Prolonging the Weekend...

Yesterday was my Brother's 30th birthday! So we all piled into their Durango (after much discussion over exactly where and how the wheelchair was stored last trip!) and headed to Chevy's! Ah...Fajitas and Negra Modelo and Family...what could be better?! Even Dad tried a Negra Modelo. Livin on the edge! After stuffing ourselves we headed out to walk the mall, where we promptly lost (hey I built a transformer...) Dad, got some coffee (ala Gloria Jeans), and after finding Dad (at Pasta House..is he ever not hungry?), were then embarrased by (get outta my living room) Dad. We headed back home and I thought we could all use a little musical infusion, so we popped in the Stendek CD...I guess you can't appreciate the guy unless you see him perform. Alas, we bid the family adieu and headed out....



Of course, we double booked today in an attempt to prolong the weekend. So I called the Jonez to let them know that we weren't going to meet them for dinner, and instead would just meet them at Big Johnson's Doc Haus. We hadn't seen Steve Leslie play in a while and wanted to bring him a sample CD of JMB...which, by the way, he has heard of but did not have one of their CD's. Steve was great! He played a couple of original tunes, which we are always rooting for. He's playing Balducci's on Saturday, so we're going to check that out too. Anyone interested in seeing if we could get a recording of that?!? We can't wait any longer for the second CD!

Do you wanna? 

The Savoy - 3/19/2005

What can be said about this night? Well, in the words of Bill & Ted; EXCELLENT!!!

We began our evening by grabbing dinner & a couple beers at Growler's on OLD BALLAS (not New Ballas). "Do you wanna portabello mushroom sandwich?"

After that we followed the driving directions that LacubriousTwo conjured up and actually made it to The Savoy! Not that I had any doubts whatsoever.........prior experiences not withstanding.

Anyhoo, The Savoy was not what we expected. I'm assuming it's the local wedding reception hall. It had a nice bar and stage, and pretty good acoustics too. We were lucky enough to get good seats up front (Thanks to Tom James for being so gracious!) where we could see the entire band.

Unfortunately, it was standard fair for the beer selection so we changed to Gin & Tonics, VO and Water , or Bud Light depending on who you were. After getting a round of drinks and sabotaging MrJonez attempt at card house, (Don't quit your day job for construction anytime soon!) we were happy to see someone take the stage. Kristen Foht was first up. She played acoustic guitar and her sidekick played electric. Her style reminded me a little of Belly, (ala Tanya Donelly). Me and MrsJones both bought her CD. Kristen was nice enough to sit and talk with us a little when we had her sign our CD's. She said she also just "stumbled" across JMB, albeit at Vintage Vinyl. Her CD was recorded at David Karns' Studio, Miles Wonderland.

Next up was Phil Stendek (loopback artist). I have to say we were all surprised by this artist. Not knowing anything about the whole loopback thing, we had brought our earplug (plubs?) so as not to lose any hearing like the last event. However, we didn't need them! Stendek was quite the entertainer! There was great audience participation on "Free Fallin" and I liked how he incorporated local stuff into his songs "Jesus (at the top of my lungs)". It was great! We picked up his CD as well and are planning on catching him at Mississippi Nights on April 3rd....and bringing along some friends!

Before JMB, the Host for the event Tom James came onstage to thank the supporters and to introduce several programs that are in place for helping ALS patients and their families. They were:

The St. Louis Chapter of the ALS Association
Extra Hands for ALS
Hope Happens

Then JMB rocked! We were so lucky to have our great seats, we could see the whole band this time. It was the best sounding venue so far. We'd pretty much been missing Jim & Moises performances at the other venues, so we really got to see them show their stuff. Again, ya gotta love "Rococo"!

Quick Trip For Tick-Ets...

Us and MrMrsJonez took a quick trip into STL last night. We just had to see where the Savoy was located in Ferguson and buy our tickets for Saturday's ALS Benefit being held there. The Hugh James Foundation is presenting it. It's called "Rockin' the Night for ALS". Of course we are all about JMB being there and the cash bar.... :)

We hit Penn Station for dinner and then headed over to the Corner Coffee House in Ferguson to get our tickets. We haven't been there for a couple of years. The owner, Joe Lonero, helped us with advice and some equipment when we were still in the planning stages of our coffee shop.

