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Tag Archives: local band

My Cinco de Mayo

Yesterday I inadvisedly decided to do something for Cinco de Mayo, a holiday which for one reason or another I have never marked.  One reason was that I read that Matt Grainger was playing at the Saalty Dawg Saloon.  I have not heard him in a while.

I started out in some trepidation, because I have been to the Saalty Dawg once, and that time my cell phone told my friend Kim where to drive.  I no longer have a cell phone and I have never had a very good sense of direction.  Hoping for the best, I drove through Ilion till I got to the sign that said “Saalty Dawg” and pointed up Barringer Road.

And drove and drove.  I had it in my head that the Dawg was not actually on Barringer Road, but I had foolishly not written down the address.  I took two wrong turns, turned around in some dumb places, and had just about decided that I had gone too far when I found it.

Imagine my disappointment when I found out Matt would not start playing till eight.  I had a margarita and some chips with queso dip while I was there.  I admired the view and worked on a letter to a friend.

I didn’t mention that the Saalty Dawg is next to a golf course.

By this time it was after six (still too long to wait for eight), and I remembered that the Phil-Ins were playing at Fratello’s Pizzeria in Frankfort.  This is a band with Phil Arcuri and friends.  They would start at seven.  I drove there with no false starts.

Geno the bartender greeted me as I came in. I sat at the bar and ordered Sauvignon Blanc and a slice of cheesecake.  I never have room for dessert so thought for once I would get some.  I did not have long to wait for some good music.

They were great!

Unfortunately, my stomach soon let me know that the queso dip was a big mistake.  I confess to having some fears when I saw the peppers but of course I ate it anyways.  In my defense, yum.  I hoped the cheesecake would help.  It sounded soothing.

I fear it is a symptom of getting old that my stomach did not settle down.  I enjoyed some music but felt forced to head home.  I stretched out on my bed (by this time it took some effort to get there) and proceeded to feel miserable for a few hours.  That is why I did not make my Lame Post Friday post on Friday.

On the brighter side, before I left Fratello’s, Geno read me some of their upcoming musical entertainment.  Matt Grainger plays on Wednesday!

 

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More Music on Wednesday!

Regular readers may have wondered if I was ever going to return to my Wednesday Night Thing of going to Fratello’s Pizzeria in Frankfort for music and food.  Well, tonight I finally did.  I had the best time!

I got there between 5:30 and 6:00, and noticed a bald, bearded man setting up equipment. I asked who the musical talent was.  The bartender, Kimberly, told me it was Justin, at the same time the man setting up told me, “Justin!”  I said, “What’s your last name, Justin?”  He told me Smithson but I could put “Smithsonian.”  I told him I would put it in my blog post, and he acquiesced with Smithson.  Another patron told me Justin was the lead singer with Showtime.  I have heard of that band but never seen them, so I was interested to hear this Justin.

Great guitar!

I was not disappointed.  He opened with “Layla,” followed by “Peaceful, Easy Feeling.”  He asked for requests, so after a couple other numbers,  I asked if he knew “Sister Golden Hair.”  He looked up the lyrics on his IPad, saying he would rather cheat and do that rather than cut the song short.  He did a wonderful job on the song.

“Looking up lyrics on your IPad isn’t cheating,” I told him.  “It is research!”  He liked that.

I like the hockey pennants you can see in the background.

I greatly enjoyed my evening.  I even stayed for one more song than I intended, dancing with another patron.  It was a friendly crowd at a friendly venue with a friendly, talented singer.  How I have missed my Wednesday Night Thing!

Fratello’s Pizzeria is located at 158 E. Main St., Frankfort, NY, phone number 315-894-8484.  They are open 11 a.m. to 10 pm. Monday through Saturday, 1 to 7 p.m. Sunday.  Local music is featured other nights than Wednesday.  You can follow them on Facebook to find out more.

 

We Chow Down in Herkimer

Steven and I have been wanting to go to the Herkimer Downtown Chowdown for a while now. Tonight we finally made it.

We enjoyed the music from the band while we scanned the food trucks, deciding on our repast.

Nice lady!

I must return next week to purchase a t-shirt. I chatted with Melody Couchman, the volunteer selling them. She graciously allowed me to take her picture. She told me the band was called Last Left. We agreed that ’70’s and ’80’s music was great.

I wish I had gotten a better picture of the band.

We really enjoyed Last Left. Another local band to watch for! When I walked by to take a picture, I saw that Herkimer High School Class of 1983 was the sponsor of tonight’s event. I think my high school class ought to sponsor something!

We both felt full from dinner. However, after looking at some of the stuff offered by the Mad Batter Bakery (don’t you just love that name?), we reconsidered. Steven had a chocolate filled finger, and I had a plain donut. Then we were really stuffed!

I could have sat and listened to the band longer, but we needed to get home. For one reason, I wanted to make this blog post. I was happy to see so many people out enjoying the evening and the event. We also saw a lot of cute dogs. Altogether a very enjoyable time.

The Herkimer Downtown Chowdown is held every Monday, June to October, from 4 to 8 p.m. in Myers Park in Herkimer, NY.

