open mic night

So for those of you who do not know, Chevys is my favorite Mexican food. Lately I've been eating once a day, not so much because I am on some kind of diet, but because just being hungry isn't enough to inspire me to eat anymore. In fact, the past few days I've surprised myself by eating less than what I've ordered on a couple occasions and even having the feeling that if I were to eat another bite it might make me sick, even though I felt so hungry I could eat a horse, if only I had the right seasoning available!

So tonight I had this thought, it has been a while since I've eaten at Chevys and maybe if I went there and ordered my favorite steak Fajitas (pronounced vah jeye tuhs in my hood) and just water this time (figured I should hydrate before going to Bungalo Martini for you know what. Sure enough, I had only eaten maybe half the basket of chips and I was finishing up the second tortilla with my usual black beans, Mexican rice, a tiny bit of sour cream and a few strips of steak dipped in their infamous salsa when I realized I was getting full. Now sometimes I've been known to ask for more tortillas but generally three is enough. I've never been full after two though. So I decided to go ahead and eat the remaining strips of steak at the very least even if I did so without making my little burrito out of them.

So I don't know what is up. I'm sure the blonde who is usually there when I come in was wondering what was up too since I didn't have the jumbo margarita either.

Maybe I'm just not my usual self these days, or maybe I am finally realizing how little it takes to keep this train rolling. Either way it is sort of freaking me out.

So then I drove back downtown (I have to go all the way out to the mall part of town to get to a Chevy's, and yes that is the closest one) for my usual Thursday night fare; open mic night at Bungalo Martini. What luck have I but to find convenient street parking so I don't have to drive the extra two blocks to park in my garage and walk back.

So I could tell right away that it was more crowded than usual, but that didn't stop me, I walked right in and a new duo I hadn't heard before was already on stage rocking out (and singing slightly out of tune). I also immediately noticed two bright lights on tripods that I had never seen before. Oddly they were photography lights and they definitely seemed out of place for open mic night.

So I made my way to the bar and sure enough, Tiffany was off tonight again. New-guy bartender-in-training was taking her place. Leif was standing at the end of the bar apparently making sure new-guy wasn't hung out to dry if someone ordered something strange and he didn't know how to make it.

So I asked Leif what the deal was, if open mic night got cancelled and why so many people showed up for it. That is when I noticed the video camera too. Since it was so crowded I didn't want to take up valuable real estate at the bar so after getting my drink I went over and sat down at the piano bench. The guy sitting under the camera said "hey, how's it going" like we knew each other and I said "not bad, how bout you" like I remembered him but I didn't know who he was from Adam.

So after the out-of-tune duo got off the stage and I decided to go ahead and occupy real estate at the bar since I didn't see any of the usuals this particular night. A cute looking girl sat down and ordered two beers and two blackberry lemondrops. That caused a minor crisis with new-guy to try to figure out how to make them, but he suffered through... once he figured out they go in a martini glass that is.

She seemed to know the guy who was playing; I dare say she might have been his sister. Because she was VERY vocal about cheering him. Oh, the guy who hosts open mic night had just gone up on stage with his usual percussionist and the lights were turned on and the guy with the camera started to record the blessed event. I didn't really see why they were using photography lights to do a video recording, besides they lit the room way more than they did the stage.

So after cute girl went back to her table and eventually got up and got funky (by herself) during his typical cover of "When Doves Cry" (which incidentally I think has a lousy hook--I feel tortured every time he does it not because I hate Prince or because I hate that song, but because I can't stand the hook he uses between verses and the chorus) I decided to go over to the only pool table in the joint and see if I could start something by playing a quick game by myself. For those of you who don't know, sometimes people come over and challenge you if they see you playing. Otherwise you might be there all night and never see anyone go play a game no matter how bored they might get.

So he did his usual set and then got down and someone else played. I didn't recognize them, but they did alright. However, I gradually saw his entourage begin to leave and when I went back to the bar there were significantly fewer people in the room, but not enough to be alarmed.

However, after having another drink and talking to another guy at the bar for a while I turned around to find there was NO one left in the bar. Open mic night guy had left the building and so did all his guests. Nobody was watching this guy anymore and when he finished his set, nobody else got up to play. This had never happened before.

Generally I show up around 11 or 11:30 after I watch ER but I got there earlier tonight because I went out to eat earlier that evening and just went straight from there. I wasn't sure the fact that he was filming his set was really that unusual, but apparently it was, and the usual suspects never showed up to play. What a disappointment!

So hopefully next week will be back to normal, where you feel bad for the performers because so few people show up to support them, but at least several people show up to play!

I stuck around to chat with new guy after everyone left and he was doing his dishes but pretty much the night was a big bust. I felt bad for him; because it all started off with the promise of being a very interesting evening and then pretty much ended early!

If you are in the area on Thursday nights they host open mic night at Bungalo Martini from 930ish until around 130 am on the corner of 7th and Broadway in downtown Vancouver. Several of the people who play there on a regular basis are worth catching. I cannot tell you their names because I try to entertain myself in various other ways during the introductions.

So if you ever get a chance come on down and if you are inclined, go ahead and play a few songs!

Peace,

Brian