Ginger ale: Almost as fizz-ful as Brie
Terminal Ready
at Outback Lodge and
Mike Brie
at R2
Saturday, August 21
Alcohol has never been my drug of choice. This has always put me at a disadvantage with the ladies on the bar scene. Somehow, the guy holding the ginger ale just isn't so cool and attractive. That's okay. I prefer to leave the lushes to their loves and losses while I post up in a corner, just me and my Ginger– so cool and refreshing. As a matter of fact, I've become somewhat of a connoisseur.
At the top of list for best fountain ginger ale in Charlottesville is the Outback Lodge. Ginger ale as a fountain drink is a very fine art. You must find the perfect balance between syrup and soda, sweetness and sparkle. Whenever I drink at Outback I'm happy from the first sip to the very last slurp. So, even if the music is less than desirable, I can still find something salvageable in my evening.
This Saturday I had no clue what I was getting into. I've been aware that goth shows have moved from their home at Tokyo Rose (decent ginger ale) to Outback (superlative), but I never had the opportunity to check one out. By chance a friend of a friend put my friend on the guest list and was kind enough to include me as well. We, two hip-hop headz, strolled into gothdom through a crowd of dark knights and dangerous dames like streaks of color in the blackest of worlds.
The band we came for, Terminal Ready, was already amassing a decent crowd in front of the stage. They perform sans drummer. In the drumset's place is a CD playing pre-programmed percussion, spliced samples, and synths. At first it was odd, but it quickly became all right as Terminal Ready executed with surgical precision a batch of electroclash goth rock that had me in a zone.
Even the supreme hater I was with found himself at a loss for negative comments (see last week's Music Review for more on supreme haters). Three things I loved about Terminal Ready: one, the lead singer has a personality (love it or hate it, at least he has one); two, they looked like they were having fun; three, their arrangements were well thought out. If only Outback could have dimmed the lights to correct the vibe to match the viciously spectacular tunes we were blessed with.
We left Outback to head to a place where the ginger ale is average at best. Luckily Rapture was featuring some above average DJ talent.
Mike Brie is probably one of the highest caliber musicians this town has ever had the privilege of housing. Yes, he's a DJ, but we're talking about a guy who just took second place in the head-to-head nationwide DMC competition and is arguably the best DJ from DC to South Carolina.
Did I mention he can produce and play instruments too? Anyway, all I'm saying is Brie is pretty much at the top of his game and Saturday night was no exception. This time out he hit R2 with the latest in down-south hip hop crunk-tacular selections. Brie mixed on three turntables with the help of his turntablist partner from Richmond, DJ Bust.
They had the dance floor packed, never once allowing a dead moment through their seamless mixes. Maybe Brie could give R2 advice on mixing their ginger ale. I should have asked before I left.
Terminal Ready
PHOTO BY DAMANI HARRISON
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