What do you say when you show up for a Rod Picott happy hour/residency and you get Amy Speace, Tim Easton, Aaron Lee Tasjan, Steve Polz, and the __________ Ponies (“Lost” maybe?) taboot? Five bucks, Five Spot, turned out to be a benefit for the musician Megan Palmer that Rod had given up his Wed. July residency slot for. I talked to most of the principals. Tasjan is a Blaze Foley fanatic and has seen the documentary about him which Gurf Morlix toured with “many many times.” His account of the man’s death did not involve “a senseless bar fight,” but we won’t go there. Easton and I relived the days when he opened the Lu/Doug duo tour, with some talk of how the Stuart one varied. Polz just moved from San Diego to Nash and fronted a rousing “Folk Singer,” a satirical tune I’m not sure is a cover or an original. Speace is headed to the UK to tour with Emily Barker, and I believe they will open for Mary Chapin Carpenter. Her TM Andy Washington, whom I saw in London, was mentioned from the stage as being tuned in to the Podcast of this whole Palmer benefit evening. Kudos to the Five Spot, which is more than just your average ABC show Nashville backdrop. Late shows I can take or leave, but these residencies with folks like Kevin Gordon and David Olney are gems from month to month, sometimes Mondays sometimes Wednesdays.