Charlie Hunter

I haven't seen Charlie Hunter in awhile so I was looking forward to this Saturday night gig. I've only seen him a few times. I enjoy listening to his albums but watching him live is absolutely amazing. He plays both lead guitar and bass on his custom seven string guitar. This boggles my mind on two levels. First he is playing not one but two different roles usually played by two different people. He is conceptualizing both the lead and the bass as well as where is he going next with each part. Second he is physically playing both roles at the same time on a seven string guitar. He has a separate amp for both his bass strings and his lead strings. He throws down funky bass lines while playing sweet rhythm or lead parts at the same time on different strings. It sounds like two different people playing the parts separately. You can't imagine how someone could play both those parts at the same time without seeing it in person. The guy is a mental and physical genius.

Jammin Java wasn't too full. I would assume Charlie Hunter on a Saturday night would be sold out. Although with the snow, the fact that he is playing the next night in Baltimore, and the fact that Tea Leaf Green is playing at the 9:30 Club left us with a half empty venue. This allowed Teri and I to walk right up to the stage for the first set. He was touring with a trio. We stood right next to the drummer who was pretty cool. He played left handed and threw down. Charlie's latest album had a few horns on it and he had a respected trombone player round out the trio. We stood just a few feet away while they jammed the whole first set. I could watch him defy the limits of what a normal person can do all day. The three traded off but Charlie of course led the night. There were some great funky grooves. I need to get the album.

One of his amps kicked out some smoke along with a strong burning smell at the end of the first set. Charlie and the trombone player exchanged some glances but they kept on playing. The trombone player kept his eye on the amp for the next song or two but apparently it died. Charlie played through his practice amp for the rest of the show.

We took a break outside between sets. Kept the car clear of snow and warm. For the second set we stood behind the crowd which was quite small. I eventually got a good viewing point about 15 or so feet away. The second set was a lot shorter than the first. The tour showed its small time feel when Charlie sold his own CDs out of a box afterwards. The roads were pretty clear of snow after the show and we got home swiftly. Looking forward to seeing him again.

Pics

watching the Caps in style

Teri persuaded her friend Jodi to score some Caps tickets from her company who has season tickets. Teri and I met Jodi and Diane at the rink. We had no idea what type of tickets she had but assumed they were good. After a very long lunch at the green Turtle we headed up to our seats.

The tickets said "Player's Club #6". I wasn't even sure what floor that was on. We took the elevator from the Green Turtle entrance and the elevator man wasn't sure either but we got off at the right place. It turned out to be a secret level between the club and upper levels that served as an entrance to all the suits. We didn't have a suite per se but headed to the Player's Club. This turned out to be basically a lounge. We were directed to one of the suites that flanked the lounge area. It turned out we had the suite with about 15 other folks.

We had our on TV, server, and a nice bathroom. The four of us sat on bar seats overlooking the two rows of stadium seats for our suite. The server brought us drinks all through the game. On our speaker system we could either listen to the PA system or the radio broadcast. I happened to be sitting next to the switch. It was nice to get the play-by-play from the radio during the game. We even were served all through the 3rd period after they cut off the rest of the stadium.

The Caps ended up pulling through after a tough scrap and continued their winning streak. I've been saying I wanted to hang in a suite all year after a few club level tickets. I didn't think it would actually happen.

back to karting

I went kart racing for the second time in nine months and the first time with the PCA League since last year. After I broke my collar bone I never went back. I was supposed to do an enduro at Summit last fall but never made it. I was looking forward to getting back out on the track but a little worried about keeping up with the regulars after all this time.

I guess they have had a decent turn out during the off season and the first round of the championship. My first night out was the second round. I was happy with how things went.

They changed the track layout which is something they started doing a year or so ago. This was to my advantage because even though I knew the original layout I haven't been on it in 9 months and don't have the edge. On a new layout we will all have to learn the little tricks to going fast. We had 5 quick slippery laps to qualify and I did well at 5th out of 20.

I didn't do so well in the race. I had trouble keeping up and finished 6th. The next race I ended up with a very fast kart. I only managed to get 5th place but I ran the fastest lap of the night so far. This allowed me to start the last race in first position. Thankfully everyone fought behind me for the first half of the race and I had a decent lead by the time they started coming after me. They were reeling me in but they ran out of laps and I won the race.

Not a bad for my return to racing.

