Last night I got invited to an awesome block party, even though it wasn’t my block. The condos on the block of South Main, Huling, Front, and Nettleton got together to throw a party from 6 to 10 yesterday evening, and as a friend of several of the condos’ residents, I got to come. They had food from The Majestic Grille and The Arcade, and there were two Flying Saucer kegs of beer.
About 5:55 PM as I was heading down there, I got a call from one of the event’s organizers. I knew they were getting two kegs, Leinenkugel Sunset Wheat and Pilsner Urquell. However, the tap they had would not work with the Pilsner, so they had to make a run to the distributor and substitute a second keg – and it happened to be Dos Equis Special Lager. So my two favorite beers from the Saucer were on tap at the party. NICE.
But here’s the weird thing… I ended up playing the role of the one person who stayed sober. For some reason I never got drunk at any point. Perhaps the food helped. Perhaps it’s because I was not doing keg stands as some of the other members of the group were. I have pictures and am very tempted to post them but I suppose I better not. Keg stands of Sunset Wheat? That’s just asking for trouble.
Several of the block’s residents came up and said they read my blog, and when I mentioned earlier in the week that I was going to a private party on Friday, they knew which one it was. Nice meeting you!
Music was provided by the West Tennessee Wife Swappers, who were absolutely excellent. The combination of the music and the beer got the crowd dancing and everyone was having a great time. The event organizers are talking about making the block party a twice-a-year event.
Most of the gang headed to Pearl’s after the party, and I thought about joining them, but then I thought, “You know, I just there last Saturday.” So instead I went to the Saucer, although I was there last Saturday as well. And last Friday and Thursday and Wednesday and Tuesday and Monday and Sunday and the 68 or so days before that. The Wife Swappers were playing there too. I took a seat on the planter that was propping open the doors between the outer Garden room and the indoor “nonsmoking” (bullshit) room and listened to the band.
You know, I really HATE Friday and Saturday nights. I much prefer to go out Monday through Thursday, and of course on Sundays for brunch. Last night it finally occurred to me why I hate weekend nights so much: People come out and try to do everything they can to show off their status. So as a result the bars are full of these stupid-ass dudes who use various strategies to show everyone that they’re high-status alpha males. One strategy is “talking shit,” pointing out other people in the bar and making disparaging remarks about them in an attempt to raise your own status by lowering theirs. Another strategy is “kicking some ass,” getting into fights with other bar patrons, because nothing says high status like bruises and a possible trip to jail. And, of course, there’s the most popular strategy of all, “getting some pussy,” which involves using pick-up routines you found on the Internet to get some hot chick who you care nothing about to go home with you, so you can prove what a stud you are. Yeah. These dudes are WINNERS. Really. They are.
So I just sat on the planter for a good 3 hours and listened to the band and basically didn’t give a shit what anyone in the damn bar thought of me. The place was just insanely busy last night, as people stopped by for a beer before heading to the Tigers’ Midnight Madness open practice at 12:01 AM.
The Saucer has a new beer which is pretty good. It’s Abita Pecan Harvest Ale, and it comes in bottles. It’s made with real Louisiana pecans. I guess I like it because it reminds me of when I was growing up and my grandparents had pecan trees in their backyard.
One of the bartenders told me they’re getting Yuengling on draft next summer. That should make “Vitamin Y” fans extremely happy, as I’ve been told that Yuengling on draft is entirely different than (and much better than) Yuengling in a bottle.
About 1 AM I moved into the indoor “nonsmoking” (bullshit) room to catch the last few innings of the Colorado Rockies vs. Some Other Team game with two of my friends who had shown up after the block party. God they were drunk. One of them has a 9 AM Saturday calculus class, and the math teacher in me was about to give him hell for being so drunk just hours before class time, but then he told me it was fall break, so it was all good in the ‘hood.
The waitress at whom I always stick my tongue out had closing shift, and I absolutely tortured her for the last hour. THHHHHPPPPPTTTTTT!!!!! I used to keep a respectful 4-foot-or-so distance when I’d do it, but now I’ll actually get like a foot from her face. Her reaction? She pretended like she hated it, then made an extra 15 or 20 trips past where I was standing so I could do it again. Women are weird. You can behave like a total jackass and they love it and come back for more.
Speaking of waitresses, I have it on good authority that the best Beer Goddess ever to set foot in the Flying Saucer will be back in two weeks. A lot of people thought they’d seen the last of this Goddess, but they were wrong. If you’ve read my blog for any length of time you know who I’m talking about.
My favorite blogger/MILF plans to get a bulldog this winter. She’s going to name it Peyton. She doesn’t even have the dog yet and I already hate it.
I ended last night with a Woodchuck Amber at McGuinness – Doggie Style had been the Fire Sale at the Saucer and I needed something sweet to get that bitter pale ale taste out of my mouth. The place was dead – a couple of Saucer regulars had migrated over there, and there were a bunch of drunk Texas de Brazil employees and that was it. McG has Yuengling now too. We’ll be there for brunch on Sunday, so maybe I’ll have one.
Still leaning toward a trip to Raiford’s tonight, although nothing is set in stone at this point. Considering a trip to Blue Plate Cafe for sausage biscuits right now.