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FRI
6.19.98 Cafe Du Nord - San Fransisco
As soon as I got up and got dressed, I made my way to the main area of the Andorra Inn. I was able to read the local San Fransisco Chronicle and drink some coffee. However, for the second day in a row I missed the "continental breakfast" they were serving. I was disturbed on reading about a pretty 13 year old girl who had been missing for a few days in the Monterrey area. There was a picture of the distraught mother and 17 year old sister of the missing girl on the front page. An extensive search had already been completed of the area in which she had disappeared. I was saddened by this story, and hoped that they would find the missing girl.
Well, there had been a buzz this morning about something really cool around the corner. Some of us band members found this place called Siegal's. Little did we know that we would fall in love with this place. Siegal's is a men's clothing store specializing in Zoot Suits and 40's style clothing, and we were surpised to find it was just one block away from the Andorra Inn. We ended up spending the entire morning there, and spending alot of money too. I bought 3 pairs of socks, 2 tie and handkerchief sets, a shirt, a pair of pants, and suspenders. We got around to eating some lunch at a place called Jim's Restaurant, next door to the Andorra Inn. I was getting some soreness in my right knee again and I welcomed the chance to sit down. After lunch most of us retired to our rooms for an afternoon nap. We had to get to the Cafe Du Nord by about 4pm for a soundcheck. The Cafe Du Nord is an older establishment having an ambience perfect for the swing scene. Its woodcarved ceiling and walls gave it a vintage charm, and it was located in the basement so the only way to get in was to go down these flight of stairs. We liked the Cafe Du Nord the minute we stepped down into its world. There is a tunnel that was used in the old days which was now blocked, and I thought that was rather intriguing. We had dinner there compliments of the Cafe Du Nord. So we ended up staying there until about 6:30pm. After that some of us who hadn't changed into to our suits yet went back to the Andorra Inn to change and rest a bit.
We started our show at about 9:45pm and to our surprise we had an excellent response! I guess word got around about Big Time Operator in the San Fransisco area. And we heard that the swing scene here had been anticipating our arrival for quite some time. The show went very well. However I was not pleased with my drum solo on Sing Sing Sing although I seemed to have gotten a great response from the crowd. During the last set my knee started to give out again , and I was very angry. Afterward, I just sat there by the pool table, watching as the band loaded all the instruments and equipment into the van.
We dropped by a Safeway store to get some ice for my knee. The Cafe Du Nord gig was a complete success, except from my aching knee. Back at the Andorra Inn most of us couldn't sleep, so we ended up talking until 4am and I ended up icing my knee. If really felt good once the ice hit that knee, and Jamie, our pharmacist -turned- trumpeter, gave me some drugs to stop the inflamation. All and all, my knee felt a whole lot better and I was able to get a good night's sleep... |