Yeah. That's Hog Beatty's term for the bar and lounge at Casa del Mar, where he used to go with his ex-girlfriend JG a few years ago. I'm not so sure about that: sure, it's comfortable place. But it does have that old-hotel grandeur. It's a thrilling place to be. (Many of you know it as the place Larry David refused to take his television wife on an old episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm.)

I took my mother there last night in honor of (1) her 71st birthday this coming Friday, and (2) the fact that there is no Boston Legal soundtrack on the market.

I thought if we went to listen to Billy Valentine live, it would be the next best thing. But it was better—so much better. For one thing, I discovered that the slice of the music pie that represents the spot where my mother's and my taste meet is much larger than I'd thought. I know she likes classical music—but rarely the stuff I listen to (I'm all Bach, Beethoven and tone poems by, among others, Saint Saens). And I knew she liked jazz, and music with bitchin' vocals, including well-executed gospel music. But there is a lot of bluesy stuff out there, a vast range where the Kay-Joy tastes meet. Valentine even sang Sinatra, and my mother and I both dug it: I'd never pictured her as a Sinatra fan. Not in the least.

Finally, I got to meet Tonio K, in the flesh. Wait—that link has loud music on it, so be ready. Or try this one.

I was also surprised by how incredible the Stuart Elster Trio were, all on their own, while Billy was drinking wine with his friends and fans. There is something fundamentally pure and fine in listening to a pianist, a bassist, and a drummer (working mostly with brushes, natch). They did amazing work. This was not piano-lounge mood music. Nope. One of the cocktail waitresses couldn't help swinging her hips as she went from table to table.

And there was one more discovery: the siren singer Heather Loren, who performed one number: a great rendition of the Peggy Lee version of "Fever." (The Wikipedia entry lists all the people who have ever performed the song, and now I'm going crazy trying to figure out from whom I first heard it. I'm not even sure I know if it was a man or a woman.)

Posted by: Attila Girl at 08:54 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
Post contains 422 words, total size 3 kb.