Lisa Denton and Barry Courter
BARRY COURTER: Lisa, in case you missed it on HBO Saturday, "Bessie," the biopic starring Queen Latifah as our own Bessie Smith, will be shown Thursday at the Tivoli. It's free but, of course, it is sold out.
LISA DENTON: It's enough to make you sing the blues.
Last week, I saw a clip of the movie on "Good Morning America." They showed a scene with Latifah as Bessie and Mo'Nique as Gertrude "Ma" Rainey that looked pretty intense, but I've been scared of Mo'Nique since "Precious." Anyway, the film is supposed to be a gritty, shocking look at Bessie's life, but if you know anything about her life, you have to figure there's no other way to present it.
BARRY: I'm not sure how much folks know about the Empress of the Blues. She was born here, of course, and spent her childhood here. I think many have this image of her singing in clubs along the Big Nine (East Ninth Street then, M.L. King Boulevard now). She left town before she would have been old enough to do that, though she did sing on the street corners accompanied by a brother. By her late 20s, she was one of the highest-paid black entertainers in the country. Her life and her music were hardly sweet or easy. "Bawdy" is a word that comes to mind.
LISA: A little bawdy doesn't hurt anybody. What's the harm, really, in swapping out the adjectives in Bessie's song "A Good Man Is Hard To Find"? Of course, when I say stuff like that, I feel like I need to go to confession -- and I'm not even Catholic. Just an "Open Hearts, Open Minds, Open Doors" Methodist. But reading this column could be where my pastor gets his sermon topics.
BARRY: I'm certain you inspire him. Has he done one called "Forget Off the Couch, Get in a Pew"? That one is definitely aimed your way.
LISA: I'm waiting on that one.
BARRY: Robert Earl Keen comes back to town on Thursday as well. I had a great interview with him. Fascinating man. Did you know he has his own lines of Bloody Mary mix and of beer? Those are just two of the items he sells with his name or the REK logo on them. Man's a musical and merchandising savant.
LISA: This is Memorial Day weekend, too, so that means the 1890s Day Festival is coming up Friday and Saturday in Ringgold, Ga., Roots Fest will be going on Friday through Sunday at Cherokee Farms in LaFayette, Ga., and Thunder on the Rock Music Festival & Bike Rally will be Friday through Monday in Monteagle, Tenn.
BARRY: It's festival season. Riverbend and Bonnaroo are both less than a month away. Unbelievable.
LISA: Don't forget that the Beast Feast BBQ Festival is Sunday at Chattanooga Market. The pitmasters will be cooking up their best chicken, pork and beef dishes. Maybe they can borrow that Arby's slogan with Ving Rhames saying, "We have the meats."
BARRY: Your preacher's working overtime this week.
LISA: Maybe, but that last one's on you.
Get event details every Thursday in Chattanooga Now or online anytime at www.ChattanoogaNow.com.
Contact Barry Courter at bcourter@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6354. Contact Lisa Denton at ldenton@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6281.