I Do Stuff…

Paradise Springs Winery

It was Nancy’s birthday the other day and we had a busy day planned to celebrate it.  The party started at a brand new winery in Fairfax, the first in the county in fact.  Paradise Springs Winery had their grand opening the same day as her birthday and what a perfect way to kick off a full day of celebrations.  Nancy and I arrived just after noon with few people there.  Because the place was hard to find and in the middle of no where, I thought the crowds would be pretty small.  Parking was easy and getting a tasting took only a few minutes.  However as the day progressed, more and more people showed up, literally bus loads at times.  By this time reinforcements arrived with food, my Dad and Pat.

We spent hours around this wine barrel we commandeered for the afternoon.  It allowed us a place to put all the food my Dad brought with him.  Fortunately Nancy, Tracy, Rob and myself arrived early enough we were able to get a tasting in before the hordes came.  It was to late for them to get a tasting because of the lines.  They trusted our judgment and got a bottle of Chardonnay and a Norton we all agreed was drinkable.  To be honest none of us were to thrilled with the offerings.  The wine was simply, ok.  Nothing spectacular and certainly nothing that blew our minds.  A pretty decent view more than made up for the mediocre wine.

Alto Plaza Centreville, VA

Late in the afternoon after killing several soldiers we parted ways, Nancy and I continued our adventure in birthday fun and everyone else went home.  We headed back to her apartment with Doug who arrived supper late to the winery for about an hour before dinner at Alto Plaza.  This allowed us to change into appropriate attire for dinner, but more importantly, get some football in.  Doug and I couldn’t see the whole game, but we saw enough to know New Orleans was going to win against the Cardinals.

Around 6 we finally left for the short drive to Alto Plaza where we had reservations.  We arrived right on time, but like usually we where the first to arrive.  When we got to the third floor they had a large table setup for us right next to a large bay window looking towards the mountains.  If the sun was setting it would have been a great view.  Being the first to arrive we decided to belly up to the bar in the lounge for a quick drink and to relax before things got crazy.  By about 7pm everyone else arrived; Jeremy, Nichole and Jeffrey with Rob coming from the winery like we did.  Dinner was fantastic.  The food was great and the service was impeccable.  The only issue we had was when we tried to pay the bill.  I had $225 in gift cards that I wanted to use, this would cut the total bill in half for everyone else.  Unfortunately the waitress said the gift cards where for the old restaurant and they wouldn’t’ accept it.  I was pissed.  Thankfully, she went to bat for us and they used all the gift cards.  If they wanted to get our business again this was what they needed to do.

Lulu Cafe (karaoke) Centreville, VA

After a wonderful meal our group again parted ways with some of our dinner guest headed over to Lulu Cafe for some karaoke.  Here we meet backup with Tracy and Bobby, Matt showed up as well for a loooooong night of singing.  We got there just before 10pm and snagged a private room in the back.  The guy showed us how to use the equipment and it was on after that.  The machine was in constant use till well after 2am when we finally left.  Everyone, including Matt, sang songs for hours.  By about midnight I wanted nothing more than to go home and sleep.  In fact several times I almost passed out in the back corner which was amazing considering how loud the music was.

Close to 3am is when we finally got Nancy back to her house.  It felt so good to finally go to sleep in a comfortable bed.  The whole day was great and a lot of fun, even if it did go to the wee hours of the morning.  Not only did Nancy say she had a great time, I could also tell because all day Sunday she was hung over and didn’t want to leave the house.  I was grateful to everyone that made it out for all or part of the day, it really made Nancy feel special having so many people show up.  Next years is a milestone year for her, she has kicked around a few ideas on how to celebrate it already.  It certainly a good idea to start planning 12 months in advance for some of these.

sun dial from the Carlyle House

Photo Gallery

So after years of trying to get Nancy to travel the short distance to Old Town Alexandria for a day of fun it finally happened.  But not because of my doing, a couple she knows was going to the Torpedo Factory, one of the reasons I have been trying to get her to go, and invited us along.  I couldn’t believe it when she agreed to travel to the “city”.  Finally!  We were headed to the Torpedo Factory for a day of culture and fun.