Late Post about The Posers

I have mentioned our favorite band, The Posers. The best Friday night we had in a long time was the night we went to see them at the Mohawk American Legion.

These guys rock!

The event took place in the parking lot. Food and drink was available. I had some salt potatoes while Steven had a hot dog. But of course the main draw was the music.

I danced around, clicking.
Drummer and bass, the backbone of the band.

As you can see by Steven’s ensemble, it was one of the cooler evenings. We had a blast, though. I’m glad I finally wrote something about it.

They Play Again!

I have been enjoying a lot of good local music at Fratello’s Pizzeria in Frankfort. Last Friday (Holy Cow, that was a week ago and I haven’t written about it yet!) I went there specifically to hear the Playin’ Again Band.

I first heard them two weeks before, when I impulsively joined my sister Cheryl, her daughter Kimberly, and Kimberly’s boyfriend Matt for pizza and beer (perhaps you read my blog post about it) (Which I would link to, but I can’t remember it’s title). Cheryl found out the band was playing again (see what I did there?) July 2. I made a mental note.

These guys are great!

Matt couldn’t make it, but Kimi, Cheryl and I sat at the bar and enjoyed good food and music. They both had fish fry. Huge pieces of fish! I have to get that next time. I ordered a more modest clam basket, substituting a salad for fries. Yum!

Ah, a sign!

When we heard these guys before, we did not know the name. Cheryl cleverly found out and let me know after the fact. This time they had a lovely sign.

Another wide view.

When I went in the other room to get the pictures, I danced my way in and out as usual. A table with three couples sitting at seemed to enjoy watching me. A short time later, they all got up to dance to a romantic tune.

It was another enjoyable evening. Thanks, Fratello’s!

Love Those Posers!

I had a great time last night having a delicious dinner with good friends and listening to a great band.  The dinner was at The Brass Tack in Frankfort, NY and the band was The Posers.  Today’s post is going to be mostly the pictures I took.

I think I needed a bigger flash.

Normally I would be boogying down to the sound,  but there didn’t seem to be a whole lot of space on the patio. I ventured out to take a few pictures, though, and danced my way back to our table.

I got a couple shots of the band, but they didn’t turn out so good, because of them being backlit.  Everybody was having a great time.  I took a few crowd shots, which people seemed delighted to have me do.

Nobody seemed to mind the heat and humidity.

One of the friendlier tables.

We sat inside, in the air conditioning.

Jim, Kelly and Phyllis.

Steve and Jim.

We drank good wine, ate yummy food, heard great music, and had a lot of laughs.  I think I need more dinners with friends in my life!

The Brass Tack is located at 458 Acme Rd., Frankfort,  NY, 13340.  Phone number is 315-894-7996.

 

Pre Posers Post

I was going to wait till I got home to write about The Posers, our favorite local band.  Then I thought of how tired I might be and then I will be six (I really feel I have lost count) posts behind. This way, I don’t make things any worse, and if I do make another post later, I come out ahead.  I won’t get our hopes up about that, though (yeah, right, like anybody HOPES to read more than one Mohawk Valley Girl post in a day!).

Where was I?  Ah, yes, waiting with some impatience to go to The Brass Tack in Frankfort,  NY to hear an awesome band.  To make things even better, we are meeting our friends Phyllis, Jim and Kelly. I LOVE getting together with friends!

I have never been to the Brass Tack but have long wanted to.  It is a very popular spot, so I expect to be quite delighted. The lady that took my reservations was very friendly, so that bodes well.  I hope to do another post about the dinner.

I further hope to make a post about the band.  They play all this great music from the ’80’s and always seem to have such a fun time doing it.  We usually dance our butts off (and I have a lot of butt to dance off!).

So perhaps this has been a dull post about how I am soon to have a wonderful time.  Sorry about that.  I’ll go for a more exciting post later.

 

Party Like It’s 1980something!

So this Friday I am staying home and putting rollers in my hair (long story for another post), but last Friday, Steven and I and a couple of friends partied like it was the ’80s’s.  Yes, I said like it was the 1980’s, not like we were in our 80’s (although that it does feel like sometimes).  We went to the American Legion in Mohawk and danced to the sounds of The Posers.

We had never heard the band before, but we were interested because the bassist is our good friend, Rick DeJohn.  We got to the Legion shortly before they started.  I texted the  couple who planned to meet us that we had arrived.  They soon joined us, and we were enjoying the band.

It was not long before they played a song I remembered well from my days of watching Mtv, back when they actually played music most of the time.  I asked Steven to dance with me.  We bogeyed down!  Not many people had been dancing prior to this, but afterwards, the dance floor started to fill up.  We danced a lot, and I loved it.  They did not only play 1980’s music. We enjoyed it all.  It was easy to see the band was having fun, and I think everyone listening was having fun as well.

The Posers will be playing at the Team Rebecca Fundraiser at the Ilion Moose Lodge, on Barringer Road this Saturday, Feb. 18.  Donation for admission is $15.  For more information, go to http://teamrebecca.alfordplace.com/. For more information on The Posers, you can visit their Facebook page.