Wichita Night Life
I was first introduced to Live Music in a bar setting in Las Vegas, Nevada. Initially, I thought this venue was unique to Las Vegas, but in retrospect, I realized it was because I never lived in a large city as an adult until I moved to Vegas. While Live Music is never going to have the perfection, the clarity of a studio recording, there is just something highly sensual about feeling the bass guitar rumble through your body while you soak up the enthusiasm of the band, emotion amplified by your fellow listeners.
I was excited to find that Jerry's Bar and Grill just off of Central and Tyler, not far from home had live music on Friday and Saturday night. My mom and I took in the ambiance Saturday night. Lucky People, the band, gave a very tight performance through their repertoire of classic rock.
My mom and I went early, well before the time the band would start their performance. We wanted to get the vibe of the place. Although Jerry's is in a safe part of town, if the crowd trickling in made us uncomfortable we'd decided ahead of time to leave. Our precaution was unnecessary, however. The wait staff was very friendly and assured us their patrons would be a good group. We were not disappointed. The crowd was composed of all age groups from those in their 20's through those in their 60's. The women appeared to equal or out-number the men. Everybody was upbeat.
When the band FINALLY began to play at 9:30PM (why do they always have to start so freaking late?), the first person on the dance floor was an older gentlemen, I'm guessing in his 60's, who probably learned his dance moves back when John Travolta was in Saturday Night Fever. The guy was good! Eventually he was joined on the dance floor, by two guys and girl, and then two girls, one of which opted to be his partner for that song. He danced with many throughout the night.
While there were the standard male/female couples dancing, there were a number of female/female couples, and a significant number of threesomes ~ two guys and one girl; one guy and two girls. Some danced solo until s/he was absorbed into one of the other groups. Whatever the combination, everyone was having a sensually good time.
During the intermission, Jerry's DJ took over. I was surprised to look up at one point and find about 50 people (although the dance floor is really rather modest) line dancing. I'd thought that was only a country and western phenomena. The regulars must have known to expect it, because at the next intermission, they readily formed into lines again.
As the night wore on, the place really became packed. The bartenders, three of them, worked their butts off with people standing two and three deep at the bar. When I went up to get my second my beer I tipped the bartender almost half the cost of the beer. She was giving really excellent service in hectic circumstances. The next time I made the trip to the bar, she had my order ready before I even spoke. Another tip for her.
During one my waits at the bar, I met the drummer, Alan. Standing next to me, he'd ordered a Dr. Pepper, then acted a bit embarrassed about it, going on to explain that if he drank while he drummed, his tempo got increasingly slower. Yeah, that made sense.
Lastly, the conversation with the lonely, divorced, very drunk, 52 year old man, who seated himself beside me. He told me about himself, then quizzed me a bit. All very innocuous until he asks, "Are you a Christian?"
Me: "Nope."
Drunk guy: "You don't believe in God?"
Me: "Nope."
Drunk guy: "So are you open to discovery? Discovery of Christ."
Me: "Nope."
Drunk guy, "Oh well, we're not suited for one another. And I'm thinking, yeah, no shit.
The thing of it is, this guy was really drunk, so we got to have the conversation again. It went pretty much as before, except this time I changed one of my answers to, "I'm a Buddhist."
His response, "Well, that's better than nothing." I had to laugh. He bought me a beer, then disappeared and didn't return. I was okay with that.
My mom and I made it home at 1AM. And today, I've pretty much felt like crap ~ too much beer, too late a night ~ but I did have fun. I may go back in a month or two or three. However, long it takes me to forget the pain.
I was excited to find that Jerry's Bar and Grill just off of Central and Tyler, not far from home had live music on Friday and Saturday night. My mom and I took in the ambiance Saturday night. Lucky People, the band, gave a very tight performance through their repertoire of classic rock.
My mom and I went early, well before the time the band would start their performance. We wanted to get the vibe of the place. Although Jerry's is in a safe part of town, if the crowd trickling in made us uncomfortable we'd decided ahead of time to leave. Our precaution was unnecessary, however. The wait staff was very friendly and assured us their patrons would be a good group. We were not disappointed. The crowd was composed of all age groups from those in their 20's through those in their 60's. The women appeared to equal or out-number the men. Everybody was upbeat.
When the band FINALLY began to play at 9:30PM (why do they always have to start so freaking late?), the first person on the dance floor was an older gentlemen, I'm guessing in his 60's, who probably learned his dance moves back when John Travolta was in Saturday Night Fever. The guy was good! Eventually he was joined on the dance floor, by two guys and girl, and then two girls, one of which opted to be his partner for that song. He danced with many throughout the night.
While there were the standard male/female couples dancing, there were a number of female/female couples, and a significant number of threesomes ~ two guys and one girl; one guy and two girls. Some danced solo until s/he was absorbed into one of the other groups. Whatever the combination, everyone was having a sensually good time.
During the intermission, Jerry's DJ took over. I was surprised to look up at one point and find about 50 people (although the dance floor is really rather modest) line dancing. I'd thought that was only a country and western phenomena. The regulars must have known to expect it, because at the next intermission, they readily formed into lines again.
As the night wore on, the place really became packed. The bartenders, three of them, worked their butts off with people standing two and three deep at the bar. When I went up to get my second my beer I tipped the bartender almost half the cost of the beer. She was giving really excellent service in hectic circumstances. The next time I made the trip to the bar, she had my order ready before I even spoke. Another tip for her.
During one my waits at the bar, I met the drummer, Alan. Standing next to me, he'd ordered a Dr. Pepper, then acted a bit embarrassed about it, going on to explain that if he drank while he drummed, his tempo got increasingly slower. Yeah, that made sense.
Lastly, the conversation with the lonely, divorced, very drunk, 52 year old man, who seated himself beside me. He told me about himself, then quizzed me a bit. All very innocuous until he asks, "Are you a Christian?"
Me: "Nope."
Drunk guy: "You don't believe in God?"
Me: "Nope."
Drunk guy: "So are you open to discovery? Discovery of Christ."
Me: "Nope."
Drunk guy, "Oh well, we're not suited for one another. And I'm thinking, yeah, no shit.
The thing of it is, this guy was really drunk, so we got to have the conversation again. It went pretty much as before, except this time I changed one of my answers to, "I'm a Buddhist."
His response, "Well, that's better than nothing." I had to laugh. He bought me a beer, then disappeared and didn't return. I was okay with that.
My mom and I made it home at 1AM. And today, I've pretty much felt like crap ~ too much beer, too late a night ~ but I did have fun. I may go back in a month or two or three. However, long it takes me to forget the pain.