Saturday when we went couldn’t have been better to be outside in this historic district.  The sun was shining and them temperatures were very comfortable.  I decided to take Metro and just meet everyone there at 4 o’clock.  Since i wanted to walk around a take a bunch of pictures this afforded me ample time to get there early and enjoy the city.  While walking down from the Metro stop they had an Armenian festival at City Hall.  They had all sorts of craft vendors and when I was passing through a group of dancers were on stage doing traditional dance, you wont see this stuff on MTV.

I was able to spend a good hour walking around the city, mostly along the waterfront, and got some good shots.  Nancy and the troops were running a little late which allowed me the extra shooting time at the Carlyle House (picture).  A historic site with a fantastic garden in the back yard that is being restored.  Unfortunately their delay would limit our time at the Torpedo Factory.  It normally closes at 6 on Saturdays, but tonight they had a special engagement and were closing at 5.  So we only had about 30 minutes of time to walk around.  Every type of art medium you could think of is represented here, most of which was for sale.  I was really impressed with the place and would love to come back when I can spend a few hours walking around.  With three levels and all these little cubbyholes hiding different artists, many of who are happy to talk about their work, there is a lot to see.

Eventually when we got kicked out we walked around downtown and did a little shopping.  The first place we went to was Conrad’s Furniture Gallery because of their pitch.  When we walked by they offered us free drinks and hors d’oeuvres.  Who can refuse free alcohol and food?  The place was very trendy and offered a wide variety of things for sale.  Nancy walked away with a hand blown green glass blow from Turkey, or maybe Morocco.  I wanted to use it as a cereal bowl but that idea got shot down quickly.  Nancy doesn’t know yet what she will do with it, but she knows it will be the bases for furnishing her house.  I fail to see how you can base the whole decoration of a house, or even a room, on one single bowl, but if anyone can do it it would be Nancy.

row houses

We still needed to kill time as our dinner reservations at The Wharf, was not till 6:30.  The hors d’oeuvres wet our appetite so we tried to get seated early for our reservations.  When we arrived at the restaurant it was completely empty on Saturday night.  Once we got seated we checked out the menu and it was limited and expensive.  Plus Nancy doesn’t eat seafood and the selection of chicken/beef was only two items.  So we decided to dine and dash, well more just the dash.  We didn’t order anything, not even drinks.

Fortunately for us just down the block we found another restaurant that looked more appealing, the Fish Market.  It was still a seafood place, but the menu had more options of non-seafood items.  When we walked in the atmosphere was much more relaxed compared to the other place.  Even the drink selection was better, the crazy sizes and names made it a done deal.  I must saw that I was impressed with the food as well.  I had the Admiral’s platter, basically a little of everything.  With the exception of the crab imperial that tasted awful, everything was good.  And the hushpuppies, it had been so long since I tasted such good hushpuppies.

After dinner we decided on some bar hoping and this is how we ended our night in Old Town.  Our first stop was at the Tap Room which was right next to the car.  Definitely a locals bar, very quaint with cool architecture.  Next it was off to O’Connell’s, you might have quested it, an Irish pub.  Here we lucked out and got a table outside on the sidewalk.  On such a beautiful night we could not have asked for a better location.  Plus I love to people watch and it was great to see the diverse crowd of people walking around that evening.  It was so good we had two rounds of drinks before we did a little shopping at Le Tache.  I won’t go into what this place is, but I saved the night when I found it only one block up from O’Connell’s bar.  A very interesting place, very upscale with a helpful staff, I can’t wait to go back.

