Repost: A Fun Musical Excursion (With Food!)

Monday, September 21, 2009

A Fun Musical Excursion (with food!)

For those not in the know, Stevi B's is a pizza buffet place, a really good one, and they had just opened a brand spanking new one in Gainesville. Hot diggity!

So we went in and we oohed and we aahed, for this was one fine and spiffy looking (not to mention large) restaurant. We loaded up and went to get drinks.

Well, the first thing I noticed was that the drink fountain offered Coke Zero. Oh yeah, baby. Rock On.

The next thing I noticed was that the staff were all extremely friendly and cheery. Not a sour expression among them. They constantly were coming by our table asking if we needed refills, if we'd like to try the Taco Pizza (yum!) or the Loaded Baked Potato pizza (double yum!). We were being really well looked after. The place was clean, clean, clean clean clean, too. Oh yeah.

Once ensconced in a comfy booth, I noticed (as I tend to do in most restaurants, or shops, or - well, you get the idea) that the music being piped over the speakers was of the "extremely groovy indeed" variety. A veritable smorgasbord of 80s classics. Here are some of the choice cuts we were treated to:

Pet Shop Boys: West End Girls. Now I've been a big fan of the Petties since Neil Tennant was just a writer for Smash Hits magazine, and since I knew all the words, I had to sing them. It's the rules.

Billy Ocean: Get Out Of My Dreams (And Into My Car). Nice slice of 80s danceability. Even my daughter Emily commented that it made her want to dance. Speaking of Billy, have you seen him lately? Here's what he used to look like.

And here he is now.

Wow. Different huh? Same teeth though.

The Cure: Lovesong. 'Nuff said.

Men At Work: It's A Mistake. That whole "Cargo"

album had so many good tracks on it that should have been monster hits.

Genesis: Turn It On Again. At the point this was playing, the girls were done eating and had gone to the game room to check it out. I was in heaven, a slice of Mac-n-cheese pizza rolling around in my cakehole, belly full of Coke Zero and

Genesis on the speakers - what could be better? I was drumming on the table and my kick-drum foot was going, when I noticed a trio of Mexican girlies at another table (why is it that Mexican women, no matter how trim or supersized they may be, seem to think that the best they can possibly look is if they wear clothes that are three sizes too tight? If you have VPL, backfat and cameltoe showing all at once, you might want to go UP a couple sizes. Just sayin'.), and they were staring at my Phil-Collins-induced rhythmic happenings, so I thought, "Ah well - let's give 'em a show." So I started lip-synching. All I need is a TV show... that, and a radio.

So after Phil and the boys faded we had to experience the game room. We played a few games, got some tickets, and came away with a wristband and a whoopee cushion. As we were leaving, the music playing was

Wang Chung's Dance Hall Days.

So we left Stevi B's, bellies full, and wandered down to Big Lots which always is fun, but it's hard to get out of there without spending a hundred bucks. Anyway, I spent just over $10 in there tonight, showing amazing restraint, and listening to the muzak in there playing

Billy Joel's Don't Ask Me Why. As Alexei Sayle once said, "Style is something you can 'um as you walk down the street."

If that's true, and I think it is, then Billy, you've got style.

Good night folks. Later.

Posted by Jeff Hickmott at 5:53 PM