Wilco, Manoogian Mansion and a Tour de Ferndale

Wilco

Tonight at 7:30pm Wilco will play a show at the Hill Auditorium in Ann Arbor.  Price for the tickets is $30, which is not bad for an act like Wilco.  Their most recent album, Wilco (the album) on Nonesuch Records is out now and will probably be featured at their show tonight.  I have never been to a Wilco show, but I've heard they are sweet.

Wilco (the alternative rock band) is a result of the split of the popular alternative country band Uncle Tupelo.  Jay Farrar went his way forming Son Volt and other solo projects while the rest of the members led by Jeff Tweedy formed Wilco.  The term "wilco" refers to the voice procedure term "will comply."  Find more history of the band and their music here.

Manoogian Mansion

The Mayor of Detroit is supposed to live in the Manoogian Mansion in downtown Detroit.  But Mayor Dave Bing does not want to.  It costs $160,000/year to maintain the 4,000 sq. ft. mansion that was a gift to the city of Detroit in 1966 by the Manoogian family, founders of Masco.  I say if Bing doesn't want to live in it, the city should sell it to a brewpub or microbrewery to transform it into a restaurant/bar/brewpub a la McMenamins on the west coast.  Bing maintains a condo in Detroit so that he could run for mayor.

Tour De Ferndale

Ferndale has some popular night spots.  The WAB, The Post, Como's, Dino's, they're all so crowded during the weekend.  But what about the other guys?  The bars that don't attract the young crowd on traditional bar nights.  I think those are the real champions of downtown Ferndale.  They are the heart and soul of any neighborhood.  They are legendary bars that can do without the glamor and glitz that the others relish in.  They have a history that you can't make up, and they have a cozy feel to them.  They make the neighborhood what it is. 

Thanks to Brett Callwood's review on metromix for the pic

My brother and I started our night off at Tony's.  A small sports bar with a strong baseball theme on Woodward Ave. north of 9 mile.  We sat down at old worn out bar that looked like it had seen some things next to some older gentlemen who were there for the Phillies vs. Dodgers playoff game. When we ordered our drafts (miller lite for me of course) they came in oversized pint-and-a-half glasses.  There was a simple piece of paper advertising the world famous chili for $3.50.  It seemed that most of the patrons had just finished either softball practice or a game and were there for a couple beers.  The total capacity of the place said 78.

After Tony's we walked in the freezing cold down to the New Way bar, also on Woodward but closer to 9 mile.  When we walked in the place was dark and there were only 3 people there.  One was the owner, one was the bartender, one was just a lady who said she was old enough to be our mom (she didn't look that old).  It seemed like a good place to see live music.  On the way out I picked up an add for the band Bazooka Jones that is playing there Saturday night starting at 10pm. We decided to have just one beer there (cash only, no tabs).  They were also watching the Phillies vs. Dodgers game.

The last stop on our Tour was the best.  We walked further south on Woodward, just north of 9 mile to Danny's Irish Pub.  There we picked up a game of darts (no points cricket) with a younger looking guy that seemed to be a regular.  The crowd here was younger but the feel was still neighborhood bar, cozy and dimly lit, and you probably wouldn't want to touch the floor with your bare feet.  The juke box was also a pleasant surprise, featuring albums from Iggy Pop, The MC5, The Jam and Operation Ivy.  There was an old guy at the bar in suspenders that looked like he didn't know where he was.  I am not sure if he could talk.

After losing $1 in darts and then winning $3 in darts we decided it was time to go.  It was still a work night for one of us.  But I was glad that we decided to leave the house on this Thursday night to plunge ourselves into the neighborhood bar scene in Ferndale.  They are not fancy, you won't find hot young coeds slurping vodka cranberry and it won't be crowded.  But you will find a community that loves to go out for some beer drinking, dart throwing and good times.

Ye Olde Saloon, The Reefermen, The Waybacks and more!

On a recent trip to my favorite saloon in Royal Oak, Ye Olde Saloon, (notice the Old English spelling) I was fortunate to catch half of the traveling cover band known as The Reefermen.  Their set at Ye Olde was not much to look at.  The acoustic guitarist and singer/tambourine/harmonica player both sat the whole time.  But the songs they covered they did with such soul and ease it seemed as though they were just jamming on the back porch for no one but themselves.  In fact these two guys were so laid back we thought they might take long breaks between songs.  Their set included songs like Johnny Cash's "Folsom Prison Blues", Stevie Ray Vaughn's "Pride and Joy" and a Led Zeppelin medly.  It was like we were watching an unplugged version of a Reefermen show, while cracking jokes about what kind of activities they partake in before a show and during breaks.  It's bands like this that make Ye Olde a great place to sit down, have a Pabst (draft) and listen to some good music.

The Zeppelin cover got us talking about a band called The Waybacks.  My friend who runs the site www.lesson-share.com suggested I check out the band on YouTube because of a set they did at Merlefest where they covered Led Zeppelin's entire II album.  So that night I did check it out and it was amazing.  The guitarist for the otherwise old timey folk and bluegrass band is James Nash and can really pick.  Their Zep set also included vocals by John Cowan, a fantastic bluegrass artist in his own right, who sounds eerily similar to Robert Plant.  The banjo and violin solos also add some bluegrass flavor to otherwise very crisp and clean covers of these classics.  I have only included one video but be sure to check out the others on YouTube under "The Waybacks Merlefest."

