Short Sharp Shocked

Saturday night Hope and I went to Mia's for a pre-concert dinner in Brooklyn. Mia lives with roommates on two beautiful floors of a house on a nice, tree-lined street. She is an artist, among her many talents, and has some great paintings in her bedroom. She made a veggie plate, her signature lasagna, veggie meatballs, garlic bread, and brownies for dessert. We were waiting to go see www.johnsharples.com (Alice's boyfriend) play around midnight at Freddy's, a small, crowded bar near Mia's. It was a treat to relax at Mia's instead of in the bar! The dinner was incredible. Mia says that the important part of entertaining is how you make the guest feel, not the quality of what you serve, but happily there is the best of both at her place. We had our usual discussion about Dr. Phil and Oprah, and it was just as enjoyable as the past two weekends. We took a car to the bar and met up with Klaus, John, and Alice. We went down to the basement (which had a distinct herbal scent) where Alice had stored her wonderful vegan snacks to serve during John's performance. The basement is a kind of rec room for performers and also provides storage. Klaus and I got into mischief as usual, finding a paper mache alien and posing with it for pictures. Alice ushered us back upstairs before we could break anything. John performed a little late (you know how it goes with bands), but it was well worth it, and not just for Alice's pigs in the blanket (little veggie hot dogs from Chinatown wrapped in homemade biscuits). He has a great voice and knows how to work a crowd. This was his record release party, and CDs will soon be available on his website. Afterwards, we hung out outside the bar, getting in a few more laughs, meeting John's high school pal from Virginia, and then heading off to our varied subway routes. A fine evening with good friends!