getting our groove on

Rick worked most of Saturday to pick up a few more hours, so when he called from work to see if we were up for heading out to Duvall to meet up with a colleague of his and listen to a live band, I was stoked. We must have been on the same wavelength, because just as he called I was sitting on the couch, with laptop in hand, looking up who was playing where in Seattle that very night, hoping we'd be able to get out of the house and do something different for the evening.

He got home a little before 4 pm, so we unwound with a Goo Goo Dolls concert that I tivoed earlier. The music was getting infectious, and with a whim of inspiration, I started to look up karaoke songs on Comcast's On Demand. Rick whipped out his guitar, and we went through the list of songs -- Jesse's Girl, Smooth Criminal, I Will Survive, American Pie. You name it, we butchered it. I like to sing with the car radio, and occasionally in the shower, but when I had no backup but the music, I realized why I wasn't going to fulfill my "dream" of being a lead singer in a band. :)

We entertained ourselves for awhile, and soon it was time to get ready for our evening out in the old country town. I was ready and waiting to go, but Rick then needed to take a shower since we was still wrapped up playing his guitar. So I waited, and waited, and waited, until I started dozing off on the couch. It was 8:30 pm, and it was now or never. If we don't leave, I'd have to call it a night. One of the reasons we don't get out much. I'm pretty worthless after 9 pm.

Duvall is a quaint town. Way out in the valley, and you have to take dark, windy roads to get there. But once your there, it's a surprising small town metropolis of several strip malls, shops and restaurants. I've not spent much time there, but ironically I'm heading back this morning to have a birthday breakfast celebration with some November-birthday girlfriends.

I didn't need an address to find the Twin Dragon. There's one main street and you can't miss it. Chinese restaurant on one side, and a sports bar on the other. Saturday nights feature live music and you can order from a full bar, and have Chinese food or your typical bar grub. I'd already eaten, but Rick was in the mood for chicken chow mein. Quite funny to watch him eat that while sitting front and center at a table by the stage. Rick's colleague, his girlfriend and some of their other friends were there, so we joined them.

The band was called the Hitmen, and the bass guitar player was a friend of Rick's colleague, and the lead guitarist was his guitar instructor. They were great! Good mix of good old classic rock and blues. Definitely made me think about getting out on that lonely dance floor, which on occasion showcased a considerably drunk, touchy-feel couple -- whom I was convinced was a Match.com hook up.

In between sets, Rick would talk to the lead guitarist/instructor and I ended up talking to the band manager, who was married to the lead bass player. I got their business card in case I ever need a good cover band.

Rick's colleague and his girlfriend left around 11 pm, and I figured we'd be pretty close behind, but before we knew it, we were still there when the band closed their final set at 1 am. Who would have thunk? We had a great time and decided that we needed to get out and do things like this more often. I wonder what other lowkey music scenes we can unearth on the Eastside. And Rick's thrilled that he's found a guitar instructor to help him brush up on some of his skills, so he can get back out into the music scene himself.