Tricked Again!

By the Isle of Manhattan that is. Friday before last, I attempted to socialize with Mishka Shubaly again by going to one of his shows. The plan was to get there early, have a drink with him during which time I would further prove to him that I was irresistible, then listen to his band Beat the Devil. (English people: Are band names in italics? I am ashamed of my ignorance here but not so much that I'm guilted into looking it up right now.)

The original plan was to go see the Rebirth Brass Band at BB Kings close to Time Square, and though I had bought tickets in like April, I did not make it to see them. So back to the story...

After asking several friends to see Rebirth, one of whom plays a brass instrument but could not go because of another engagement even though I thought this person would really like the band, Brandon (my new and wonderful roommate) agreed to go with me. He was also up for seeing Mishka first then heading to BB Kings. Brandon and I met W. David and some friends at Herbie's for dinner and drinks before leaving and when I asked Brandon if he was ready, he confusedly replied, "Is that tonight?" So I thought I would go alone or not go at all, but because he's wonderful, he came with me anyway as we braved the rainstorm.

We were making good time (Madison to the Holland Tunnel in 30 minutes) even with the bad weather when we emerged on the NY side to drive around the circle that would take us to Alphabet City when it happened. Once again, I forgot how bad a person's sense of direction is after being underground then driving 'round a circle, and just like last time, I got lost. That freakin' #3 exit to Brooklyn makes me loose my mind!

However, my navigator was not drunk (not sober either) and got us turned around in a timely manner and we headed for Midway formerly known as Scenic where the band was playing. Thanks to my excellentness at getting lost in Manhattan, we walked into the club just as the band was stepping onstage to play. Mishka said something incomprehesible and total rockstar pretentious-sounding and then they started to play the strange but appealing music that Brandon and I giggled about the whole time we were there. Not because it was bad, but because Brandon, being out of his element, found all the trendiness of the situation to be too much for him. So we knocked back some cheap drinks in our corner booth and made fun of people and thereby ourselves for being there. The band was good and interesting though not to my roommate's taste but we had fun. I said a quick hello to Mishka after the show (no invitation to make out this time, hopefully only because his manager was there and he was trying to behave) and Brandon and I walked back into the rain to my car. On the way, we decided that we were not in the mood for a brass band drove to a gay club, Duplex, on Christopher Street. It's a two-story place with a piano bar, a trivia bar (think sports bar without sports), and a showtunes karaoke cabaret where we spent most of our time relaxing and listening to people sing. A very nice refuge from the rain and the loud music and those crazy heteroes. And I'm usually one of the cute ones when among FH's or SWISHes (Single Women In Support of Homos).

When in doubt, trust your roommate and take a left after the Brooklyn exit of the Holland Tunnel.