Flip-Flops and Folded Tongues

Thing 2 showed up at Lemaire in flip-flops, but as the bartender pointed out, the new Lemaire is fine with footwear of any kind (a far cry from the old days indeed).

It was our first get-together post-beach and Thing 2 wanted all the details of the subsequent Things (and meals), apparently finding my blog posts insufficient for all but the broadest details.

Besides $2 beers, Lemaire's special tonight was white or red sangria for $5, but it seems they have great specials practically every night and that should definitely be a draw.

For nibbling, we ordered a cheese plate with Humboldt Fog and Midnight Moon, fruit, crackers and bread.

At only $3 per cheese, it's a steal of a deal.

Because of the mix of hotel guests and locals, the crowd can be a variable one, but we had so much to discus that we never got around to chatting up other bar sitters, although we still managed a fair amount of people watching and discussion.

Thing 2 appropriated the check when it came, eager to prove a point to a certain Anonymous commenter. I just laughed; point taken.

Tonight's music adventure was very much something completely different.

A friend and I went to the Camel to hear live music played to accompany Tom and Jerry cartoons.

Honestly, I'd forgotten what a violence-fest T &a J cartoons were - so much pain, so many broken teeth, knots on heads, burnt fur and swallowed explosives.

In the pre-politically correct era, clearly anything went as long as it was animated.

The audience (okay, me anyway) enjoyed many laugh-out-loud moments during the classic Hanna-Barbera cartoons and the score, complete with Reggie Pace's trombone sound effects, was a treat.

A few of Brian Jones' crashing drum beats actually caused me to jump out of my seat, surely a satisfying audience effect for him.

When we'd arrived at the Camel, Brian had been outside cooling down after the first family-friendly show at 7.

He said the kids in that audience had been raucous, delighting in both the cartoons and the music.

His own daughter, he said, had even ended up sitting on his drum, not the most desirable effect.

There was no telling how an audience with the benefit of alcohol might react.

After a handful of cartoons and an intermission, the band improvised music to some of the short films of Stan Brakhage.

Since his work has no narrative and for the most part is experimental, the music followed suit.

At times driving and super-charged and at others, languid and unfolding, I admired the musicians for being able to watch and create simultaneously.

Brakhage's work did not have the most compelling visual elements, so the music was key.

Between sets, we talked with several musicians and learned all kinds of interesting musical facts, in particular, "You have to keep your tongue in shape."

Childish as it was, my friend and I laughed at the implications of that statement and imagined the conversations that could be inferred from it.

To demonstrate our silliness, or perhaps ignorance, not one but two horn players showed us tongue workouts; one even accordion-pleated his tongue.

It was truly an amazing thing to see.

And that was the free entertainment part of the evening.

The paid part was even more impressive.