An Unusual Monday, Indeed.

I did something last night that was quite unusual for me. I went out to a bar - and listened to a band. I can count the times I've been in a similar situation on two hands - one hand if I don't go back to the B.C. days. ( Before Children.)

Meredith invited me along - her New Guy, Joel, was supposed to play but that didn't happen. It's ok though. I think the other band that was on was having too much fun and their set just kept going and going. It was sort of blues music but definitely on the rock and roll side - Fog Hat, Stevie Ray Vaughn, and George Thoroughgood covers and loud electric originals where the words didn't matter because you couldn't really make them out anyhow. I'd never play that kind of music and just listen for no reason. It's just not every day listening stuff, but I enjoy listening to it live. Especially when you can watch the musicians up close. Live music of any genre I want to be able to see the musicians making the music. It's just my thing. The woman playing Bass was having such a marvelous time. It was fun just to watch and dance along in my seat.

The venue was tiny, but and open front door and very high ceilings helped. Thank the Illinois legislature for getting one thing right - the room was smokelessly habitable. At 11:00PM on a Monday the croud was thinning, mostly older and so mercifly void of drama and drunken stupidity - with one glaring exception that made Meredith comment, "That's the best reason for never drinking too much - you don't want to be that guy."

I enjoyed my foray into a completely different chunk of American culture than normally crosses my daily life. I saw a young guy there that I've known since he and Meredith played in Orchestra when they were 14; he's a trumpet player that sells insurance to pay his rent. I was home by Midnight - after all it's a school night, and I have cerfew.

~M.E.