May 01, 2006 - 10:57 AM

24 Hour Crush Part 2

After having my heart flutter about for a day in the wake of Ms. Schneckenburger's (it is so much fun just typing that name) performance, it was sent a-twitter again on Friday when I picked up Victoria. She was playing that night at the very same Coffee Gallery (just a strange coincidence), and Mike and I were to join her onstage.

She had the opening slot before a doo-wop quartet, and thus only 30 minutes to wow the crowd. Luckily, the audiences at this venue seem to be die-hard music lovers (so there is no uncourteous chattering during a show), and they were delighted by the light-hearted goofiness of Vic and her ukulele songs. With an abbreviated setlist, I only played on four songs this time, the ones I felt most comfortable on, and I was happy with the way I accompanied her.

We stuck around for the doo-wopping, and they were a helluva lot of fun. Very tight harmonies, nice voices, and hilarious between-song banter. One of the singers even looked like Jim O'Connor, host of the Food Network's "The Secret Life Of...", scrunched together with a little Scott Foley and some French Stewart (he was always smiling, so he had that squinty look), which fascinated me to no end.

Mike, Tori, and I went out to eat after the show. Since it was almost 11 and most places were closed, we drove back to Sherman Oaks and ate at Mel's Diner. It might interest you Veronica Mars fans to know that as we were chowing down, Francis Capra (who plays Weevil on the show) walked in with some friends to get some grub. Mike and Tori were both clueless.

It was after midnight by the time I dropped Victoria off at her friend's apartment in West Hollywood. My feelings about her lessen ever so slightly each time I see her as I try to put to rest that crush, but it's still a little butterfly-ish when I'm around her. Plus, she smells so damn nice.
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The next day, Saturday, I ended up having dinner with Flori and his girlfriend, Tara, at the Cafe 50's diner in West L.A. The fried chicken dinner I got was of such great volume and magnitude, it could have fed that hot-dog-eating freak, Kobayashi. We also ordered up an appetizer of sweet-potato french fries which were suprisingly (to me, not to Flori and Tara) delicious.

With the night still young-ish, we then took a jaunt over to their favorite bar, Sonny McLean's, which also happens to be only 2 blocks from their apartment. It's a "Boston" bar with tons of Red Sox, Bruins, and Patriots memorabilia plastered all over the walls, and Flori had found it through Amherst friends.

It wasn't until we were enjoying our first drinks that we realized that 1)everyone else in the bar seemed to be under 23 and 2)karaoke night was about to start. After throwing a mini pity party about how old we all felt, Flori and I got excited about karaoke. Not because Flori was going to sing, but because Tara can sing. She was reticent to do it, but when I said I would do it if she did, we finally got her to cave. I went first and my choice was the Jimmy Eat World song "The Middle", complete with guitar solo. Must remember to choose songs that exist in my limited vocal range. Tara followed by bowling over the crowd with Alannah Myles' "Black Velvet". Hoorah for Tara!

We called it a night after our second round of drinks (and after a small group of people did a succession of numbers that indicated to me that they were karaoke ringers...they all had trained voices and chose "vintage" songs that showcased their talents...it reminded me a bit of Duets. Bastards. Plus, one of the guys who sang had the gall to be wearing a Yankees baseball cap. We shoulda lynched them right there.)

Now Listening To : Adrianne- Down to This
Random Thought : Who wants to see Stick It with me? C'mon, I can't go see it by myself. I'll feel weird(er).

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