Musicia” are fun too. Oh, I almost forgot, Wolfy’s Den is at the GEC and is cool looking (google it and check it out).
Well, we stayed at the Hilton and could not have been happier with the whole experience. Literally 40 feet from the concert hall! Only $139 for a two room suite.
My wife got pregnant since the last post so the bar scene wasn’t so important after all, though I did enjoy a few American red ales at the microbrewery (I forget the name), and an Arrogant Bastard or three at the Beer Seller.
We didn’t realize it was also game day there with the Bengals in town to play the Titans, and my wife wore an orange shirt and I wore a black one, in what turned out to be a funny coincidence. “Why are all these people screaming ‘WHO-DEY!!!’ at us?!?” It turned out to be the Bengals warcry from the superbowl years back.
Absolutely the best concert I’ve ever seen! Green Day played for two and a half hours! Wow, what a show. Best rendition of “King for a Day” ever.
How was the mosh pit, Shutterbug? I probably saw you
Thanks to everybody who replied, we had a great time
A microbrewery downtown? Or was it Blackstone’s, up a ways? Dude, there are quite a few Dopers in the Nashville area. We could’ve had a mini-Dopefest.
Glad you enjoyed yourself. Ya’ll come back now, hear?
