Patty and Brent left early on Monday morning and McD and I took advantage of being up so early to get a workout in. Then Diana left on the bus back to Dallas and I was all alone again for a few days.
I entertained myself on Tuesday evening with a band called “The Drakes” at the Saxon Pub – they were performing the 6pm free show and standing in for David Grissom’s regular slot. Here’s their cover of the Band’s “The Shape I’m In”:
The regulars at the Saxon are a pretty tight knit family. The tall lady in the red sequins dancing in front of the stage was celebrating her birthday and a card was passed around for signature. Then various gifts and a cake emerged. It’s great to see such a community formed around a shared love of music.
Just as I was getting ready to leave and join Vinod and Jeff for dinner, the band started playing “Sunny Afternoon” by the Kinks. This is a song that I love by one of the most underrated bands – so I had to stay. Here’s a snippet:
Vinod and Jeff had been through a number of options for dinner and hadn’t been able to agree on anything but Italian. They chose Juliet which was very handy and close by for me but also where we ate on Saturday night. The food’s very good, so I didn’t mind accommodating their choice. I always laugh a lot when I spend time with these two. The good one this time was Vinod looking for help on understanding when people are teasing him versus being serious. “I’ve been in the US for 17 years and I still can’t tell most of the time!” Apparently his daughters have started teasing him while pretending to be serious and he really wants to know how to tell. Hilarious conversation.
Diana reunited with me on Wednesday evening and we had a quiet night at home after so much excitement last weekend. Apparently the bus ride was extra bumpy this time and she was exhausted from all the retyping she had to do over mistakes caused by the bumps. Didn’t get nearly as much work done as she was hoping for.
Thursday was another quiet evening – I spent my first evening on the bedroom balcony, enjoying the great weather and reading, while Diana finished up work calls.
D had arranged for us to meet up with Shu (a work friend) and his wife for dinner and music on Friday night. This was one of those evenings where I was assured I would really get along with Shu because we have so much in common – sometimes those don’t work out so well. Fortunately this was a very positive experience – the four of us had a lovely evening. Here’s the list of options that I had put together for Shu on music venues:
Option 1
Adam and Chris Carroll at the Saxon Pub on S. Lamar at 9pm. Odd Duck would be a dining option if we could get a reservation, or any of the Barton Springs places. Pretty mellow duo.
Option 2
The Denny Freeman band does a free show at 6pm at the Saxon Pub. They sound a bit more upbeat – blues jamming. Would need to get there around 5:30pm at the latest to get a table. Same dining options as above or could also go downtown.
Option 3
Flow Tribe and Shamarr Allen at Antone’s – we saw Flow Tribe at Jazzfest (new Orleans band with bright pastel outfits) -Good Lord likes them a lot. Show at 9pm. Downside you wouldn’t see much. Could go to 2nd bar, Peche, anywhere downtown and walk to Antone’s.
Option 4
Grateful Dead tribute band at One to One bar on S. Lamar. Probably not your musical cup of tea – lot of jamming. Mostly standing venue but does have some tables and seats along the walls. Show at 9ish and likely going most of the night (advertising 3 sets)
Option 5
A very interesting musical option – the Underhill Family Orchestra in the back room at the Townsend – show at 10pm – eat anywhere downtown. Would probably want to buy tickets in advance. The sound in the backroom is amazing and it only holds about 50 people.
Option 6
The legendary Margaret Wright at the Skylark Lounge in East Austin at 6pm. Then could try out some restaurant over in Issac’s East Austin neighborhood. Justine’s or Launderette. This is a full on dive bar.
It’s just amazing to me that with 10 minutes of research, I was able to find six different musical shows that I would enjoy and all within walking distance of the apartment. That’s why they call Austin “The Live Music Capital of the World”. Shu responded with his top 3 and added an alternative – Dr. James Polk and band at the Elephant Room – another great option.
The evening began with a pleasant walk over the 1st Street bridge to Le Politique. When we found this place last week, the gentleman next to me at the bar was raving about the Texas quail dish he was having. I opted to give it a try and was very happy with it – stuffed with a mushroom mix and perfectly cooked. We appreciated the way the food was described as it was served – a very detailed and enthusiastic run down on everything on the plate and how the sauces were made. The best presentation that I’ve seen yet.
After dinner, we attempted to execute Shu’s recommendation at the Elephant Room – it was too busy with a line waiting for seats to free up. No worries, Antone’s was just around the corner and we caught the end of Shamarr Allen’s opening set and some of Flow Tribe before walking back home. Shamarr’s “Weekend Dance” song was particularly entertaining as he picked random crowd members to show him their “weekend dances”.
Saturday was very wet and dark – Austin recorded 5 inches of rain over the weekend – and so we stayed indoors with morning workouts and lots of quality reading time. We did take a few minutes to decorate the guest bedroom ahead of Denny’s visit.
Apartment decorating was rounded out by hanging (with some really nifty new hanging hardware) the beautiful snuggling penguins painting that Patty and Brent had made for us. We think it looks great in this location where we have a good view from the sofa.