About a week and a half ago I got my first live experience of alt/roots rock and alt country at Slim’s as Austin Collins & The Rainbirds (above) and Patty Hurst Shifter (below) took the stage to play some deep, rustic, and hard rockin’ grooves.
I had read about Patty Hurst Shifter and Austin Collins a few days before the show in the Independent, but didn’t know much else beyond that. Although I didn’t know what to expect, I experienced a very intense and memorable couple of hours. It began with a gradual and steady buildup with Collins’ set and led out with intense rock and roll fury with the final closing and subsequent solo guitar sets by Patty Hurst Shifter.
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Every month on the first Friday, most, if not all, of the galleries in the downtown area open up their new exhibits with really enjoyable receptions. Many people drive downtown and walk to as many of the galleries as they can with the night usually culminating in a few drinks at a local bar. For me, it’s probably one of my favorite times of any given month because it’s a great opportunity to see many of my friends as well as check out the artwork. Also happening every first Friday of the month is a downtown bike ride often hijacking at least one lane of traffic. Most are college aged or young professionals, although anyone and everyone is welcome. Usually we have a good distribution of ages. Typically we’re following our noses to the places with the free beer or wine as well as the places where our friends or colleagues have shows. The advantages are that A) you can visit many more galleries over a much broader area than you could by foot, and B) that there is no problem finding a parking place right in front of the galleries. This month was no exception, and due to the beautifully fall-tacular weather, we had a huge turnout! We had 35 riders when I took the picture above at RebusWorks.
The route we followed was from RebusWorks which had a neat political exhibit titled Pro/Con. RebusWorks is down by AntFarm right past the Boylan Bridge. They usually feature what they describe as compelling and innovative work and to their credit, it always is both compelling and innovative!
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Every Wednesday is College Night at Buckhead Saloon and it could easily be the best deal and the best night out in town for students. There’s no cover charge before 10:30 and the drink specials can’t be beat–$1.50 well drinks and $2.00 drafts. When you factor in free hot dogs/hamburgers and free limo or bus rides, you’ve got all the ingredients of a five star night for a one star budget.
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Although Poole’s Downtown Diner has many decades of Raleigh history under its belt, you won’t be greeted with the typical soul food you may have come to expect from a diner. The owner is Ashley Christensen, a nationally renowned chef recently featured in Bon Appetite Magazine.
The menus that change daily are only listed on the blackboards. Additionally, most of the ingredients originate locally so many of the rotating items are seasonal. The evening I stopped by featured entrees such as a 10oz Royale with Scotch Whisky Cheddar, Duck Confit served over white beans, and Macaroni au Gratin.
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While many residents of Raleigh were near Fayetteville Street celebrating as part of Raleigh Wide Open 3, there was another street celebration near downtown taking place.
Saturday night, residents of Alston Street and the surrounding areas gathered to celebrate the life of Charlie Nesmith, Jr., a U.S. veteran and pillar of the community. There was a DJ, saxophone player, and good times had by all.
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As mentioned last week, the Lump Gallery Benefit was on August 15th at their studio/gallery on South Blount Street.
Your favorite beer was there, provided that your favorite beer is PBR.
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One of the greatest treasures of Raleigh’s night life is Open Mic Night at the Berkeley Cafe. I’ve covered the Berkeley before back in September but open mic night is something truly special. Just as you may imagine, it’s a night in which musicians of all varieties can perform for a rather large audience simply by signing up. It is usually an eclectic mix of music of several stripes, not music limited to one specific genre.
If you ever find yourself bored on a Wednesday night, I highly recommend checking it out. You won’t be disappointed.
217 W Martin St
Raleigh, NC 27601
(919) 821-0777
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Kelly
Sean
Wes
Mike
Of all the bars/clubs in Raleigh, the bartenders at White Collar Crime are definitely the most talented. I tended bar for more than two years, and I was no where close to where these folks are in terms of talent and experience. Even though every spot of the bar was filled with people, they don’t keep you waiting long for your next drink.
In addition to being extremely attentive, they are also skilled at
flair, meaning they are good at juggling/balancing/flipping liquor bottles, bar tools, etc. during the course of preparing a cocktail for a guest. There aren’t many of these in Raleigh, but White Collar Crime has almost an entire staff skilled at this art.
The bartenders here are more than service workers tending guests, they are a performance that blended in seamlessly with the DJ and the crowd. While in sync with various buildups/breakdowns of dance tracks, they will throw a stack of napkins in to the air, or blow fireballs against the wall. It is really quite a performance.
319 W Davie St
Raleigh, NC 27601
(919) 828-0055
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