Flanfire

Next month the Velvet Spade - 902 Red River - will celebrate its first birthday, and those who enjoy a comfortable couch, great live music, and a variety of beverages (plus a HUGE outdoor area that will be fabulous in the spring, fall, and evenings in much of the summer) should raise a glass to toast owners Brad, Chad, and Wesley Womack and adopted brother Tony Nooner for turning an ancient Austin edifice into a sumptuous club of gigantic proportions. The guys also own the Chuggin' Monkey and Dizzy Rooster on Sixth Street - but the Spade is the place THEY hang out with friends - and so might you. The Spade has an indoor stage in a cozy room with 10-foot (at least) ceilings with a nice bar in the middle and a fireplace on one side of the large open area - with a pool table nook off to the rear. But OUTSIDE there is a terrace and a fountain and when the flowers bloom (if we get any rain) the venue will really come alive. The owners are looking for music that appeals to grownups -- all they need is a shuttle service.

We were there on Wednesday night to catch a double set by Melody Mann, my pals who are in the final stages of mastering their new CD, "Hard Road." The band includes vocalist Kelly Williams-Mann, a Corpus Christi native not afraid to cover Janis Joplin; Buffalo-born Thomas Mann - my choice for No. 1 keyboardist in the city this year; Bill Crock on guitars; Scott Beardsley on bass; Jeff Jeffries on dums - PLUS Kevin Gibbs on sax andDavid Gilden onb trumpet. Trust me - it's the horns that give Melody Mann its special sound - but all of the players are worth listening to. One of my favorite numbers is Kelly's ode to a Corpus Christi hangout - Inza's Lonesome Coyote Saloon; another song tells of Jesus in Chicago -- Kelly sings the blues and the band SMOKES. Thomas' OTHER band - Free Brass Cartel - will be gigging again on March 3 at The Bugle Boy in LaGrange - well worth the drive!!!! What we have here in Melody Mann is Kelly's bluesy sound backed by her jazz piano genius husband (who likes to throw in a little ragtime now and then) and a lot of hot players. The band is playing Alice's Restaurant on February 4 (Saturday night) and Momo's on Monday, February 6.

Hanging out at the club -- which had a nice crowd for a Wednesday evening -- was my pal Bryce Clifford and his buddy Clint - guitarist for Youngmond Grand (whom I MISSED at the Hole last night thanks to a very early dental appointment that left me tired by ten).