I will describe my experience at Blues Alley in downtown Washington DC when Jerry "Iceman" Butler performed. Blues Alley is a New Orleans Creole Cuisine/Rhythm & Blues restaurant/club located at 1073 Wisconsin Ave., Washington, DC (202-337-4141 for reservations). Shows are normally at 8pm & 10pm. Doors open at 6pm. Admission is normally $20/person, but the Blues Alley Society is posting a usenet article in some of the dc.* newsgroups where you can tickets that allow you to waive the admission fee if you buy at least a $7 entree which isn't difficult since the entrees are $15. I decided to go on Mardi Gras with some friends since it seemed appropriate. The food is typical New Orleans fare. I had the pasta Jambalaya which was very good; however, I've eaten in New Orleans and I've had more for less but not better. For dessert, I had the house Bread Pudding which must have been good since I ate two of them. You get a complimentary bread basket, and the coat check is $1. If you want good New Orleans food in DC and you don't mind the price, come here to eat. The tables hold 2 or 4 people, and considering the music, make sure you bring an SO along. Jerry "Iceman" Butler and his band was awesome. He is advertised as a Rhythm & Blues singer with vocals, but he was more of an upbeat jazz singer who was obviously very professional. Along with his songs which ranged back to the 1950s as far as I could tell, he would smoothly insert bits of humor and blues history. I've listened to recorded jazz and blues, but listening to it live was much better. He was accompanied by a piano player, drummer, percussionist (bongos mostly), base player, guitar player, and two vocal/co-singers whose names escape me at the moment. The musical support involved was impressive in size considering the relative small and comfortable size of the restaurant/club. Scheduled singers at Blues Alley are: Feb 11-16 Jerry "Iceman" Butler (vocals/R&B) Feb 17-18 The Yellowjackets (contemporary jazz) Feb 19 John Hart Quartet (guitar/sax) Feb 20 David "Fathead" Newman Quintet (sax) Feb 21-23 Eddie Palmieri Sextet (Latin jazz) +------------------------------------------------------------------+ | Sang J. Moon Email: [email removed] | | Disclaimer: This message does not reflect the views of ClarkNet. | +------------------------------------------------------------------+
Washington, DC