Ain't life grand?

Oh man, where to start?! It's 3:30 on Saturday night and I've got a huge smile on my face. Why, you may ask? Why not! Today was just one of those perfect days... this week was one of those perfect weeks.

Last night I started out at the Merc for Hot Buttered Rum and New Monsoon. Got to boogie with Jen and Scott, Evan and Eve, Marimar, Amy, Molly and Jared. Always good to see my intern out. Butter boys started off slowly, which was just what I wanted. Some mellow bluegrass to start the weekend off right. A perfect tribute to Bill Monroe and a ragin' Well-Oiled Machine. Setbreak came and went and Monsoon came out RAGING. Unfortunately, I had to split after the second song to get uptown to Andy Bernstein's birthday party.

Rebel, formerly Downtime, is Jake's new venue. 400 people--bar up front, perpendicular stage space in the back, DJ area upstairs by the bathrooms, and a third room (that I didn't venture into). But the best thing about the party was all the people. From the usuals (Sage, Josh, Andy, Jesse, Ellie, Jenny, Josh Fields, Brandi, Joyce etc) to the randoms (Leah!) it was just full of the best people in the world. And I got to spend some time with Deanna. :) Kudos to Jordan and the rest of SpyWagon for funkifyin' the club.

One highlight from the party was when I was talking to Jay Bau. I saw Jonathan Healy walking by us, so I gave him a good smack on the arm, as a hello. Only it wasn't Heals. It was some completely random person. He handled it well, for sure. But Jay and I laughed pretty hard--I realized, wow, it's fun to hit a stranger...

Today was a lazy day... Slept in this morning, had a bagel, watched some TV (always good to catch up on my DVR), then got a call from SuperDee--she wanted to explore Carroll Gardens today. So I motivated. Only she was on the 2/3 line so I suggested we meet at Clark St and explore the Heights. On my way to meet her, Sage reminded me that it was the Oyster and Guinness festival in DUMBO, so Dee and I grabbed a cup of coffee, hung out on the promenade and urban hiked (read: walked) down to Front Street to have some afternoon Guinness and Oysters.

It was so gorgeous outside... sun shining, clear skies, fun honkeytonk band playing (The Defribulators, I believe--and their guitarist was simply named RoadBlock). We spent some time in the park, looking at the public art (see the pictures), noted the four different weddings taking place and just enjoyed being there. Great company, great borough, great beer--life is good.

Went back home, had a power nap, then went into the city to Jen Safady's place to catch up. We hung for a bit then went down Bowery to see some Gomez. Weird crowd, late start. Not too many friendlies--Kellita, Johnny Beach... Pela(?) opened--good music, bad vocals. Gomez came on strong with "Get Miles" and rocked pretty hard for the next hour and a half. Rachel, Dee, Tom and Cole all showed up and life was good. I left during the encore to meet Deanna for some more chatting. Love the dimples. Love the smile and laughs. Can't wait to see her next week.

Well, time for some sleep. Skins/Giants tomorrow, then off to Regan and Rob's wedding!!! See you on Tuesday.

Ain't life grand? It sure is...