A Girl Walks Into A Bar
Dance to the blues or just lounge at T.C.'s
By Moira MuldoonWeb posted: April 6, 2005
My friend Matt recently moved to town. Ever since he dated my friend Maggie in high school, he and I have been great friends: hanging out, running around, planning adventures that involve wearing superhero costumes (Matt loves superhero costumes).
Best of all, he's always up for going on bar runs. Which is how he found himself eating a (free!) Manwich and listening to the blues with me on a Monday night at T.C.'s Lounge.
T.C.'s, at 12th and Webberville in East Austin, is housed in a building that might have seen better days ("TC Parking Only" is scratched into the exterior paint). But inside the bar remains vibrant, from the the DJ spinning Fridays and Saturdays to bands such as the Leghounds and Moving Blues playing Sundays through Thursdays.
T.C.'s -- owned by T.C. Perkins since 1979 -- is exactly the right size. Through the front door is the bar, a wall-mounted TV and a table (eight to 10 could sit comfortably). The bar counter plays host to hot food, like the Manwich, on Monday and Tuesday nights. Around the corner from the bar lies another bunch of tables (eight to 12 folks could squeeze in) and a railing that separates this section from the area two or three steps lower is covered in lights. The lower section, of course, is home to the stage, just as the upper is where the DJ plays.
 Photo by Jay Janner/AA-S T.C.'s offers live music (here, Vivian Colter dances to blues band Boonetown) some nights and a DJ on others. The old bar is a place for pool fans, too, with a team that travels. T.C.'s Lounge. 1413 Webberville Road, 926-2200. |
When I first got there at 9, mine was one of the few white faces. By 11:30 or so, when I left, there were more white faces than black ones, despite the fact that T.C.'s is a predominantly and historically black bar. Apparently this shift is common on Monday nights (the acquaintance I ran into, who's white, said he's only ever stopped by on Mondays).
Saturday night was a whole 'nother story. The place was hopping busy, full of couples, singles, people who looked like they were in their 30s, 40s and 50s -- and a few in their 20s. The pool tables were busy (T.C.'s actually sponsors a team that travels to tournaments), lots of folks were dressed to the nines -- purple suits and hats, glorious thigh-high boots -- and lots of folks weren't. There was dancing and bustle and a $3 cover. And my friend Susan and I were definitely the only white people. As we were leaving, a group of young guys coming in asked another guy heading out if he'd brought us, a teasing question that acknowledged our unusual -- but not unwelcome -- presence.
Bruce Willis has been to T.C.'s Lounge, as has Keanu Reeves; their pictures are hung over the bar, along with countless others of people who don't make zillions of dollars for six weeks' work. Zillions of dollars: Think about how many bars a girl could visit and in how many cities. And how she'd have special powers, like the ability to walk into a bar and say, "A round of drinks for all the good people here," and then pay for it. I was in a bar once when that happened -- and we couldn't have loved the guy more if he'd been Batman himself.
'A Girl Walks into a Bar ...' alternates with Jonathon Goodsell's 'Night Moves.' Please visit the 'A Girl Walks into a Bar ...' archive for more reviews. Contact Moira at bargirl@covad.net.
