Open Mic in EC

On my way home last night I decided to drop into The Judge's Bench for a beer. Earlier in the evening I was in Baltimore at an art opening and talking to Rick Bloemke, a guy who seemed to be quite knowledgeable about the Baltimore beer scene. He singled out The Judges Bench for high praise so good beer was on my mind as I rolled back down Main Street.

As I sat at the bar enjoying a Sierra Nevada Narwhal Imperial Stout, I witnessed a progression of musicians arriving with their instruments. Before long, the little pub was packed. It was Open Mic with Mike night and musicians were rolling in from as far away as Annapolis to participate.

The music covered a pretty broad spectrum too. Last night, by 9:30 PM, fourteen musicians had already signed up to perform a twenty minute set. Mike Vance, the impresario of the evening told me that the bar has been holding this Tuesday night gathering for over five years and it is always busy. “The bartender loves us,” he added.

I wish I could have stayed longer and maybe caught these guys.

And speaking of music, last night on All Things Considered, Melissa Block interviewed Keith Richards. The Rolling Stones are celebrating their 50^th anniversary and all week the NPR reporters are talking to the individual band members. When asked his favorite Rolling Stone song Keith replied “Street Fighting Man.”

"Street Fighting Man" was banned by some U.S. stations. It was called "subversive," but Richards says it wasn't meant to be provocative.”

He then added, “You could count on somebody in America to find something offensive about something — you still can.”

Amen to that brother Keith.