Kevin Bunch's co-workers pestered him to figure out who the guys were at his table.
Well, tables. The group had rolled into Public House so deep Friday night that the restaurant's staff had to push a couple of tables together just to fit everybody. The guys seemed a little different than the usual crowd. They were dressed down. And some of them wore their hair long.
About 15 minutes into their visit, after Bunch poured them waters and checked their IDs, he asked where they were from. Someone said Oklahoma. He asked what they were doing here.
"We're in a band," one of them said, "called The Flaming Lips."
The Flaming Lips"Oh shut up," Bunch said. "I'm a big fan. I know you guys. That's awesome."
Bunch had actually seen the psychedelic rock band three times: at Bonnaroo in 2010, when they covered Pink Floyd's "Dark Side of the Moon;" in Nashville in 2013, when they played with The Black Keys; and at some other point at the Hangout Music Festival - he can't remember when, exactly.
Bunch said he's not necessarily a "super fan." He doesn't know all the deep cuts off The Flaming Lips' 14 studio albums. But he knows the hits: "Do You Realize??" and "Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots, Pt. 1" and some other songs. But more than the tracks themselves, Bunch said the group stands out to him for their concerts, with the light shows and the confetti blasts and lead singer Wayne Coyne rolling around in a big inflatable ball.
Anyway, Coyne wasn't at Public House on Friday. But the rest of his band seemed pretty nice, Bunch said. They ordered jambalaya, deviled eggs, fried chicken, fried chicken salad, pot roast and a hamburger. And as they were about to leave, band member Steven Drozd asked Bunch if he wanted to go to their show Saturday.
He told them yes, duh. And the next day, tour manager Chris Chandler stopped by Public House around 6:30 to give Bunch "Artist Guest Seating" tickets. They gave him access to the lawn right in front of the Coke Stage.
Chandler then walked across Warehouse Row to Goodman Coffee. He had gone there with the band, some roadies and some tech people on Friday evening, and the baristas were the ones who recommended Public House for dinner.
On Saturday, he ordered a cold brew, made some small talk about how Tennessee is hotter than his hometown Portland, Ore., and asked a barista if he wanted to go to the show that night. Matt Morrison, standing in front of the cash register, didn't know what Chandler was talking about.
"He seemed like a normal, kind of alternative dude," Morrison said.
Then Chandler dropped some VIP tickets on the table and walked away.
Contact staff writer Tyler Jett at 423-757-6476 or tjett@timesfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @LetsJett.