The Mirabeau Room

As we left the stage following the Maktub performance, Daniel pointed out the muffled sounds from another stage. "That's Garbage," he noted. I joked that I should have paid more attention to the Bumbershoot schedule. Had I realized that Garbage was playing--I've been a fan since their first album but haven't yet seen them live--I would have just taken my free pass from Maktub but skipped the show and gone to see the band I really wanted.

A few minutes later we approached the Mirabeau Room. There was a small line of people waiting to get in. But since I was arriving with one of the owners, I got to jump the qaueue and walk right in. Normally I would be pretty disgusted by this special treatment, but since I was the recipient, well I guess it didn't feel so bad after all.

After having my ID examined, I reached out to have my wrist stamp. This took a bit of effort and revealed how unclub-savvy I really am. At first I extended my right arm, but must have had it angled wrong because of the scorned look I received from the doorman. So I held out my left hand as well. No it needed to be the inside wrist, so I twisted my hand. No, it turns out that it needed to be the right arm after all.

With the stamp issue finally resolved, we proceeded into the club. I had been here once before for a going away party for one of my coworkers, but it was different now, with the lights turned low and live music playing.

Daniel ordered a Coke for me. It was surprisingly good, fully carbonated, and served in an ever stylish disposable plastic cup. Normally I would expect a place like this to serve severely watered down soft drinks, perhaps to get back at me for wasting their time not ordering expensive liquor.

With drink in hand I walked closer to the stage to enjoy the music. The band was a self described improvisational hip hop R&B group. I don't normally listen to that type of music, but there was something about the small club ambiance that made it a very enjoyable show. Not having had enough with just performing an hour and a half set, Reggie joined the band on the stage and sang along with a few of the songs.

After the band finished their set, the DJ started playing some music. I hung around a while as people began to dance. Daniel warned me that the clientele would be about half our age. Well, I'm not that old yet, but two-thirds my age certainly felt about right.

I left the club after about 45 minutes. My aging body can only take so much excitement in one night, even when I get the rare chance to hang out with rock stars and pretend, for a moment at least, that I could lead this wild and crazy life.