A Night on the Town

Someone who works for my family has a band, and they were going to be performing for the first time in my town at a new restaurant/performance place that just opened. He'd been reminding people for two weeks to go, and my sister and I had said we'd be there, so last night we went.

My parents decided to come, too.

This is not a bad thing... I love my family, and we had a lot of fun. But it certainly does make the entire situation more amusing.

To start, let me lay the scene. The restaurant that opened up is targeted at a younger generation (let's say college to late thirties, or those who are young at heart). They have a full bar, close to those under 21 after 9, serve meals that aren't gourmet but are tasty and fit your budget, play music that was recorded after 1990... you get my drift.

My dad was saying how he wasn't sure he was going to make it to 9 pm to see the band perform, and when we got there both my parents were a little flustered by how crowded it was (no tables, but it's not like the line was out the door). There were 4 spots at the bar open, though, so we all just sat there and waited for the entertainment!

Well, my dad is the sort of guy who knows everyone in town. If he goes somewhere and doesn't know everyone there, he'll make sure to meet everyone so he knows them all next time. So he immediately struck up a conversation with the guy next to him. They were discussing the roads in our town and how this guy recently lost his license in the state of NH, etc. etc. I wasn't really paying attention. Eventually that person left and a new woman sat down.

Before I know it, my dad is buying raffle tickets from her for some benefit to send women on a reservation to a day at the spa (not really something I would support, but whatever). He's chatting along, gives the bartender a raffle ticket, passes them down, and is having a grand old time. A few minutes later the talk turns to the cosmos, astrological signs and other such related topics. It turns out the woman is a numerologer (is that the right word? Whatever. I'll go with it).

The band strikes up and the first song is about marijuana, at which point my dad says that his relationship with his employee (the one in the band) can never be the same. The numerologer left, and as soon as she did my dad was waving to someone else he knew, and when they left someone else came over that he knew, too. That's basically how it went until Sarah and I got up to go.

Two things: First, I love that my dad can go anywhere and talk to anyone. I wish I were more like that. Second, I'm really glad that this place has opened. My town has previously had NOTHING where people me and my sister's age can go to have a good time. My parents don't think it will last (bouncers, mid-range meals, raucous music and heavy drinking are the exact opposites of what the retirees want to see happening in our quaint, New England town), and I really thinks that's a shame. I, for one, will be returning.

And yes, the band rocked! Well done.