Flanfire

Went down to Egypt - er, the Pyramids - which used to be the Empanada Parlour - on Sixth Street tonight to catch my pal Jimmy Lee Hannaford and had a great time. Jimmy had a trio with Steve Voorhies on bass and Layne Wiegert on acoustic lead guitar, and he got to sing lots of his older songs and some of his new ones - plus a couple of covers. The vibe was great, though there could have been more folks in the audience. But give the place a break - it's only been open six weeks, and the Empanada has been closed a long time.. Much in the new place is still the same - there is an outdoor stage and great seating, but the stairway down from upstairs now runs alongside the balcony rather than straight down. This is GOOD, as it gives a larger area with an unobscured view of the stage. Downstairs, the bar is the same, but the area nearest the back yard has been built up a couple of feet (to the outside window level) and the stage is up by the office. I really liked the new arrangement, though I did not try the food (good, I hear). I got to meet an old friend of Jimmy's from his daze in Santa Fe - dude is off to graduate school at the University of Chicago after finally getting a B.A. a year ago. What an inspiration!

Last night I took some friends by Ginny's Little Longhorn to see our young pals Seth and Brennen Leigh in their debut at one of Austin's finest bars. Brennen, honoring the honky tonk spirit, did not bring her mandolin, but played guitar and a little fiddle, with Seth on acoustic guitar, the inimitable B. B. Morse on slap bass, and Danny Hawk on pedal steel. Lots of scenes with old men (including my pal Bill Groll of Austin Americana) dancing with young nubile wimmen -- I even got on the dance floor once. Brennen and band will be taking Dale Watson's Thursday night slot again next week (he is on tour with his new CD that is a MUST buy!).

This morning I finally got over to the new coffeehouse in the neighborhood - Stars Coffee at 6539 North Lamar (right across from the Yellow Rose). Owner Cheyrl Law is a native Texan (from Gonzalez) who left Austin a while back to spend two decades in not so sunny California, and finally got tired of the rat race and came back to paradise. Well, it would have been paradise had it not been for the hassles she got from the city of Austin in trying to get the doors open to her little shop. Already, she has live music most nights and a poetry slam on Tuesdays - and all she needs is a few more good customers. It's small - hampered mainly by the city to a capacity way too low - but comfortable, and a good alternative to the overcrowded scene at Flightpath. And it is on the No. 1 bus line.

One more good plug for north central Austin - the Violet Crown neighborhoods between North Lamar and Burnet south of Anderson Lane and north of 45th Street - with spiritual extensions over to Airport Boulevard and down to 38th Street. The home of the ORIGINAL Threadgill's - and of the Stone House Grill on Burnet, a great place to eat good food while your kids play in the huge sandbox. We are also the home of Fonda San Miguel - and of a lot of great eateries of a less costly nature (such as The Omeletry). And it is an easy bus ride from my house to the Cactus and places on the Drag. Why don't you come on by and see us sometime?