Loose Leaf Notes

Back in the day, the Pine Tavern was a second home to many of us, especially on Sunday night for the Open Mic. It was a weekly meeting place for the alter-native community to socialize, unwind, and dance. The Pine Tavern closed and when it re-opened under new ownership the Open Mic didn’t return. Recently Oddfellas started hosting one on Sunday nights. Unlike the monthly Spoken Word Open Mic I help host at Cafe del Sol, this one mostly features music. Last night, my second time to attend, had the makings of an old home week, with Chef Natasha in the kitchen, a dark beer in hand, and some familiar and new faces on stage.

It was a treat to be entertained by the next generation. I remember Lavanah when she was a toddler. Now she looks like Ani Difranco but has a sweet singing voice without Ani's edge. You can hear her original music on her Myspace page HERE.

Sakeeta (right) grew up on the community farm in my neighborhood and was a close friend of my son Josh. With a singing style reminiscent of Kurt Cobain, he paired up with Justin for a rousing set. Later Justin unleashed his Howling Wolf voice, taking prompts from the audience for some on the spot stream of consciousness song and banter.

A man played Bach on the guitar and Mara read some poetry. Meanwhile, Kayla (center) and I played a doodle game where she made a doodle and I added to it and then passed it back to her. I was excited to find a yellow highlighter by the check-out register to borrow, but by the end of the night I was desperate enough for a red pen to ask everyone in the restaurant if they had one. I'd post the doodle here if I had it because it came out pretty good, except for the fact that it was missing some red.

P.S. Bernie (well known musician on the left who I wrote about in January) had the night off.