![FEBRUARY 16 – OTTAWA TAVERN, TOLEDO, OH [SHOW #148]
[DF] Our first time ever at the Ottawa Tavern, and our first Toledo show since 2006. From the sepia-tinged photographs on the wall we could tell that the Ottawa Tavern has been around for a few decades. It’s a really cool place with a U-shaped bar on one half of the room and a small stage on the other. Up a few steps to a second level there is a pool table; a lounge room with a couch, chairs and board games; and a back room with more tables and poker table lighting. Immediately upon arriving to the OT, we used the restrooms and discovered the most fascinating urinals we’ve ever seen, as they were in the shape of mouths – giant lips and teeth. It was one of those strange moments where we all found ourselves pulling out our cameras in the bathroom.
Relatively famished, we decided to order some food off the Ottawa Tavern’s food menu, which consisted mostly of various burgers and portabello sandwiches. “”Zenz” your burger for $2 extra”, the menu said. “What does it mean to Zenz a burger?” we asked. Mike, the bartender, informed us that it means that instead of a bun surrounding the burger toppings, the burger is sandwiched between two grilled cheese sandwiches. Dave and I knew that this was the last thing we needed to put our bodies through on tour, where it’s hard enough to eat healthily on a regular basis, but we couldn’t pass up on an opportunity like this. Glad we didn’t, the burger was incredible.
We hadn’t played Toledo since 2006, the first year of the Toledo Popfest, where we played at the now-demolished Vamps. We’ve been friends with many Toledo folk for years, primarily from playing shows with the Hat Company around the area (Ypsilanti, Toledo) and from Athens Popfest. The show was an absolute blast since so many good friends were there, some of whom we hadn’t seen in ages (Paul drove down from Detroit, Kyle came up from Columbus to play the show), while others we had seen on the first leg of the tour at least a couple times each were there (Grace, who lives in Toledo, and James who is now in Columbus). It was awesome for us to hang out with them all in the same place for the first time in years.
Kyle Bliss, formerly in the 1959 Hat Company, opened the show wandering around the bar singing a Beach Boys song to its patrons with an acoustic guitar, and continued the rest of the set from the stage, playing several songs with just an electric guitar with the backing tracks played off of James’ phone. Joe and Paul backed him up on a couple songs with dual trumpet lines, and James and another Toledoan whose name I didn’t catch sang along. Summery songs with almost crooning vocals.
Our set probably started around midnight or later, and everyone at the bar seemed appropriately drunk, with people dancing, yelling out song requests, and singing along – the perfect crowd. It made it hard to believe that it was only a Wednesday.
After the show, we stayed with Adam, the guy who had set up the show and who had gotten so drunk at the show that he had to be carried out of the bar by others. The Avengers was on the Netflix instant queue so we stayed up watching it. I couldn’t believe my eyes. This movie is both horrendously awful, and incredibly amazing at the same time. When it cuts to the scene in the board room where everyone is dressed up as colored stuffed teddy bears, well… incredible.
The word we heard: “James, I need my song off your phone” –Kyle
Dinner was a winner: OT burgers
Our friends the bartends: Mike & Sara
Sound Tech we respect: Dan
The pad was rad: Adam & Ben
The fill of the bill: Kyle Bliss
Monument / Some Ordinary Vision / Pacific Sunrise / Torpedoes on Tuesday / After the Holiday / Magic Circle Symphony / Camille Claudel / Collage of Impressions / Church on Mars / Glory Us / Wake Up, Waco / Don’t Go / Porcelain Brain / When The World Sleeps](http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lhautimeM91qahyhxo1_1280.jpg)
FEBRUARY 16 – OTTAWA TAVERN, TOLEDO, OH [SHOW #148]
[DF] Our first time ever at the Ottawa Tavern, and our first Toledo show since 2006. From the sepia-tinged photographs on the wall we could tell that the Ottawa Tavern has been around for a few decades. It’s a really cool place with a U-shaped bar on one half of the room and a small stage on the other. Up a few steps to a second level there is a pool table; a lounge room with a couch, chairs and board games; and a back room with more tables and poker table lighting. Immediately upon arriving to the OT, we used the restrooms and discovered the most fascinating urinals we’ve ever seen, as they were in the shape of mouths – giant lips and teeth. It was one of those strange moments where we all found ourselves pulling out our cameras in the bathroom.
Relatively famished, we decided to order some food off the Ottawa Tavern’s food menu, which consisted mostly of various burgers and portabello sandwiches. “”Zenz” your burger for $2 extra”, the menu said. “What does it mean to Zenz a burger?” we asked. Mike, the bartender, informed us that it means that instead of a bun surrounding the burger toppings, the burger is sandwiched between two grilled cheese sandwiches. Dave and I knew that this was the last thing we needed to put our bodies through on tour, where it’s hard enough to eat healthily on a regular basis, but we couldn’t pass up on an opportunity like this. Glad we didn’t, the burger was incredible.
We hadn’t played Toledo since 2006, the first year of the Toledo Popfest, where we played at the now-demolished Vamps. We’ve been friends with many Toledo folk for years, primarily from playing shows with the Hat Company around the area (Ypsilanti, Toledo) and from Athens Popfest. The show was an absolute blast since so many good friends were there, some of whom we hadn’t seen in ages (Paul drove down from Detroit, Kyle came up from Columbus to play the show), while others we had seen on the first leg of the tour at least a couple times each were there (Grace, who lives in Toledo, and James who is now in Columbus). It was awesome for us to hang out with them all in the same place for the first time in years.
Kyle Bliss, formerly in the 1959 Hat Company, opened the show wandering around the bar singing a Beach Boys song to its patrons with an acoustic guitar, and continued the rest of the set from the stage, playing several songs with just an electric guitar with the backing tracks played off of James’ phone. Joe and Paul backed him up on a couple songs with dual trumpet lines, and James and another Toledoan whose name I didn’t catch sang along. Summery songs with almost crooning vocals.
Our set probably started around midnight or later, and everyone at the bar seemed appropriately drunk, with people dancing, yelling out song requests, and singing along – the perfect crowd. It made it hard to believe that it was only a Wednesday.
After the show, we stayed with Adam, the guy who had set up the show and who had gotten so drunk at the show that he had to be carried out of the bar by others. The Avengers was on the Netflix instant queue so we stayed up watching it. I couldn’t believe my eyes. This movie is both horrendously awful, and incredibly amazing at the same time. When it cuts to the scene in the board room where everyone is dressed up as colored stuffed teddy bears, well… incredible.
The word we heard: “James, I need my song off your phone” –Kyle
Dinner was a winner: OT burgers
Our friends the bartends: Mike & Sara
Sound Tech we respect: Dan
The pad was rad: Adam & Ben
The fill of the bill: Kyle Bliss
Monument / Some Ordinary Vision / Pacific Sunrise / Torpedoes on Tuesday / After the Holiday / Magic Circle Symphony / Camille Claudel / Collage of Impressions / Church on Mars / Glory Us / Wake Up, Waco / Don’t Go / Porcelain Brain / When The World Sleeps