For a night cap it was Bugsy’s and their sports bar located atop their pizza parlor.  I was amazed by the amount of crap, I mean memorabilia, on the walls.  In the middle of looking around we noticed it was almost midnight and that the garage would be closing soon.  We were not ready to finish our evening, but we were forced to leave.  After getting back to the car I hitched a ride to Metro and that ended a great day in Old Town Alexandria.  We are all hoping to get back soon and do an official bar crawl.

I have been listening to the Soulsearching podcast with Michael Rutten for almost two years.  I found the podcast by accident while listening to Raute Musik’s Lounge station from Germany.  Michael has introduced me to a ton of good music and when I can find it on iTunes I get it.  One of the band that he has played several time is The New Mastersounds from Leads in England.  They have this jazz/soul/funk sound that just wont stop.  The few songs I heard on his program are funky with a rhythm and beat that wont quit.  After checking their website I found they would be touring the United States in January with a local stop in Baltimore at The 8×10.  With a kick ass band doing a US tour at a local venue and tickets only $12 it was a sign.  I needed to go to this concert.

The show was on Friday January 9th so it was a no brainer to make it an evening in Baltimore.  I left work about 6:30 to get up there.  I was a little worried about crossing the Woodrow Wilson bridge, but with the redesign getting across was a piece of cake.  Finding a parking spot in Federal Hill turned out to be a problem.  The one parking deck they have was filled up.  So I spent the next 45 minutes driving around the narrow streets looking for a parking space.  The ones that I did find were to small so I started to expand my circle looking for a spot.  I eventually found a spot about 8 blocks away near a high school.  After that long walk I was really hungry for some food.

Walking down the street I found this great little Thai place called Ten-O-Six, exactly what I was looking for.  When I walked by the front window I could see the chef cooking, that was what drew me to the restaurant.  When I walked in it was a tiny little place that was packed for a Friday night.  Being just one person I took a seat at the bar where I could see the chef work.  I ordered a duck dish that was amazing.  It came with some vegetables in a good sauce and rice.  Being Thia it was spicy, but a good level of spice.  Nothing to weak and not to strong, just the right amount.  And for $13 the price couldn’t be beat.  For desert I had the creme brulee that was fantastic.  I stumbled across this restaurant and I thoroughly enjoy the place, I highly recommend the place if you are in the Federal Hill area of Baltimore.

After a great meal it was time to head to the club.  I was running late, because of my parking situation, but didn’t mind.  The food more than made up for it and I was only missing the opening act, Higher Hands.  I saw them once opening up for Soulive back in August at the Rams Head Live also in Baltimore.  They are pretty good, but not high on my list of bands to watch.  So when I got there I got a beer and stacked out a spot.  Higher Hand only played a few songs and they where off, hell it didn’t even take long before The New Mastersounds came to the stage.

These guys played two sets that night and kicked ass.  They brought the funk all the way from Leads in England to this little venue in Baltimore and I was completely blown away by them.  The venue was packed with people dancing to the music.  Many of the songs I recognized from their album This Is What We Do.  The rest of them were just as good.  I wish I knew the setlist better because the second to last song ending the first set was great.  The jam in the middle was put together perfectly at the right time.  All I can say is if they come to your town make the trip to see them, you will not be disappointed.

After a long night it was time to head home.  I was thinking about heading over to Sabatino’s in Little Italy for a cappuccino and tiramisu, but getting back to my car at 2am all I wanted to do was get home.  I could barely make it home I was so tired.  When I finally did make it, it was lights out the moment my head hit the pillow.  My chance to see them again will happen soon.  They are announcing a three week US tour for March and I am pretty sure they will be back to Baltimore.  I will see you all there!

