7/17 - Riders 1812 Inn

Once again, our summer gig at Riders is on the same night as Painsville's Party in the Park. Guess where everyone was? If you guessed the park, you would be correct.

We had a few die hard Riders Inn folks who hung out in the bar and they seemed to enjoy the music.

Oh yeah, and Riders is a Jakeless gig, because the place is so wee and I don't like the Jakeless gigs one bit. Not one bit, I tell you.

The bright spot of the evening was when Barb (my friend since 1st grade) showed up with her brother, her mom & dad, and her 2 kids. Her son was bored out of his mind, which made me feel sorry for him for having been dragged out there, but also made me feel so proud of him that he was doing what his mom asked of him...he's 19. One of the first things I did when we took our break was to thank him for coming out and then give him permission to leave. He didn't argue.

As Barb and Erica (her 22yrd old daughter) were leaving, Erica told me that she doesn't like it when her dad is out of town while she's home from college. I told her how sweet that was that she missed her dad and she informed me that that wasn't the case. When her dad's away during a weekend, she has to hang out with her mom. I asked her if she meant hang out with "old" people and she just grinned.

So, this gig turned out to be a family reunion of sorts for me. That part of it I enjoyed. Being Jakeless, not so much.

7/10 - Capps Tavern

Where is Capps Tavern, you ask? It's in BF Egypt....unless you happen to live in BFE (like my brother and sister-in-law), then it's just down the road a piece.

Apparently, their golf outing was quite a success. Lots of people turned out for the event and even the loosers won something. Actually, I wouldn't have minded some of the lovely parting gifts....guess I need to take up golf. Or not.

They have a pretty cool patio, complete with a fountain that some little girl decided needed a rock rearranging. And by rearranging, I mean throwing rocks onto it. Good thing they didn't bounce back.

There's also a canopy so we got a nice little break from the blazing sun. And the OFF gave us a nice little break from the bugs once the sun went away and we turned on our lights. What is it about lights that bugs like? Maybe in their little bug minds they think they're crossing over.

We actually had some dancers, but they danced to "Sittin' On The Dock Of The Bay". Odd song to dance to (I thought), but they made it work.

7/8 - The Boneyard

Okay, so it's a thousand twelve degrees outside and we're scheduled to do a patio gig. I was most unhappy about that. I like patio gigs, but not when it's so stinkin' hot that everyone is inside enjoying the AC while we're outside trying not to pass out from heat exhaustion.

But, oh happy day ~ we got to play inside!

The acoustics were funky in there, but we muddled through. Muddled, actually is the key word. That's kinda what our sound was. But, oh well. We got through it. I know Jake was loving it.

Thanks to Col. Smoker and company for stopping out to see us. You guys are alright.

We got the plug pulled on us an hour early, because of the "big announcement". Stupid, stupid, stupid Lebron. Oh well, what can you do?

7/4 - Meadows Neighborhood Fireworks

Once again, Vic and Amy pulled out all the stops for a great party with lots of fun and lots of food!

Jake brought along our number one fan (thank you, Betty!). What a difference it made being able to have a wee bit-o-breeze.

Vic was nice enough to set up the canopy for us again this year, so that we didn't have to be in direct sunlight. Kinda like a house plant, but different....at least we weren't leaning toward the light.

We did Marylou's songs for her; "I'm Looking Over A Four Leaf Clover", "Bye, Bye Blackbird", and "Crazy". She's a hoot, that one.

And the fireworks were awesome, but not long enough. We did get to see some on the way home, so that was fun.

Looking foward to being a part of the party next year!

7/3 - Jackalope

Everyone was pretty subdued this time around, with the exception of the reincarnated Sam Kinison, who at first glance appeared to be a perfectly quiet and well behaved 2-ish year old girl. It was Sam.

For quite a while, we had the pleasure of watching a deer grazing in the grass beyond the parking lot, although Mudcat insisted that it was indeed a jackalope. She wasn't bothered by any people wandering around, car doors closing, and/or engines starting, but she drew the line with a little Toto impersonator and she was gone.

We also got to see a beautiful sunset that turned the view of the lighted boats gathered at the dock into a picture perfect evening.

And this is our job.

BW3 - Broadview Hts

This had to be one of the most uneventful gigs in PM history.

With the exception of B&B (thanks for coming out and enduring the comfy seats), it was pretty much a take out kinda night. The taker outers had a couple drinks while they waited for their food order, gave us the 2 thumbs up and promptly left.

However, I did learn a couple things ~

1) A take out order is "almost ready" at the end of the first drink and will arrive almost immediately after the second drink is served. Coincidence? I think not.

2) A vodka exists in a bottle that looks like a crystal skull (hence the name Crystal Skull Vodka).
The bottle represents the human skull carvings made from rock crystals purported to be pre-Columbian, but research has found them to be from the mid-19th century. I sound all smart, huh? Wikipedia is a wonderful thing. Reminds me of the Golden Encyclopedias....artifacts from my youth.

6/25 - BW3, Medina

This was a patio gig, so we got to watch the comings and goings of the crazy drivers who apparently thought that the parking lot was a slalom course. Seems they just had to get inside to have some wings and/or beer. Lots of motorcycles about, which made me a little nervous what with the slalom course crazies and all.

It was also a full moon. Hey, maybe that s'plains the meandering motorists.

This was the night that Jake was presented with his crown and scepter, which he was robbed of....robbed I tell you. Stupid, stupid, stupid spoon boy.

And it turns out that when a group of people gather together at the local watering hole to have a class reunion and they're standing in the only open area to accommodate their mass, it's a fire hazard. So, the real life Francis Soyer (a.k.a. Psycho from "Stripes") arrives on the scene to reclaim law and order. He was pretty intense. Oh, and neither law nor order were reclaimed.
However, he did try to intimidate the group from across the room by staring at them, which might have worked had anyone actually been paying attention to him other than his own self.