On Friday the Snook took me out to The Vanguard in Newtown to see one of his favorite bands, The Backsliders. I’d never been in there before. It was so cool! An extremely tiny blues bar filled with cosy little candle-lit tables, great food, and fantastic music. We were doing the “dinner and a show” thing and ended up having a full-on three-course meal with cocktails, wine, and dessert. (The only thumbs-down was my Szampan cocktail. I thought it tasted like a Texta*.) I’d forgotten how much I enjoyed hearing live blues. This was like the bizarro version of my favorite London blues bar… and in a lot of ways, it was superior. Good food. Good service. Clean bathrooms. And the #1 reason – no smoke! I highly recommend it.

* Texta is Australian for “Magic Marker.”