Everyone knows that live music and adult beverages go hand in hand. And, the style of music can lend itself to specific drink. At the risk of making broad generalizations and pointing out the obvious, wine is typically associated with classical music, cocktails with jazz, and beer with rock. It’s a preshow ritual of sorts to relax and have a quality beverage or two before taking in a concert.
When I learned that one of my favorite guitar players was coming to St. Pete, after long draught of quality live shows in the Tampa Bay area, I was excited. Last night, Adrian “The Twang Bar King” Belew, the greatest guitar player that no one knows about, put on an amazing rock ‘n’ roll show. I hadn’t seen Adrian live since 1994. No one can make the guitar sound like this man does. Not only did he play and sing with incredible energy and precision, but his band was truly inspiring. Adrian is touring with Eric (drums) and Julie (bass) Slick, a brother and sister rhythm section in their late teens/early twenties. It is so cool that a lengendary talent, who has the ability to tour with any number of seasoned musicians, is bucking the usual trend and giving these two amazing young talents this exposure. In a way, Adrian is doing for them what Frank Zappa did for him in the late seventies…
The story goes that Zappa saw Adrian playing in a band in a bar in Covington, Kentucky and offered him a job playing in his band on the spot, taking an unknown talent around the world and on to great success.
To learn more about Adrian and his extensive catalog of music (solo albums and his work with King Crimson, Talking Heads, Nine Inch Nails, Peter Gabrial, David Bowie, Frank Zappa, Tori Amos, Paul Simon, and on and on…) click here.
To learn more about the Slicks, visit Eric’s blog where he writes about playing in the Adrian Belew power trio.
But enough about music, this is a bar blog. During my pre-show ritual last night, I discovered a new favorite beer - The Pranqster. I’m always intrigued by non-Belgian brewers that brew “Belgian Style” beer. The Pranqster is brewed by North Coast Brewing Co. in Fort Bragg, California. It is a top-fermented Belgian golden ale which results in a strong, yeasty flavor with fruity notes. The brew is on a sweet side and, because the brewery blends a variety of antique yeast strains, it provides a complex array of competing flavors. It is similar to Duvel’s golden ale which is one of the worlds’ classic, and often imitated, beers. The Pransqster should be available in any specialty beer or liquor store. I strong recommend trying it out.
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