Louisville, KY

Record stores and the like pretty much cling to the college campus area, best I remember....

The downtown isn't much. It seems even more crime- and race-obsessed than most cities in the south. It's where people who have gotten fed up with Cincinnati's obtuseness flee, and it's relatively cheap. The Indiana side of Louisville metro, across the Ohio, is god-awful ugly. Hawley-Cooke is a very nice bookshop. They like to eat fish sandwiches.

In short, it really doesn't impress me in the least, but it's good for a one- or two-day visit.

Really pretty in some parts, but I'd pass

I'd say a visit to this place is U&K

The downtown isn't much. It seems even more crime- and race-obsessed than most cities in the south.

The spring meet at Churchill doesn't start until 4/24 so don't show up expecting to bet on any ponies this weekend (though you could drive to Lexington and bet at Keeneland).

there is a historic neighborhood district called "old Louisville" with block after block of amazing Victorian and Colonial type homes and a few streets lit with real gaslamps at night

Is this easily and obviously found? (Like is there an "Old Louisville" exit on the highway or anything?) It sounds like something my girlfriend would like, she was very wide-eyed at the old houses in Boston.

So this year I'd like to at least see the Indians, the Bats, and the Redbirds in Memphis, and take advantage of being near all those teams.

revive. what's to do in louisville?

i spent memorial day weekend in louisville, attending a family gathering. my dad grew up there and we visited my grandparents there frequently tho this trip was the first time I'd been there since the late 70s. drove past their old house in the highlands neighborhood, pretty much like i remembered it. didn't get the chance for much more exploring, had a couple drinks w/my brother & sister in a corny sports bar one nite just cause it was close to our motel. my cousins went out that night to "old louisville" -- a gentrified part of downtown w/clubs restaurants etc -- to see "the best local drag queens" but that was not my bro's cup of of tea ;-)

Additionally, what's there to do in the rest of Kentucky? I'll be there for Terrastock, then we've got a few more days to go camping and explore and blah blah.

P.S. RECORD STORES???

I've been in Louisville!

How did Louisville feel about that?

So-so. I'm trying to remember where it was the locals looked at us like we had 3 heads, it might have been somewhere in Ohio.

Additionally, what's there to do in the rest of Kentucky?

Mammoth Cave! Also maybe riverboat gambling if that's your thing.

More current Louisville recommendations to help the drug-addled Terrastock hordes (and me).

I'm moving to Louisville next month, so I'm not sure I'll be much help until next year. Mark's Feed Store on Bardstown Rd. has good BBQ.

Guy from Cincinatti goes 'Louisville, it is hip!'

Overall, I discovered an intriguing, funky scene and a good-humored, pop-culture-savvy populace . . . plus more.

Read Hunter S. Thompson's "The Kentucky Derby is Decadent and Depraved". Great stuff.

petey carnum returns home-ish! hooray!

When is Terrastock? Any T-Stockin' ilxors (NED) that want to go to the CREATIONIST MUSEUM in northern KY while you're in these parts, I would love to accompany you. I've been meaning to go for forever.

My favorite restaurant in Louisville is maybe MAZZONI'S which recently moved to a weird location on SHELBYVILLE RD. Get their rolled oysters and eat them with beers.

huh...I had to read a Ned link on ilx to discover that Idea Fest won't be in Lexington this year. Life, she is the funny!

revive. more info on louisville. what should i not miss if i'm just there for six to eight hours?

21c Museum/Hotel. Bourbon Bistro. Maybe drive through St. James Ct. in old Louisville to check out the gaslights, fountains and victorian architecture.

more??

see if you can locate hstencil.

back in louisville. any stuff i need to see in five hours?

is there anywhere in the louisville/lexington area that would be good for a family vacation, including a baby and grandparents?

:-(

And if you're not on FB:

Dear Louisville, and all who have shopped, supported, and loved ear X-tacy over the years,

It has been a dream come true...actually, a dream exceeded, to be part of your musical lives here in Louisville for the last 26 years. My life was changed forever, and guided by the power of music since I can remember. Music has been the soul, the heart, the passion of my life for my entire 56 years. The record store experience has been the only child in my life. Now, it's time for me to let it fly.

Thank YOU...for allowing me to be part of your musical universe. Louisville, you made me feel like I was truly HOME when I moved here in 1976. It's been a great ride, but as George Harrison knowingly said, "All Things Must Pass." It's with sadness, but also with great pride I say to you now...

ear X-tacy is no more

Long live ear X-tacy!

Please keep the music alive. Support the incredible music scene and independent businesses we have here! Until you leave this great city, you cannot realize what a unique treasure we have here. Embrace it, celebrate it, and promote it. Love it.

Thank you all for making my dreams come true. Thank you for making ear X-tacy the wonderful place that it was. I thank all of the staff that made this store THE hub for music in Louisville for the past 26 years. Please take pride in knowing that YOU have been the heart and soul of what this store became. Thank you for sharing my dream and exceeding all of my expectations! To all of the musicians who have graced our store and stage, I cannot tell you what a thrill it's been. From the local newbies to the incredibly huge national artists...THANK YOU for gracing our store and sharing you incredible musical talents with us all...that's what I like to call: "earX-tacy".

Love, peace, music and ear X-tacy to you all,

John D. Timmons
President, ear X-tacy, Inc.

comma places to get drunk in

i got drunk at a brewery called flat 12 across the river in jeffersonville last time i was there. decent beer, good outdoor seating with a view

I liked the Gralehouse for a casual pub/cafe.
If you're serious about bourbon, try the Haymarket.

I was going to suggest the Rudyard Kipling (though I always liked it more as a performance space than as a place to drink), but apparently it closed last year. I can only conclude that I've been away from my hometown for too long.

Haymarket Whiskey bar downtown is pretty much nirvana for a bourbon drinker. They literally have got it all.

Their backroom has music too, some nights it's bluegrass and some nights it's death metal...you never know. Kadavar and the Grifters both played there last year, which seems kinda crazy.

I'm spending 5 days in Louisville (technically New Albany, IN)

what should I do?

I don't rly like baseball or bourbon or horse races so

Ha, sucks to be you, then, because that's a hunk of it!

However. Muhammed Ali museum is ace. Not far away is Lincoln's birthplace. Lexington (not too far away) has some beautiful houses. Louisville, for that matter, has some beautiful neighborhoods, too. Proof On Main is a great bar/restaurant on the main downtown strip, in the 21C hotel. The bourbon trail tours, even if bourbon is not your thing, are often quite nice and interesting, regardless. They're a bit far out, too, but the Evan Williams Experience is right downtown. The more distant Willet and and Woodford Estate are gorgeous locations, Buffalo Trace and Heaven Hill impressive for scale and history. 610 Magnolia is a heck of a restaurant. Lynn's Paradise Cafe is a totally different heck of a restaurant. You should get some great chess pie at Homemade Ice Cream & Pie Company.

A lot to do in Louisville. And the awesome Mammoth Caves are right across the river.

Holy Grale is an excellent beer bar/gastropub in an old church.