Last night a handful of Oakmont Regional High alums made their way into enemy territory (Gardner High was our school's rival) to plan a 20th reunion (Class of '90), and listen to a couple of friends rock the house.
My sister Sarah & her husband Jon and I all arrived at The Gardner Ale House just before seven for dinner. We
grabbed Chair City Pale Ales (very good, though I've had better) and Sarah had a mohito, while we waited for our table. When it was ready, Jon and I went to eat dinner, while Sarah joined several of her classmates in the back room for a reunion planning session.We started with the fried calamari, which was amazing, and switched to the Oak-aged Facelift IPA, which was not. There must have been something in the oak, because it was the worst IPA I've ever had. Not bitter at all, and quite toothless (no bite). For the main course, Jon had a steak (which he enjoyed), and I got the Big Chair Cheeseburger. The burger was overcooked, the bun was stale, and the fries were limp and mediocre. I was very disappointed, especially because the place wasn't that busy, and it was a Friday night (Hello, 'best foot forward', maybe?). Next time I will opt for seafood for dinner, because the calamari had been perfect. Thankfully, Chuck, Luc (Kris Lucander, bass player extrordinaire), and Jay (Jason Sharron, drum wizard & accoustic guitar god) all came over at various times during the meal to distract me from the horrible food with their conversation.
A little before nine, Jay & Luc headed over to set up, and after we were done eating, Jon & I headed back into the bar area to wait for the music to start, and the reunion meeting to end, so we could hang out with Mitch and Sanford. Chuck and his wife Pamela managed to snag a table, and then old pal Jim Clark (major local sports guru) walked in. We shot the breeze for a bit over a beer (I switched back to Chair City Pale Ale for the rest of the night), and when it opened up, we grabbed the table in front of Chuck's in order to have a better vantage point for the music, and a place for the reunion planners to sit when they were done.
Jay & Luc played a rousing first set, featuring covers of Joe Jackson, John Mayer, The Eagles, and Jethro Tull, among others. Sarah came back from the reunion meeting, with Mitch, Sanford and Ralph in tow, and the drinks and rowdiness increased to appropriate "Friday Night Out" levels.
When the second set was in full swing, Pamela had the guys play a song for Chuck for their one year anniversary ("Happy Anniversary" sung over the "William Tell Overture"), and the duo covered tunes from The Beatles,
Dave Matthews Band, Fleetwood Mac, and others. People took turns buying rounds as necessary, and over the course of the evening, I handed out wooden nickels to everyone in attendance for future revels. Plus, Brad Penny and the Red Sox beat Baltimore 3 to 1 (five-game skid ended!). When the guys were done for the evening (around 11:30), a female friend of theirs (Lee Villaire, who had sung on a few of their songs earlier in the evening) did a short solo set, which was a nice finale to some awesome music. All in all, it was a great night out, with kick-butt music played by old friends, decent local beer, and the fantastic opportunity to see a bunch of old chums all in one place...
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