Monday, December 27, 2010

Sarah needs water....

Johnnykmusic appreciates, indeed encourages, the submission of your music opinions/experiences.  Peter M happened upon our girl, Sarah Borges (sans Broken Singles), one evening earlier this month.  His observations:

Yes. PAs Lounge is in the same block as Sally O'Briens, where we all went one night to see that singer I like, old whatshisname.  PAs is a weird place....a bar and next to it a separate music space/empty room. You can take your drink from the bar part and go through a couple of doors....but don't go outside with your drink!....and into the music room. Beer in plastic cups. After a couple the 40-something blond bartender broke away from her f-bomb-loaded conversation with her trashy looking girlfriend at the bar and offered a glass if I was just there to drink, plastic for music listeners.

It was a release party for some guy's CD and Sarah was first on. She came into the bar and announced to somebody she hadn't had a drink since a time I didn't hear and was stopping smoking. She asked for a glass of water and was a little put out that blondie took a while to fetch it.

Took my plastic cup into the next room to hear Sarah's set. She was solo, not in stage costume, sang a few and got off. She sounded fine, but nothing inspired. She was still weirded out by blondie and re-told on stage the tale of the slow glass of water. Maybe she just wanted everybody to know she was not drinking. The audience was all 30ish hipster guys in hoodies and caps, Chuck Taylors, skinny music guys with scruffy beards or stubble....and real skinny girl friends. I had to be the oldest person there by 30 years. Watched the next band .... the lead singer said it was an honor to sing after Sarah .... holy shit, he thinks she's a legend from the past.

Walking back to my car the sound of music pulls me into Sally O'Brien's. A different world. Gray-beard band, no skinny hipsters here. Lots of relaxed-fit jeans, some of the same people that have been there all three times I've been in this bar over maybe four years. Old guy with the hat, fancy dresser, camel hair blazer with the collar turned up, showing off his dance moves, hustling the ladies, not as drunk as the last time I saw him. Serious middle aged dancers, one woman putting sexy dirty dancing moves on her partner with the gray Prince Valiant hair cut, plus a few ballet turns to make sure we know she can still do it. Somerville Saturday night.

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