So, there I sat at Vandalia Lounge last Wednesday, cradling a glass of cabernet, stealing sips of a friend's
mojito and checking out my sis-in-law. She performs as
Barrelhouse Bonni, and was joined this Happy Hour by Dugan Carter of Stratus on sultry sax. Then, a fish swims near my head. Followed by an eel. I look over my shoulder and find, no... someone has
not slipped
lysergic acid diethylamide into my cab. Vandalia proprietor Pierre Charbonniez has fired up the digital projector, rolled down a big screen and was beaming a fishy underwater wonderland video over our heads.
You know, when you're halfway into Happy Hour and four-feet-long striped eels start undulating near your head, it could be cause for concern. Instead, it was oddly calming (the b-ball game that replaced our fishy friends a half-hour later was, by contrast, merely diverting.) This is a roundabout introduction to the other uses Vandalia makes of that screen:
"Movie Nights" at the lounge. Coming up,
Feb. 13:
"Fight Club" ;
Feb. 20:
"Lock, Stock and Two Barrels." I'm not sure, after two mojitos, whether one could follow the plotline in the Vandalia hubbub. But Monsieur Charbonniez earns points for
Creative Progamming Above and Beyond the Call of Normal Lounge Duty. Vandalia is at 212 Hale St. Barrelhouse B and Dugan are there at Wednesday Happy Hours all month. And not to be missed by serious live music lovers are two upcoming, full-bore concerts: the contagious Latin music hoedown of
Comparsa this Saturday; and the amazing electric guitar goddess
Natalie Wells (I hereby dub her
Janie Hendrix). More on both shows 2 come.
So, there I sat at Vandalia Lounge last Wednesday, cradling a glass of cabernet, stealing sips of a friend's mojito and checking out my sis-in-law. She performs as Barrelhouse Bonni, and was joined this Happy Hour by Dugan Carter of Stratus on sultry sax. Then, a fish swims near my head. Followed by an eel. I look over my shoulder and find, no... someone has not slipped lysergic acid diethylamide into my cab. Vandalia proprietor Pierre Charbonniez has fired up the digital projector, rolled down a big screen and was beaming a fishy underwater wonderland video over our heads.
You know, when you're halfway into Happy Hour and four-feet-long striped eels start undulating near your head, it could be cause for concern. Instead, it was oddly calming (the b-ball game that replaced our fishy friends a half-hour later was, by contrast, merely diverting.) This is a roundabout introduction to the other uses Vandalia makes of that screen: "Movie Nights" at the lounge. Coming up, Feb. 13: "Fight Club" ; Feb. 20: "Lock, Stock and Two Barrels." I'm not sure, after two mojitos, whether one could follow the plotline in the Vandalia hubbub. But Monsieur Charbonniez earns points for Creative Progamming Above and Beyond the Call of Normal Lounge Duty. Vandalia is at 212 Hale St. Barrelhouse B and Dugan are there at Wednesday Happy Hours all month. And not to be missed by serious live music lovers are two upcoming, full-bore concerts: the contagious Latin music hoedown of Comparsa this Saturday; and the amazing electric guitar goddess Natalie Wells (I hereby dub her Janie Hendrix). More on both shows 2 come.
2 Comments:
Vandalia Lounge put the block on me. Said I couldn't come in there with a wifebeater and overalls on. So I grabbed me a pen and a paper, and I made up my own little sign that said: "I'll wear nice clothes next time!"
Nice place. It's clean, and cozy, for sure. It just might be a good thing they keep people like me out of there.
Nick2: I will wear an extra large suit jacket and you can borrow the office tie I never wear and we can go as Siamese twins next time. Let's hope they're serving two-for-one drinks.
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