Austin360 blogs > Out & About > Archives > 2009 > September > 02 > Entry
Tapping into my inner musical queen
“Never forget: The first three letters in “news” are “N-E-W”!
For that reason, Out & About is forever flitting about to the latest nightclub or restaurant, the most current entertainment, the buzziest personality, the latest scene, trend or fashion.
On the other hand, approaching the mid-point in middle life (age 55) earns me the right to luxuriate in the old as well.
Recently, I’ve rediscovered the indefinable pleasures of slow reading, cooking, travel and spectator sports. These subjects turn up more regularly on the austin360.com version of Out & About. Some readers wonder how they relate to social reporting.
Think about it. How can one tell Austin’s story if you leave out books, food, travel or sports altogether.
Another old friend has pranced back into my life: Broadway.Musicals absorbed inordinate amounts of my energy during teen years. I collected original-cast albums. I took lessons in dancing, singing, acting, etc. That juvenile infatuation faded through drama school, teaching, graduate school, more teaching, reviewing, reporting, editing and so forth. Yet, for some reason, along with the aforementioned luxuries, I now reserve mental time for musicals. No explanations, no excuses.
That’s why I dropped other plans to catch “Star,” the flawed Julie Andrews movie about Gerturde Lawrence, at the Paramount Theatre last week. Too bad technical difficulties prevented use of the 70 mm print. The DVD projection just didn’t do the lavish production numbers justice.
It’s also why I’m re-cataloguing our CD collection and noting the omissions. Film critic Chris Garcia recommended a tremendous tool for this task: Amazon Wish List. The giant online retailer now organizes items that might someday complete the “Shows” section of our CD shelves, even as the format dies as surely as vinyl. (Under no circumstances are you to use this list for gifting. It’s a cataloguing tool, pure and simple.)
My inner musical queen quivers in anticipation for nights at Emerald City. That’s the cabaret/piano bar attached to Rusty Spurs, the still-new gay bar on East Seventh Street. I peeked in the other day to see the baby grand piano, curved stage and thicket of cocktail tables. Professional pepper-upper Bob Hemby has already booked some of the city’s best cabaret singers to tackle the American Songbook.
To my knowledge, Austin has never supported exactly this kind of piano bar. Kenny Luna’s former Ivory Cat Tavern specialized in other musical genres; Pete’s Dueling Piano Bar hosts a sweet, group-participation novelty game. Chicago House was a funky coffee house and the short-lived Bremond basement parlour was suitable only because Karen Kuykendall and Sterling Price-McKinney made it so.
Zach Theatre has periodically revived theatrical cabaret, and, of course, Austin Cabaret Theatre brings in the biggest names in the business, this season to the Long Center’s Kodosky Lounge.
But a piano bar where one can go and hear the American classics any day of the week? For me, that’s deliciously “O-L-D.”
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Comments
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By M in ATX
November 4, 2009 6:40 PM | Link to this
Not exactly cabaret, but on Saturday night's, The Driskill has an awesome piano player. She plays Gershwin, Cole Porter, show tunes, you name it. She plays by ear, and it is amazing. She'll even whip out a Chopin piece if she knows how it sounds. Seems like 8 PM is the best time to arrive.
By KaitlinM
September 2, 2009 11:49 PM | Link to this
The cabaret/piano bar caught this pianist's attention. I'm eager to check it out - definitely more my taste of a night out than a loud, throbbing club.
By scott thompson
September 2, 2009 11:34 PM | Link to this
Dear Michael,
Scott Thompson here. Interesting post. I guess it takes a CD collection and/or a trip to the Paramount to get that "old school" musical theatre THRILL in Austin these days.
Does anyone still remember that it wasn't always the case? I guess memories fade fast. Still too damn bad about the whole AMT debacle IMO. Such a WASTE. Many at the Long Center apparently feel the same way when looking for available musical theatre offerings among the slim pickin's on the road circuit right now.
Not much vision back then was there? And ironic that AMT's final show THE WIZARD OF OZ- sold out the Bass Concert Hall! Spilt Milk now though, isn't it?
Hope life's treating you well...
Best,
Scott Thompson
By Josh Meyer
September 2, 2009 5:10 PM | Link to this
great news. i've been hoping for something like this ever since the weekly Open Mic Cabaret at the City Grill shut down. far too few opportunities to hear the standards in this music-loving town...