My friends, The TarantinosNYC were playing at Freddy’s Bar in Park Slope and I had not seen them in a long time, plus it was a Friday night, so I decided to trek out to Brooklyn.

I had been to Freddy’s Bar once before (for Rocky’s 60th birthday party) and I remembered it fondly. It is a fun dive bar with a closed off music room in the back and a kitchen with pretty good bar food. All the TVs play videos put together by one of the owners. One TV just showed a cat licking up a bowl of milk. For hours. It is nice to be in a bar and not be inundated with sports blaring from all the TVs. If I lived in Park Slope, this would be my bar. As it so happens, it is Rocky’s bar, so I texted him that I would be there but he said he had other plans. So, when I saw him sitting at the end of the bar, I was surprised. Turned out he did not read my text carefully and did not realize I was inviting him to a show in the bar he would be in anyway.

For dinner, I had a LGBT – lettuce, guacamole, bacon, and tomato with mayo on toasted ciabatta bread with tater tots on the side. Did I mention the tater tots? One of the reasons to eat at Freddy’s. I was sitting at the corner of the bar near the front, so saw Patty and Paul when they walked in. Got to talk to them for a bit then and later after the show. It was good to catch up and hopefully will see Patty soon when we can really talk.

The Band of Others and the Subway Serenaders played first. I know I listened to a bit of at least one of the bands and they were okay but the room was packed and I did not feel like standing. So, I hung out at the bar until The TarantinosNYC were ready to go on. The band(s) had a big crowd, who walked out while The TarantinosNYC were setting up. It was nice that I got a seat on the bench but I would have preferred a full room for them. I need not have worried.

People started dribbling in but once they started playing the room filled up from the bar. You cannot really hear the music in the bar but if you are ordering from the kitchen, you can hear it. As usual, they got the crowd coming in to check them out and got some people dancing. The dancing was strange, though. The men were dancing steps I have never seen on the dance floor before. One guy was dancing as if he was a cat turned human. Rocky and I were speculating as to whether these were steps we have not seen before or these kids are crazy.

The band mixed it up with covers and originals and also, as usual, it was difficult to tell the difference because their original music is so good. The music is a combination of surf, soul, spy, and spaghetti western. We heard “Green Onions” and “Midnight Confessions” and, of course, they ended with a “Miserlou” as a tribute to Dick Dale.

It would have been nice to stay for the Fred Thomas Funk-N-Soul Dance Party but I was tired. Thomas was James Brown’s bassist and I am sure that is more fun than humans should be allowed. He plays there regularly, so it is a show to catch.

By Carene Lydia Lopez