Monday, September 19, 2005

Alberta!!!

Another wonderful weekend has past mainly due to Saturday night.

Our friends, Morgan & Aaron, Tommy and I went to Pioneer Square. Aaron is a big blues fan and initially wanted to go to Highway 99 but the band that was scheduled to play looked pretty lame so I did some research (some call it meddling....) and I saw that Alberta Adams was playing at the New Orleans Creole Restaurant. We got there early to have a bite to eat. I wasn't sure what to order so I asked the table next to me if they've eaten there before - they had and recommended the catfish. Say no more! I love me some catfish. THEN it dawned on me that who I asked WAS Alberta Adams. Fortunately her and her friend were very nice.

NOCR makes a damn fine catfish with damn fine hushpuppies and red beans & rice. And Alberta Adams Rocked The House. Ohmigod, she was so amazing! She had to be helped up on stage and then had to sit through her act but her voice, oh, her voice didn't show an ounce of age. My kingdom to see her back in her Duke Ellington days!!!

Our $10 cover got us into a bunch of other clubs in Pioneer Square. I had heard good things about Fenix Underground but when we got to the front of the club, the music that was coming out of it was way too hard to follow after Alberta's bliss so we headed to Doc Maynard's for a beer and watched The Randy Oxford Band - another good Southern bluesy rock band. You don't see much trombone anymore and Randy knows how to play.

I tend to go out to see a lot of bands and most of the time I figure I'm one of the oldest people in the clubs, I just don't look it (unbiased people assure me). I couldn't get over how many "over 30" people there were out at these places. I was a bit uncomfortable about it. Isn't that weird? I'm not usually uncomfortable being around people my own age - but for the record, the people around my age I am around did not look like these Pioneer Square People. I can't explain it, either way, we went to Temple Billiards to play some pool and I was more comfortable around the mixed-age group.

Temple Billiards was a surprisingly comfortable pool hall. Tommy and I love Belltown Billiards and didn't think anything would compare but on a non-weekend night (or not too late on weekends), this would be a fun place to hang out. They've got a trance-y club going on in the basement and the bass is too loud downstairs to hear the good jukebox upstairs. I love a good jukebox - Tommy played a Scissor Sisters song for me and was still able to get some Creedence for him.

So after we played really long, bad games of pool (it's so nice to play with your equals), we headed home and I listened to the new Horrorpops (good, just not as good as there last one) while the rest of the car slept - which reminds me of my favorite line:

I want to die like my grandfather - peacefully in his sleep. Not screaming in terror like the rest of the people in the car.

Have a lovely week!

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