The New Mastersounds
The 8×10 – Baltimore, MD
Friday, January 9th, 2009

Set 1 (10:47 start)
01. Zambezi
02. Carrot Juice
03. All I Want (Right Now)
04. Miracles
05. Thermalbad
06. Coming Up Roses
07. Brother Soul
08. Baby Bouncer
11:45 end

Set 2 (12:08 start)
01. Thirty-Three
02. Hole In The Bag
03. Fastman
04. Six Underground
05. Turn this Thing Around
06. 3 on the B
07. You’ve Got It All
08. Eazin Down
09. Quantico VA
10. Nervous (remix)

Encore
12. One Note Brown (with jam intro)
1:35 end with encore

Not to long ago I saw that Trey Anastasio was putting together a fall tour.  He got back together with the original TAB members and put together a small tour, the tour closer was scheduled for The National in Richmond, VA.  After missing out on Trey’s first tour in the Fall of ‘99, I definitely wanted to see this show.  It would be the four piece band, in a small local club, and tour closer, I just couldn’t pass up on tickets.

Trey Anastasio

I headed south to Richmond from my house in the early afternoon.  I wanted to get down long before the show and just chill and relax for a while.  Take a walk around the city and get some food at a great Cuban restaurant, Havana 59.  Since the following day I was headed to False Cape State Park for a few days of camping, I got a hotel room at the Crowne Plaza in downtown, right on the water.

The weather driving down was rainy and just plan miserable the whole way.  Even with the heavy traffic and rain I made it to downtown Richmond in good time.  I checked into the hotel land took a stroll around the downtown area.  What always amazes me is how few people there are downtown Richmond.  It was late Saturday afternoon and the place was a ghost town.  Everyone works in the city but lives in the burbs.

After a depressing walked I headed over to Havana 59 for some good food, a few drinks, and a cigar.  I have eaten here several times and the place is great.  The food is a little expensive, but drinks are reasonable and I just love the atmosphere.  Things are so laid back in this place, this is why I keep coming back.  Well the food too.  I had the pork chop with pineapple salsa, peanut mashed potatoes and grilled portobello mushrooms.

The National

After one last drink and a short smoke it was time to walk over to the venue, The National.  When I got there I was a little worried.  There was no crowd outside or line waiting to get Will Call tickets.  I knew the show time was 8pm, but rarely does any band start on time, especially Trey/Phish.  So when the time was 8:45 I thought I had time before the show started, so I quickly got my ticket and walked into the venue.  There were of course police and security but I was like a ghost in the night to them.  When I got inside I could hear Trey and the boys already ripping it up on stage.

In my 14 years of seeing concerts I think I have arrived late three times, this being the third time.  I was disappointed but could only blame myself for my tardiness.  The place was packed and I was late, so the only open spots were in the back.  Trey was ripping a sweet version of Sand, so at least I had not missed much.

I can’t tell you what a thrill it was to see Trey in such a small venue.  He played a lot of great songs from his career as a solo artists.  I was a little disappointed that more Phish songs were not played, with the upcoming reunion and all, I was hoping for more.  I got shut out of tickets so this was my best chance to hear some Phish.  I guess in some ways it makes sense not to play any.  But I did hear some new songs from Trey and his new album.  I must say they are…..different.  They don’t suck or anything.  These new songs are much more thought out, the lyrics and music.  More….mature.

I wish that every band I see could be how I remember them.  But as artists I can’t ask them to do that, and I would not like it if they did.  Artists are continuously changing and reinventing themselves.  Sometimes it’s a good change, sometimes it’s not.  <cough>Soulive adding various vocal members of the band.<cough>

By the second set I was able to move much closer to the band.  Between sets there is always a mass exodus of people.  Mostly they want to go smoke, so they piled out front into a small quarantined section.  The other half gets in line for beer.  I was able to do all this early.  By the start of the second set got some fresh air outside and had a beer in hand, 20′ from the stage.

The second set was very different from the first.  More new songs with a much slower tempo than the first set.  Trey also played several acoustic songs solo.  This is reminiscent of the first Trey tour where he would play the first set acoustic and the second set electric with the full band.