The place has been remodeled a bit, the back room is now finished off and fit for meetings and the like. The coffee was EXCELLENT!!! We all had two rounds!

We are so looking forward to Saturday!!!

Time To Wine??? (Steve Leslie Solo)

Steve Leslie will be doing a solo at Balducci's - Noon on 3/26/05. It's been a long time since I have seen him play solo anywhere other than Big Johnsons. It would be nice to hear him without the Big Johnsons echo.... We could sit near the front and "urge" him to play his originals.

High Strung on NPR?

Here's a link to a review of High Strung on NPR....NPR?!

Columbia! Part Deux you wanna have a good time?

Itinerary Begin.....
PickUp MrMrsJonez
White Rose Breakfast
Iron Horse Lattes & Americano (decaf)
I-70..........................................................
Best Value Hotel
Pre-Flight check on Music Cafe
Buy Now-Drink Later Beer Run
Back to Hotel for Pickup Andropov (HC Tag & Beer)
Flat Branch Brewery:

• Although I started with the Katy Trail, my new favorite beer there is Irish Red. The rest of the group went experimental with the Brown Lager, Brown Ale, and some HefeWeizenBockChoy samplers. All good, but the Irish Red was so smooth. I WISH I HAD ONE RIGHT NOW!

Onward...Music Cafe

• After noshing some good grub at Flat Branch (Spicy spinach dip is good!) We headed over to the Music Cafe on 9th Street (a bit of a dive, the bartender was trashed!). Now keep in mind we went in, knowing that we would sit through a couple of other bands before getting to JMB. However, while they were all talented musicians in their own right.....it was just too loud. I'm talkin' blood comin' outta my ears, neck muscle clenching, head popping off, hey is myheart still beating?... LOUD!!!

• So to pass the time we made ear-PLUGS from our drink napkins......MacGyver would not have been impressed, but it did save some hearing loss!

• My favorite part of the opening acts were the costumes of High Strung. Simple yet functional designs of white Levi's with navy blue stars down the side seam....and matching white shirts with smaller blue stars down the sleeves. Well, I think they were navy...under all the red bulbs it was hard to tell. I briefly chatted with one of the members of this group (Josh Malerman*) as he attempted to cut in line at the ladies restroom. Granted, he WAS just looking for a place to change out of uniform. I should have asked him who made the "enhancements" to their clothing...but it's times like these when you ask yourself; "Do You Wanna Be Helpful?". So I suggested he head to the back of the "lounge" area where no one could see him...I think he went out the exit door instead. I'm assuming everything worked out, cuz later I got the "thumbs-up" sign from him and he was back in street clothes. Problem solved.

• *Note.....DH & I both think his voice sounds a lot like Geddy Lee....

• FINALLY, the Javier Mendoza Band was onstage. They were great, as usual! We got to hear a couple of songs that were new to us, I think they are on the Beautiful album so we're planning to pick that one up. We also discovered that we were not alone in the audience when it came to appreciating JMB...in fact I think most of the people were there for them! We all got into the music and into chanting "One More Song" for an encore, which they did. We met a guy who is originally from Washington, MO, but now lives in L.A. and has been a JMB fan for a long time. Another fan, a native american woman, also talked to us/spit on us, but she was not drunk.
• We're looking forward to maybe seeing JMB at the Savoy in Ferguson, MO and again at the Cherry St. Artisan in Columbia.

IHOP
CC Coffeehouse
Itinerary End...

Columbia! Part Deux...

We're Baaaack! Well not yet...but we're (Us and the Joneses) headed back to Columbia on Saturday! Just a quick trip to catch our latest music obsession, Javier Mendoza Band at the Music Cafe. I'm sure we'll have some beer too and we have to stop at CC Coffeehouse...,