fun, FUN 1st date with C !!!!

[swingchickie]

had a really great time last night. got to see C's new condo, and then we went to bed bath and beyond to shop for curtains and stuff for the place (i know, it's an odd 1st date thing, but i love helping people decorate). had a late dinner afterwards at a teeny weeny local townie italian restaurant with wood paneling and xmas lights strung around the ceiling... the kind of place where everyone smokes and your salad gets those fat square croutons from a box and the owner knows everyone in the place. had a great chicken parm and the best stuffed mushrooms ever, as well as 2 glasses of lambrusco (the "white zinfandel" of red wines! whee!)

we just had a really nice night, i was happy to see that the chemistry from when we met 2 weeks ago was still there and then some. he's such a good guy, very sweet and attentive and funny... and one of the happiest people i've ever met. so, life is good. :) (oh, and jeremym and boutell... he'll be at karaoke next thursday if you'd like to come out and meet him. hee.)

highlight of the evening: he was telling me that his buddies tease him sometimes, because even though he's really into "guy stuff" like sports and heavy metal music and such, he's also a big broadway musical fanatic... so they tease him sometimes that he's in the closet. i replied, "oh come on... it's not like you have a framed 'phantom of the opera' poster hanging in your bedroom..." he froze for a second, ran out of the room, and came back with... a framed "phantom of the opera" program. BWAhahahaaaa!!! in his defense (because i almost ran screaming out of his condo), the reason he got the program framed is that paul stanley from kiss played the lead, and he had autographed the program for C. so okay, that's dealable. but too funny. :)

Comments

[boutell.livejournal.com]

Ha! He sounds like good news indeed.

Thursday Karaoke, huh? I'm down with it. And as the bringer of a first date, you get choice of venue!

This Thursday is apparently the last Karaoke night at The Dive, at least for a while. To be replaced by the "Philadelphia rock-paper-scissors championships, for at least a month." No, I am not making this up. And yes, I'll be getting details on that out to the crew.

[swingchickie.livejournal.com]

well, we'll be at the tin angel beforehand, so i was thinking it'd be easy to walk to tori's. where is the dive? and is it a decent crowd?...

[boutell.livejournal.com]

First, bear in mind that I won't be heartbroken if I miss the last night at The Dive -- DJ Lars also works at Ray's on Fridays and the same crowd shows up. (:

Ray's almost always gets a better crowd than Tori's. Tori's usually gets only a handful of people, unless you're bringing your own peeps in bulk. Also, Tori's now sometimes has special "unsigned rapper" nights on Thursdays, so you might want to call and check first before planning on being able to sing, or carry on a conversation.

Ray's is smoky, lots of PBRs and hip south philly kids. Dress down. Karaoke is on the second floor, people are really there for it which is nice. The song list is limited, compared to DJ Bob's. Theoretically karaoke starts at nine-thirty or so, but doesn't really get going until at least ten.

The third option is the Happy Rooster, 118 S. 16th. The crowd loves to sing, it's DJ Joe who has an excellent book, there seem to be theater people who can REALLY sing. The downside is that it's a small room and we're hoping for a table together. Karaoke starts at ten.

Do you want to be on the philadel mailing list? It's very low traffic, usually either me or Jeremy inviting the crew to things.

[swingchickie.livejournal.com]

sure, add me to the list... i'm not sure which to choose for thursday tho. hrm. is ray's walkable from the tin angel? if not and i'm going to have to drive anyplace, i think i'd choose the happy rooster...

[boutell.livejournal.com]

Oh yeah: The Dive is at 947 E Passyunk (near 7th and Carpenter). A bit further out than Tori's.

Even though I bust on Tori's sometimes, I've never actually had a bad time there -- just make sure they aren't doing the unsigned rappers thing as almost nobody gets to sing on those nights.

[swingchickie.livejournal.com]

so, gotta drive to either of the other two places. hrm. since i've never been to either, why don't you make the call... i'd prefer tori's since it's walkable from where we'll be and i like bob and i like the restaurant itself... but it sounds like it won't be the best option...

(can you tell i'm horribly indecisive?)

[boutell.livejournal.com]

Sigh, I should have proofread that: Ray's is on Fridays. Everything I said about Ray's and Thursdays was actually about The Dive. How's that for confusing?

I'll ponder our best choice this morning.

[boutell.livejournal.com]

OK, The Dive it is! Why not? We'll have no trouble getting a table since we're showing up before ten (I assume), a good-sized fun crowd will arrive over time and actually appreciate good singin'... and if you hate it there, you can blame me!

However, if you should suddenly feel decisive: I did call Tori's, and they are having normal karaoke, not 800 rappers and ten seconds of karaoke. So it's not an unreasonable option.

Just email me and Jeremy with the official scoop. If you want to invite the peanut gallery, email the philadel list instead!

[swingchickie.livejournal.com]

i actually don't know if i'll be there before 10... the singer i'm going to see goes on around 8:30, and he'll probably play at least an hour... then we'll have to get the car drive to the dive. is the place dealable if we have to stand?...

[boutell.livejournal.com]

Hmmm... I still have a good feeling about the seating situation, yeah. I've rarely seen people forced to stand for very long there. And if if something's off -- if it's wildly mobbed somehow for the last hurrah of Dive karaoke -- Tori's is not too far for an evening constitutional, even if you don't feel like moving your car. (Mmm, your car! Vroom!)