|
STORIES
RELATED INFO
Chicago Shops
Chicago Wine & Groceries
|  |
 |
 |
|
Subscribe in your favorite reader using the links below. To learn more about feeds and RSS, click here.
 | |||||
|
Articles
Sections
>>
>
|
|||||
|
Sing Me a Song, Piano Man
Monday Mar 31, 2008.
By Erin Brereton
|
|||||
| |||||
 photo: Erin Brereton
I took lessons from when I was 5 to 19, but since then have apparently lost all sense of discipline (although I do make my bed more now—some weeks). I brought all my cheesy '80s sheet music back from my parents' house, where my original piano now serves as a shelf for some photos and a plant. I sampled samba beats. I played "The Goonies 'R' Good Enough" in the creepy human voice mode. But I just couldn't get myself to use the thing regularly. I enjoy piano music, but I'm too lazy to play it.
Lucky for me, the city is full of real musicians who are willing to pound out chords—for FREE! And in the past month, I've sampled two old-school piano spots that offer cocktails, seating and good music.
My first musical outing involved a trip to the Redhead Piano Bar with my fabulous neighbors on a Saturday night. I was surprised to find that the bar wasn't overly crowded and didn't have a cover (it never does, nice).
The catch is, on weekends you most likely won't sit within sight of the piano. But you'll know it's there, because the bar's stellar sound system ensures you'll hear the Neil Diamond and Billy Joel tunes, even if you end up in the back part of the bar. But you won't get drink specials at Redhead. For that, you need to venture out to Sullivan's Steakhouse on a Thursday night.
I first went to Sullivan's a year ago for drinks and some delish appetizers—I highly recommend the creamed spinach and anything it serves that's based around a potato—but the place was so full of cigarette- and cigar-aficionados that it took two days to get the stench out of my coat. It took four for it to dissipate from my hair, which I think at one point was actually giving off smoke signals to passersby.
With the smoking ban in effect now, Sullivan's is a whole new place. It still has a delightfully retro feel (it's the kind of place my grandparents would've gone to), but you don't need to have once hoed a victory garden to appreciate it.
And, despite the fact Sullivan's is a fancy steak place, you don't need a ton of cash to enjoy yourself on a Thursday, when it offers $5 martinis AND live piano music. (Sold, to the drinker who doesn't play her keyboard frequently!!!)
Sullivan's list of more than eight $5 martinis includes some decent options: I sampled a large apple martini, which I was relieved to find wasn't sickly sweet. My friend Matt tried a chocolate martini, which also received a thumbs up.
I was also pleased to find that even though it was later in the evening, the bar wasn't crowded; we easily found a seat near the piano, and thankfully the music wasn't deafening. I was actually sitting almost on top of the baby grand; but I had it good compared to Matt, who was facing the piano and therefore was forced to stare at the pianist's unmistakable case of "piano face." You know the look: intent, emotional, almost orgasmic. It's the sign of a passionate musician, yes, but something you don't want to look at for an hour.
And that's OK, because really, you couldn't ask for a better people-watching crowd to focus on instead. One patron came over to make a request and say hello to the pianist. Another argued with his bored wife before returning to their hotel. And, as always, a quintessential bad date in mid-stream was on display, which is always enticing to watch (as long as you're not on it.)
It's a chill scene, and if you're not an evening drinker, take note: Sullivan's $5 martinis are available all day on Thursday. So go really old-school and have a three-martini lunch: We at Centerstage don't judge.
|
|||||
| |||||