It was a great show that night and a wonderful tour closers.  I found some simple stats of the tour and it would appear this show was a little better than average.  Actually it looks like the entire tour was the same.  Pretty much the same set list every night, nothing to special any night, etc…  As for any word on Phish there was only one mention of the upcoming reunion.  Trey mentioned that Hampton was a short drive away and that we should all start camping out now.  You could feel the energy in the room build when Trey talked “Phish”.

What a perfect way to spend a Saturday, some sight seeing, good food, and a kick ass concert to end the evening.

Set 1
Push On ’til the Day
Sand
Ooh Child
Tube Top Flop >
Cayman Review
Drifting
Backwards Down the Number Line
Money Love and Change

Set 2
Sweet Dreams Melinda
Mr. Completely
Gotta Jibboo
Sitting in Limbo
Alaska
Shine
Water in the Sky*
Strange Design*
Sample in a Jar*

Encore
Burlap Sack and Pumps
First Tube

Note:
*Trey solo acoustic

The cigar shop I work for, Old Virginia Tobacco, has been around for 37 years at this point.  In that time we have built a very good relationship with many of the top manufactures in the industry.  One of those is Ernesto Perez-Carrillo from La Gloria Cubana.  This guy is a legend and everything he makes is a real winner.  Rarely does he do public events.  He is a cigar maker, not an entertainer.  So when we talked to him about doing a release party for his new cigar we were shocked when he said he said yes.

I saw Ernie at this years trade show in Las Vegas and I spoke to him about his new line, the Artesanos de Miami.  We spoke further during the General Cigar dinner at Aureole in the Mandalay Bay Hotel.  He loves to talk about cigars and was telling me about why he came up with it, how different the tobacco is in this cigar, and how exclusive the line would be.  Come to find out only 100 retailers in the country will get it and there will only be 125,000 sticks made.  We were one of two shops to get it first, weeks before it would be released to everyone else.

a serious LGC fan

When the BBQ finally came on Saturday, September 20th everyone was excited.  The customers had been looking forward to the event for weeks and they were not disappointed.  We blocked off a large portion of the lot in front of the store for the event.  Not only so people could sit and mingle, but for the large BBQ grill used to cook the food and enough space for DJ Randy to setup his rig.  The weather that day could not have been better and everyone enjoyed the event immensely.

Ernie holding court

Finally about 4pm the BBQ ended and I had to run.  I needed to get home, shower, and be at Alto Plaza by 6pm when cocktail hour started.  It was a bit of a stretch but me and Nancy arrived right on time.  In fact the only other person there was a long time customer Scott.  Slowly other guests started to arrive and we all just mingled at the bar.  Unfortunately the guest of honor got delayed so everything got pushed back.  Finally about 7:30pm we were seated.  Scott, me, Nancy, Mark, Randy, Mike, Barbara, and one other guy took a table in the back.  Just like in high school all the cool kids went right for the back.

very fashionable

The dinner was fantastic.  Our table had spent most of cocktail hour talking and drinking so all we did was move the whole affair to a table and continued the fun.  Before any course was served Scott had ordered three bottles of wine for the table.  After that it was on like Donkey Kong.

Even after dinner our group didn’t leave.  We must have stuck around for another hour or so while everyone else left out.  Eventually those of us left (me, Nancy, Scott, Mark, Bob, Gary, and Ernie) moved to the head table and continued to talk till almost midnight.  What a wonderful evening.  Not only did I get to enjoy some great food and drink, I got to enjoy it with some very good friends.  What more could you ask for?

As a whole the BBQ and dinner were a smashing success.  Ernie told me it was great to see so many people attend the event and smoking his cigars.  Not smoking his cigars because he was the guest of honor, but smoking them because they actually enjoy them.  We didn’t become the number one La Gloria retailer in the country for nothing.

I would like to thank Ernie for spending the day with us and I look forward to future events with him.  I will see you at IPCPR next year in New Orleans.