I have recently moved to Ferndale, MI. and live extremely close to the downtown area which brings me to my next topic, The Magic Bag.  The Magic Bag is Ferndale's premier night time event showplace.  They host live music acts as well as brew and views and special screenings of movies.  Although I have not visited the venue yet, I may not be able to help myself this October.  Tonight at the Bag, Living Colour

 

performs starting at 8pm.  Then tomorrow the Mega 80's

 

(probably the greatest 80's cover band of all time, more like of all time) plays starting at 8pm.  The list goes on and on and includes a brew and view of The Hangover, concerts by Brandon Calhoun (check out past post on Four Green Fields and drunken bingo) and Mason Jennings.

Norm MacDonald will be at the Royal Oak Music Theater tonight for a show at .  MacDonald, stand up comic and actor, is famous for his dry, sometimes raunchy humor that won him a stint on Saturday Night Live hosting The Weekend Update.  He also starred alongside Artie Lange in the movie Dirty Work.

The kids these days like to describe big screw ups and mistakes as "fails."  Well I just discovered this blog called failblog that posts pictures, videos and news stories about "fails."  I have not integrated "fail" in to my vocabulary yet but if you have you will probably enjoy this site.

A night out in the D is famous!

The Southwest Detroit Business Association and Model D (awesome Detroit website) recently hosted a pub and taco crawl through southwest Detroit and just happened to stop at Charlie's Pub that was featured in my post, "A Night out in the D." I love how the pub crawl took place during the day.  They are planning another crawl for next year.  Who's going with me?

I do think it is important to support local businesses.  Like I said in the previous post, when we went in to Charlie's there were only 3 paying customers in there.  There were 5 of us, and at $2 a beer we probably spent $20-$30.  

Go to Charlie's!

A night out in the D

I have a friend from college who lives in downtown Detroit and recently invited me out for a night on the town... Detroit that is. So I'm thinking, ok pack your bullet proof vest and lock your doors. But seriously I was excited for the night because we decided he would take me to a few places "off the beaten path."

We started off with dinner at this Mexican restaurant in Mexican town in southwest Detroit.  When we first walk in there are a few old school arcade games in the doorway and the place is empty but there are like 9 waitresses there.  We order a couple beers and decide on the tortas (sandwiches) that are like $4 (great deal in this economy).  While waiting we get some chips and a salsa tray with like guacamole, mild salsa, chili salsa, sour cream and some other stuff.  We finish our meal and start talking about the gateway project that my friend is working on and some of the places we are going to go tonight.

The folks that we were waiting for arrive and order.

When we get done we head to Charley's (Charlie's ???) but stop at an ATM because as I'm told most of these places only take cash.  Come on, it's not a real dive bar if they take VISA right?  

We get to Charlie's.  There are 4 people total in the bar.  There are 5 of us.  It's a Friday night.

Three people are down at the end of the bar, the bartender talking to a couple.  There is another guy at the bar video game machine.  We order some beers, Pabst is the beer of choice and it comes in a can... priceless.

Right away I am singled out.  "You're not from around here."  Says the guy at the end of the bar.  He asks where I am from and I tell him I live in Royal Oak and he nods as if that's what I looked like.  He then tells all of us that we should leave if we don't want to get hurt.  The bartender assures me that she has my back.  All the while the video game dude never talks.

We hang out here for a while.  I end up beating the bartender at pool.  And then we decide to head to an even more obscure bar.  On the way out "the guy" says he likes our friend with the "P" hat ( an old school Pittsburgh Pirates baseball cap).  Curious.

We head to a friendly neighborhood bar called Atkin's.  It is located in a residential area and looks like just another house.  

We get to the front door with the open sign gleaming in the window and try to open it.  It won't budge.  I pull thinking maybe I didn't see the sign, still won't open.  

I look inside and see at least one patron, back turned to me, drinking at the bar.  We pound on the door but no one comes to our aid.  Not such a friendly neighborhood bar after all.  

They must have locked up and are having some sort of after hours party for VIPs only, at 10:30pm on Friday.  So we decide to head to a classier joint down the street with the same residential feel... Aces Lounge.

Again we get to the door, again it won't open, again we knock, again no answer or help.  We turn to leave only to hear a buzzing noise... the door opens... we were buzzed in!

A younger crowd of Detroiters is found inside.  The bartender greets us with a smile as do the linoleum floors reminiscent of those in your elementary school cafeteria.  We order some beers and find a table to sit at inside.  

This place is much larger than Charlie's, complete with two pool tables and twice as many patrons, who are currently trying to figure out which suburb we are from without asking us directly.  The bouncer asks us if we know Fredo, we say no, he says, "I told you so," to the bartender.  The bartender recognizes my friend and asks if he has been here before.  He answers yes and she says to the bouncer, "I told you so."

I start explaining to my friend what an education this has been for me.  He tells me that he was really wanting to get off the beaten path tonight and I assure him he has succeeded.  He informs me that these are dive bars to the extreme and that I should not be worried.  Most of these places he discovered while working a campaign whose offices were located in this neighborhood and he has never felt threatened.  Yet I can only imagine what the reaction would be if the everyday bar patron from downtown Royal Oak were to barge into one of these fine establishments.

I will say, the next night, while waiting 20 minutes in sub zero temperatures to get in to the Black Finn in Royal Oak with no jacket... and then waiting for another 15 minutes to order a $4 beer at the bar, I was missing Charlie's and The Aces Lounge.