Ommegang Beer dinner

Ommegang was the brewery for the January beer dinner at Pizzeria Paradiso. I was interested being a Belgium themed brewery. I signed up early but when Teri and I arrived they didn't have my name. Thankfully the beer manager Greg had a nice table for the two of us. Usually I'm late with reservations and have to settle for the 9:00 seating but this time I got in the 6:30 seating (or so I thought). Steve was the rep from the brewery and he seemed to know what he was talking about. The menu:

Malted Coffee Nuts

Inauguration Ale (Obamagang)

Mustard Green Salad

w/ apples & roasted mushrooms

Ommegeddon

Mole Chicken Wing

w/ mango

Chocolate Indulgence Stout

New England Clam Chowder Pizza

clams, potato, celery, red onion, parsley, ricotta

Hennepin Farmhouse Saison

Winter In Vermont Pizza

roasted turnips, butternuts squaash, celery, onion, parsnips,

Cabot cave aged clothbound chedder cheese

Abbey Ale

Cherries & Cheese

w/ mascarpone & gorgonzola

Three Philosophers Quadrupel

I'm not a fan of coffee or nuts so the malted coffee nuts weren't my thing. Steve said they started brewing the Inauguration Ale one year and one week ago. It is a blend of the '08 Chocolate Indulgence and Liefman's Kriek. I forgot that Ommegang bought Liefman's a year or more ago. Steve had this keg stored in his basement and said it was the last keg in Copperstown before he took it.

The mustard green salad wasn't bad. Teri thought the mustard greens were too mustardy. I didn't seem to notice. The apples and shrooms were good. They said the Ommegeddon was a bit young. It has a bret. yeast and was dry hopped. Steve said it was bottled in March and just released last week. It's a strong blonde ale. I think he said it was warm bottled at 77 degrees for 9 months. It's 8% ABV.

The mole chicken wing was interesting and good. We each got a wing with mole sauce on top and some mango. I didn't want to eat it with my hands because of the mole sauce but it was difficult with silverware too. The mango went well with the mole. This was served with the '09 Chocolate Indulgence. It was flavored with chocolate nibs which is more chocolate than other methods. I didn't think the chocolate was overpowering. This came in at 7-8% ABV.

The first pizza good. I picked a few pieces of celery off but the clam, potato, onion, and ricotta was good. This was paired with their seasonal saison Hennepin which they age for 7 weeks.. It was very spiced. Orange peel, coriander, and ginger Steve said. The Hennepin was 7.7% ABV.

The second pizza was unique and good as well. The veggies were properly cooked and tasted good together. I'm a fan of Cabot cheese too. The cheddar melted well. This was paired with Ommegang's first beer the Abbey Ale. Its a double, was dark, and tasted a bit malty. It is 8.5% ABV.

The dessert wasn't my favorite since I'm not a fan of cherries. I do remember eating a bit of it though. The chef seems to be a fan of mascarpone and I'm not complaining. Ommegang's quadruple, Three Philosophers, was the last beer of the night. They brew this once a year and store it for 9 weeks. It is a kriek mix and comes in at 9.8% ABV. Steve said it is blended pre-fermentation which is not normally done.

Another month and another good pizza dinner at Pizzeria Paradiso.

Hopslam again

Last year was my first time sampling Bell's Hopslam. When it came to DC the fine beer places got a very limited supply, it was very expensive, and it was gone in days. It's an annual release and it's that time of year again. I called around a few stores when I got word it had arrived and they hadn't received it yet. Then I called the Whole Foods a few blocks away and sure enough it was in stock. Last year I paid $54 a case. This year it is going for $80 a case. I bought 2 six packs at first. After enjoying that first Hopslam in a year I bought twelve more the next day. Popping open a Hopslam is like slicing open a fresh grapefruit. It has a huge sour citrus smell. And a huge sour citrus taste. It's 10% ABV. Its a unique beer. As it states on the label: A biting, bitter, tongue bruiser of an ale. With a name like Hopslam, what did you expect?

karting then Dogfish Head Alehouse

After probably about 9 months I finally went karting again. It was fun. Teri came out for her first time. Afterwards we hit the new Dogfish Head Alehouse in Chantilly. The dinner and beer were great. We finished things by spliting a draft Fort. The strongest fruit beer in the world at 18% ABV. The waiter was nice enough to bring out a serving in two glasses and we got much more than 6 ounces each. A perfect beer to sip on a full stomach after a good day.

Movits!

Lee was looking around for weekend entertainment and noticed a swedish rap group playing at IOTA. He sent me a link of them playing on the Colbert Report and it turned out I had actually seen that episode and was interested in the group. Of course I had forgot all about them.

