Fun Night Rockin In Jamestown

8:45

I am sitting outside at 7:15,  listening to the wind through the trees, the wind chimes doing their thing on a bleak Sunday morning here at the lake.  The lake has that unhealthy yellow tinge to the gray, not very inviting for a kayak or fisherman.  It is warmer than the past few mornings, 63º and I heard it was supposed to clear up before game time in Buffalo...there is a god.  Bills fans can watch their team on a sunny afternoon.

Yesterday was another strange day; it looked like it was going to rain most of the day but held off until about 5:00, just as I covered my boat, great timing for once.  We were tired out from my birthday celebration so we took it easy in the morning, no baking or cooking for Evie.  We just  hung out most of the day though I did get a bike ride in and Evie cut the lawn before it started to rain.  I rode my bike down to Prendergast Point and back, only about thirty five minutes but at least I did not have to stop on any of the hills, having learned to downshift low enough to make it up them.  I am a slow learner obviously.  Because it clouded up, looked threatening, we both sat out on the porch with books, made Turkish tea, and pretended we were still back in Turkey.  For some reason, having tea in our Turkish tea cups always takes us back.

Enjoying Sushi at Forte on Third

All of this was in preparation for our 'big night' in Jamestown, attending the Infinity Visual and Performing Arts Extravaganza, benefiting the young musicians in city.  About forty bands played from 6:00 on, at various venues, bars, restaurants, alleys, skateboard parks, parking garages, and shops.  It's the best time to enjoy Jamestown because of the variety of attendees, lots of young people of course but others like Evie and me were out, to support the cause.  For ten dollars, you get a wrist band and can attend any of the venues.  We started our evening off at Forte, the best restaurant in Jamestown, hoping to sit at the bar and have sushi.  Unfortunately, the bar was packed but a table opened up so we had our sushi in the dining room.  Our neighbors, the Stones were there, so Evie went over to say hi though they rarely recognize us.  Pretty funny.  Our sushi, to be honest, was mediocre, something you might get at Wegman's but fancied up a bit.  And their way of making a large sushi is to pack it with rice, which I ended up getting rid of.  So it was a less than satisfying start to the evening but at least we will know next time to avoid the sushi.

Disturbin the Peace

The rest of the night, until about 10:30, we walked from one venue to another, listening to rock bands, country bands, soloists, and the young participants in the Infinity Program who were also exhibiting their talents.  We went to the Reg Studio Theater, next to Forte, and listened to a rock band Disturbin' the Peace, aptly named,  for a bit, with few people in attendance .

Skate Board Park on Pine

We pushed on and went to the Jamestown Skates shop, where they had a band playing in an alley.  We decided to walk upstairs to see the indoor skate board rink, like a large bath tub, probably twelve feet deep, 100 feet across.  It was filled with about 30 skate boarders taking their turns on the oval, doing all kinds of tricks and jumps until they fell, then another boarder would drop in.  It was fun watching them, and some were really good.  One kid in particular seemed to be a wild child, able to go faster and more wild than any of the others, so much so that Evie moved back into the corner to avoid getting hit if he lost control.  As we left, he came up to us, shook our hands and said thanks for coming.  Neat.

Brian Melquist at The Labyrinth Press Coffee House

We then stopped at The Pub to see the locals, Bill Ward and Amanda Barton who seem to be everywhere but it was too crowded so we left and walked to the Labyrinth Press coffee shop, which I have always enjoyed, and listened to a guy, Ryan Melquist who reminded us of Jack Johnson.  Lots of people there, enjoying his music.  As a note, just above the Labyrinth, on 4th across from the YMCA a new bar has opened called Brazil Craft Beer and Wine Lounge, obviously a wine and micro beer bar, a really cool feel inside and it was packed with people as well.

Walking to Shawbucks

The Bogarts at Shawbucks

We then went to Shawbucks, across from the Train Station, a large bar with lots of TV's and listened to The Bogarts, again a popular local band.  We ended up talking with a couple of ladies who supportive of Infinity, who love this band and there were over a hundred people in this bar.  It was by far the most comfortable venue for watching a band.

Dust N Bones Lead Singer

We ended the night at Mojo's listening to a Kiss like band called Dust N Bones.  The lead singer was one weird guy, made up, with tattoos, eye make up, piercings, brandishing a Bible,  and he literally screamed and yelled the entire night, hopping up and down on the stage.  Fun to watch for about a half hour.

Dykeman Young Art Gallery on 2nd and Pine

When we walked out of Mojo's, there was a group standing on the opposite side of the street, with a keyboard and they were operating a cool light show in the second  and third floors of Dykeman and Young Art Gallery.  We talked to the proprietor; the second floor of the building is a Vintage Emporium, the third an art gallery.  In fact, he mentioned a young blonde waitress from Forte was having a show on September 15, obviously the young girl who waited on us.

The Warning, Literally A Garage Band

After talking to him, we walked back to the car but stopped to listen to a really great band playing in a parking garage called The Warning.  They could play anything from Santana to Neil Young.  And the crowd was interesting, one a young woman with tattoos over her entire body, including just about every possible surface of her face.  And, to end the evening, we watched as two guys helped a skateboarder out of the skate board park, obviously hurt from a fall.  And of course, the skate board store next store had a pair of crutches for him to borrow.  That ended our night on the town.  We got home around 11:00 and went to bed after a really enjoyable night out, our third year to support the Infinity program.