Double The Fun

(Yeah, I got no photos for this post either. This one is a publicity shot.)

I’ve been living the high life!

I rarely if ever go “out on the town” but this weekend I got to do it twice! Two nights in a row!

And, why not? It’s the weekend, and it’s Mother’s Day. So maybe I deserve it a little bit.

I had made plans to go walking on the beach with my friend Karin on Saturday night. We do that sometimes, as we both need to get out of our houses and see nature on occasion. She takes care of her invalid mother but has Saturday nights off. But when my next door neighbor called and proposed the babysitting swap, and I saw no weekend in the next five that it would be possible other than this weekend, I cancelled the walk, and went out with the hubby to the swanky cocktail lounge.

As it turned out, the neighbor cancelled my reciprocating babysitting job because her baby was horribly sick, and so suddenly I had Saturday night free again! I called Karin, who had gone to the beach alone anyway, and told her I was coming to get her and we were hitting the town!

We headed off to one of the other places that had been recommended to me when I was looking for fun places to go in San Diego. It’s a funky coffeehouse called Lestat’s and it seems they also own the space next door, and had turned it into a little music venue with 10 or 12 tables near the stage and a handful of theater seats. Totally simple and intimate.

That night, the guy at the door told us, three very respected and well loved San Diego singer/songwriters were playing. One of them was Gregory Page (no, not THAT Gregory Page) who was touted as the “Bob Dylan of San Diego”.

We stopped in the coffeehouse, got some mocha and tea, and headed next door and got a table down front. There were all of 15 or 20 people in the audience. I noticed the gold sign on the wall said “The Gregory Page Stage” and my friend Karin said she had seen him perform many years ago, maybe right here on this stage.

He was awesome.

I wouldn’t call him Bob Dylan (but then I wouldn’t call anyone but Bob Dylan “Bob Dylan”) but he was a fantastic guitar player and his songs were very melancholy and often humorous. I would say his style was more toward Eric Clapton. Acoustic Eric Clapton. With an Elvis Costello twist. Dipped in Neil Young.

Yeah, sorta like that.

It was clear he knew how to write a song. And just as you were getting lulled into the melancholy he would make you laugh and snort mocha out your nose!

He tried out a lot of new songs on us, reading them out of a handwritten journal laying on a chair. It was really low key, and so nice, sitting there with a good friend, sipping mochas and getting lost in a song.

Next up was Lisa Sanders. She was very good too, in a whole ‘nuther way. She had an awesome voice, kind of like a one-woman Indigo Girls, and wrote songs about her turbulent youth and about her life now which is clearly colored by her turbulent youth! Her songs were full of angst and yearning, sorrow and jubilation, and faith.

It was a really sweet evening, especially coming on the heels of a night out with Michael. I almost felt like my old, college-years self again!

I spun around clicking on the links to the upcoming performers at Lestat's and was pleased to find out that most everyone that performs there seems to be really talented, singer/songwriters who's style is right up my alley. Apparently Jason Mraz and others got their start here. It seems, by reputation, to be a good place to find the "next big thing".

I will be be back there again, soon.

Here are a couple links to videos from Gregory Page (including a little Christmas song showing his sillier side) and Lisa Sanders if you want to go check them out. I gotta say, neither video really does them justice, but it'll give you an idea.

Enjoy!