[caption id="attachment_1811" align="alignleft" width="210" caption="The Bluebird Cafe | thefuntimesguide.com"][/caption]

I didn’t know what to expect when my friends invited me to join them for a night at The Bluebird Cafe. I had heard mixed reviews of it. Many of my friends don’t dig the vibe (you can’t talk during sets and there is a drink minimum), but a handful of my friends love it! There is so much hype about the Bluebird being a songwriter haven that I thought there was no way it could live up to it. And then I remembered that I live in the songwriting capital of the world.

[caption id="attachment_1810" align="alignright" width="210" caption="Jay & Mark O'Shea"]

Patty’s show at the Ryman this week is currently in my top 3 shows of all time. I have always been a fan of her since I was a “young lad.” My mother would play her music in the car on the way to school, but I’ve never heard her sound like this. Her most recent album Downtown Church (http://www.myspace.com/pattygriffin) was recorded in the Downtown Presbyterian Church on 5th Ave. N. in Nashville, TN; so The Ryman was a fitting place for her to perform the album.

The opener for Patty’s show last night was Buddy Miller. Buddy just so happens to be a well-known producer who produced her last album. Also, if