xeryfyn's Diaryland Diary ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- New Year's Blues So, it isn't that I had the New Year's Blues or that the New Year is in any way blue for me insomuch as emotion is concerned but, rather, that I took in a fabulous blues band last night! Yeah, it had to be that complicated to get that out...my life doesn't seem to be any other way, but, I digess. We arrive in the neighbourhood. It is a sad and dilapidated part of downtown. Every so often lonely men in shabby coats drift by like leaves on the wind. I pull my jacket close to me and inch closer to Dwayne. We edge the car into a parking lot across from the bar. As we get out, we notice a giggling woman whose shimmering tight dress is practically painted onto a form that has seen its prime a few years past. She is leaning into the window of a rusty orange truck, laughing with the man behind the wheel. Like a horrible scene unfolding before us, we cannot tear our eyes away and we watch them all stumble out into the street and head towards the nearby run-down hotel bar. Or perhaps towards the hotel itself. The bar itself, is dark and smoke drifts from the skanky and tired girl who takes tickets at the door. She chain-smokes, as if determined to make the joint hazy all by herself. It seems to be working. Light flickers dimly from tiny tea lights on every other table. The tables themselves are grouped in tight niches and spread the length of the skinny room. We choose one close to the back, behind two boy-men who fit the stereotypical "gamer" profile. Boys who were probably teased as kids, the odd ones out, mifits. Suddenly, Dwayne is glad that he didn't dress up more and I am huddled into my jacket, aware of how out of place I am but glad I didn't wear a dress. Glad that I didn't purchase an outfit especially for tonight. As my eyes adjust to the light (or lack thereof), I begin to appreciate the ambience of the place. The walls, painted a deep blue (not helping the dreariness) are merely a backdrop for the myriad of framed prints of blues musicians, famous and infamous. I squint to see them clearly and am impressed by the vastness and completeness of the artists present. Piped in CD music plays a good cross-section of blues and jazzy swing. We start to relax. This isn't so bad. For $20 a person, we aren't expecting much. People trickle in, but the attendance tops off at 20-25 people. The band comes on and we are surprised to notice that it is the proprietor of the club whose band is the headlining band. Perhaps in a place like this, we shouldn't have been surprised. And there were more surprises to come. The band starts to play around 10pm. They play a good rocking blues style and we look at one another and nod our heads, glad we made a good choice here in our first venture out on the town. At midnight, we count down and cheer. And then the final and best surprise of the evening. A sumptuous midnight buffet --we thought, in a place like this, cold cuts perhaps, or, at best, bar food-- but, no, it is prime rib, with mashed potatoes and freshly steamed vegetables. Yorkshire pudding and thick gravy. It is marvelously prepared and smells so good! To top off our dinner, the proprietor slams a full bottle of champagne down on each and every table and opens up a keg of beer, free to everyone who so desires. We are astounded at his generosity and understand that he could not have made any money on this evening and feel heartened that we decided not to stay at home after all.... 11:32 p.m. - 1/1/2001 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
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