Belly of a Palomino

I wasn't planning on doing anything last night. I was comfortable in my room, sans clothing, working on a video project which was almost done. Amanda called out of the blue and invited me to accompany her to the Palomino Club, a dance bar on Portage west. The few stories I've heard about the Palomino always include the following: it's a cougar den; it's dirty, and; it's extremely popular. After experiencing it first hand, I can concur with the previous statements.

Amanda's friend Brian was playing in the live cover band last night, and she got on the VIP list to come see him play. They played a pretty awesome show and kept the dance floor hopping the whole night. We entered at the song Footloose and had a blast. The highlight of the evening for me, however, was following Brian through the kitchen and down to the basement where the band relaxes between sets. It was really cool to meet these strangers whom I had only seen for the first time on stage, and have a conversation with them. They all seemed intensely intelligent: they had so much more depth and 'stuff going on' than one would usually associate with a 'bar cover band.' A PhD student, a teacher, a music producer.

I was impressed. It made the night even more groovy.