BIG SAM'S FUNKY NATION IN OXFORD

August 31, 2007

Despite both of us being unspeakably busy lately, we managed to sneak out of town on Friday night of Labor Day weekend, leaving Rowan with his MeMe for the night. Our destination - Oxford, home of the University of Mississippi and local cultural hotspot.

Oxford has some good restaurants, and a couple of them are really excellent. On this particular evening we hit up Petra, a mediterranean-fusion restaurant that serves the finest Baba Ghanoush we've ever tasted, as well as a fantastic Yellowfin Tuna Carpaccio - essentially wafer-thin tuna sashimi topped with Italian seasonings and capers. MMMmmmmm! They also serve all kinds of kabobs, hummus plates, and even steak and lobster plates.

 

Our ultimate destination was our favorite little music venue in the region, Proud Larry's (this is where we saw Peter Rowan last spring) to see Big Sam's Funky Nation. Big Sam is a renowned New Orleans trombonist who used to play in Dirty Dozen Brass Band. Now he leads his own band, playing all kinds of New Orleans funky music, leading the audience in call and response chants, and throwing down some New Orleans second-line dance moves.

 

This was one of those shows you could not help but dance to!

We spent the night at sweet little Bed-and-Breakfast a couple blocks away (this was a 1-year wedding anniversary gift from Carley's parents that we just got around to using 11 months after the anniversary). After a home-made old-timey french-toast-casserole breakfast the next morning, it was time for the severely hung-over drive back to Tupelo and the domestic family life again.

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