I found my new favorite dive bar! The Big Easy. Too bad it’s in Houston and so far to drive. I can only really justify going if I have other reasons to be in Houston. Last week was a good example. I went to visit a friend and help with the annual Christmas gift boxes for the seafarers.
The Houston Pilots have been sponsoring this for the last few years and I always try to go. I bring little things I save through the year. They’ll get added to the boxes. We pack and wrap the boxes, snack on cheese and cookies, drink wine and catch up on news and gossip. This year I was late so not sure how many total, but over 400. As a seafarer, I know how much each one is appreciated. They really make a huge difference when someone is away from home for many months.
It was still pretty early and I wasn’t ready to go home yet. I don’t get up to Houston at night much anymore. I used to love to go up Friday night to catch a show, then spend the night in Houston. I’d explore more Saturday (after brunch) at the zoo or a museum. I haven’t done that in years- mostly due to fu*ked up schedule/finances since covid policies have kept me from working.
Last time I was in Houston at night, I was at the Big Easy. I was there for a meetup. I probably never would have found it otherwise. I had a great time listening to the music. The place was pretty laid back, people were friendly. Not a huge crowd, but people of all shapes, sizes and colors. I felt comfortable there. It was my kind of place with pool tables in the back (I really ought to start playing again). And not so loud back there that you had to scream at each other to talk.
So I figured I’d go check it out again. I was definitely not disappointed. Wednesday nights are for Blues at the Big Easy and this night was a Blues Jam. I was super impressed. People would just come and go. They’d sign up to play if they wanted to. They had a drum set and keyboards set up already but people brought their own guitars, etc. Everyone who signed up got a chance to join in.
You had to go outside to smoke. But that was OK, since it was a nice opportunity to meet more people and have a decent conversation. I met a couple of the musicians out there- Andre and Victoria. She told me she has a band- Victoria’s Secret. I’ve been trying to find out more about it but haven’t been able to yet.
I would have expected some to be not very good. It was a “jam”, not a band. So people weren’t used to playing together. I couldn’t really tell. Everyone I saw was really, really good. I’m not a dancer. But sometimes even I wanted to get out there with this one lady who was out there be-boppin’ around. I’m not a very emotional person, but some of those players brought me to tears. They were THAT good!
If you’re in or around Houston, I highly recommend it. I love good music. Pretty much all kinds: Classical, rock, reggae, zydeco, country, jazz and blues… I’m always listening to something. Singing along to a CD or KPFT on the radio. I used to really enjoy playing piano when I was young. I haven’t kept up with any of that, even tho I talked my friend into giving me saxophone lessons. I keep saying I’m going to practice, but then something else comes up. You’d think with so much time “off work” (6 weeks off/6 weeks on lately), I’d be able to find time. 🙁
I’m posting a couple of videos I took on my phone that night (I didn’t have my camera). The quality is pretty bad, I was sitting at the bar and moving around a lot. I thought I was holding the phone pretty steady. The videos don’t really do it justice, but hopefully you get the idea.
This Wednesday they’ve scheduled the Houston Blues Society Blues Jam. I’m planning to be there. I tried to get some friends to go up with me last week but I wasn’t feeling good and one friend has become a total homebody. 🙁
I don’t know why I can’t upload some of the videos. I can’t get them to post here as videos, best I can do is share the links from youtube. I did have a youtube channel where I posted a few videos from travel, etc. For some reason I can’t do anything with that one anymore. I tried to help my friend post a video of his guitar picks. Since then I can’t get on my own channel. The video I made for him isn’t there anymore either. 🙁