Janice Williams Loves Austin

It is an aggravating thing to go to a blog you like and find the same post that was there the day before (and the day before). I know, I’m a blog reader, too. But, man, doesn’t a little bit of work get in the way of my webposting? I am doing some part-time work and it has kept me busy and will, I hope, continue to keep me busy, but with some time for blogging, too.

I did have three new experiences yesterday that I wanted to write about and I want to post pictures, but I’m too pooped to get the camera and upload them. So, for now, just a little of the story. I had a new food, a new venue, and TWO new bands yesterday.

First, the food. Yes, I will add a food category to the blog. It keeps coming up! My friend Marsha made me a sandwich like I have never had before. She said that the local drugstore lunch counter made it when she was a kid and it was their specialty. Get this:  Nut Olive Sandwich. And by “nut” she meant peanut butter. It was bread spread with peanut butter and covered in olives and then grilled in a pan with butter. She added some mayonnaise to it when it was done. Good? Yes, it was good. I don’t think it is something that I will seek out or try to make myself, but it wasn’t bad. The warmed peanut butter was very good and almost “cheesy” in its creaminess. And I love olives just about anywhere, so they were good.

On to the new venue. I went to the Scoot Inn on the east side of town to see a friend play. Jennifer Leonhardt is relatively new in town and I met her and her college-aged daughter on Christmas Eve at the club Mark plays at. Very nice people. She sings and writes and had a show at the Scoot Inn so I checked it out. Cute little place, it reminded me of an old-fashioned living room with flocked wallpaper walls, old chandeliers and lamps with red bulbs, and old-fashioned frames and photographs on the walls. Neat old wooden bar, too. Nice place and nice people, though very few of them on a Monday night. I think the second band watched the first band play and the first band watched the second and there were a few employees, a girlfriend or two, and me.

And the new music:  Jennifer was the headliner and she played with a four-piece band. She has a beautiful voice. I would use the word ethereal except that sounds quiet or weak. Her voice was very strong. The style of music was something that I enjoy live, but don’t know that I would like it on a recording as much. It has been interesting (and a bit of a challenge) to see music now that I am out of radio. No longer do I have to judge or critique (in my head) for the job and if it would fit there, now I can just appreciate music as it is and decide if I like it. It has been harder than I would have expected to make that transition. I’m learning.

The band that opened for Jennifer was Blue Squeezebox. I hope a picture I took came out. They are a three piece band with, of course, an accordion! The lead guy (and I didn’t even get his name) plays a beautiful blue accordion with, well, black “white” keys and white “black” keys. You know what I mean.  I love his approach to the accordion. No, this wasn’t polkas or conjunto, this was more the French style of accordion, which was the type that affected me most just before I got mine. Very melancholy, melodic. He was very strong in his control of the accordion, which I am not, and he had a great way with the buttons. I see lots and lots of accordion players with bands that are truly keyboard players so they only play the keyboard or play the buttons intermittently. And I really don’t mean that as a criticism. If you see me play at the Broken Spoke (or anywhere) I’m only going to play the keys because I am too inexperienced to control both at the same time. This guy was great and had an amazing style of singing, too. If you like Tom Waits and Jon Dee Graham and other artists that growl and bark their songs, this was like that!

So new food, new places, new music, and new friends in the process. It was a great Monday. Apparently it wore me out, though, and I’ve been dragging through work today and even through American Idol tonight, if you can imagine. I did finish up my website class at ACC, though, and you’ll be proud I have passed. Whoo-hoo. I’d post my final website project, but it is boring boring, but it is my first website created entirely by hand with html, so that was a big learning process.