Lee, Teri, and I went. We got there about when they were supposed to go on knowing that shows at IOTA are not the longest. A few guys wondered on stage after we waited for a bit. They looked like roadies. Some beats started and it turned out these guys were the opening act. This must have been the first gig out of their parent's basement for these four DJs. I will give them props though for having an electronic stand-up bass. We suffered through that while the place filled up.

Finally the Movits! came on stage jumping up and down all full of energy. There were only three of them as opposed to the four on the Colbert Report. I got the impression they were more ska based but they were definitely rap. They had some good beats and it was a fun show. A fellow Swedish rapper joined them for many songs. The lead guy was sorta funny and joked around a bit. They were rockin' and the crowd enjoyed it.

pics and videos

Loose Cannon Hop3 on cask

Cask beer has been all the rage lately. Thomas Cizauskas, a local beer guy who I sat next to recently at a Brickskeller tasting, tapped a cask of Heavy Seas Loose Cannon Hop3 Ale at the Galaxy Hut yesterday. This batch has been locally hopped with fresh Centennial and Cascade Hops from Stillpoint Farm in Mt. Airy, MD. One of only 2 firkins (10.8 US gallon cask) exported to Virginia.

Quote from Tom... ”the fresher a beer is, the better the beer will taste. Define ‘better’ as the brewer intended. Define ‘better’ as the beer tastes at the brewery before it’s packaged into bottles and kegs, a process which further introduces oxygen into the beer.”

They were tapping at 6:00. I tried to show up on time being the Galaxy Hut is a micro bar and there are only about 80 pints in a cask but walked in around 6:30. The line for a beer wasn't huge but it took 20 minutes or so. Just about everyone there was drinking from the cask. I think they ran out of glasses and had to wait before serving more. Finally I got one in hand and it was worth it. Mighty fine indeed. I haven't had a beer like this in a long time. Fresh is a good way to put it. Very fresh. Very tasty. It was green-like freshness. Very different from a bottled or keg of Loose Cannon Hop3 Ale. I was thinking about getting a second but the line was long and not moving. Then they ran out by the time I finished my glass. One of the more favorable casks I've had.

Tom's pics

John Jorgenson at Jammin Java

Saturday night Teri and I went to see John Jorgenson and his Quintet at Jamin Java. He is a respected guitarist who has been around and "is known as one of the pioneers of the American gypsy jazz movement". I can't remember where I first heard about him. I've been curious about him for awhile and finally got a CD for x-mas. It just so happened that he was playing in DC shortly after I received his CD.

They host a lot of good shows but this is only the second time I've been to Jammin Java (Stringdusters 3/19/09). Teri and I walked in about 20 minutes late. It was a sit-down show and there weren't any seats lefts so we hung out at the bar. We had a great view when a large Warren Haynes look-alike wasn't standing in the way. The first set was pretty up-beat and fun. There was some rockin' gypsy jazz guitar and other swingin' songs. The group was pretty good. John said they liked the crowd and would play all night. They played for an hour or less before taking a break.

We grabbed one of the few open tables in the front during intermission. After about 20 minutes they came back on and we headed back towards the stage. The second set was great too. And then they stopped playing after about 20 or 30 minutes. They played an encore and called it a night. Both sets including the intermission were barely 90 minutes. Short and sweet.

I'm used to bands that play live for a living.

NYE

I sorta procrastinated on the NYE plans but the initial thought was to see the Seldom Scene at the Birchmere. Lee and Kari were going to join Teri and I. I didn't get back to Lee until the day of and by then he had accepted a much better offer of VIP tickets to the 9:30 Club. That left Teri and I with no plans. I wasn't too excited to see the Seldom Scene on NYE. We figured we'd grab some dinner and then celebrate the new year with some drinks at a neighborhood bar.

We went to La Tasca for dinner which was doing a NYE special. They had an appetizer, unlimited tapas, dessert, and a bottle of wine in one package. They had party hats, noise makers, and a DJ was coming later. Things ended up rolling that night and we had a good time. We barely touched the second round of tapas but we nibbled on the dessert.

The place started hopping once the DJ started playing. You know people are having fun when women are dancing on the bar. The group across from us consisted of either a couple or brother/sister, mom, and another woman who was mom's age. The daughter was wearing a super short sweater skirt. At one point of the night I do remember getting quite the view. The mom originally pulled Teri and I out when the dancing started and we got down for awhile. When the DJ wasn't messing up the sounds were OK. We took a break but were soon forced by mom to get back up and dance. This happened at least one other time. A good time was had by all. Especially since Teri and I consumed about 4 bottles of wine. Thankfully it was a short stumble home. It must have been insanely loud because our ears were ringing for about 18 hours after that.

pics