I’m not a fan of global warming in general, but the occasional warm day in February is kind of nice. I suppose it’s a guilty pleasure of sorts. Saturday was such a day. By the afternoon the temperatures had risen into the mid-fifties and people stirred about the streets shaking off the cold, wet weather we’ve had recently. Urban Girl declared that a bike ride suited her and, naturally, that’s what she got.
Once we arrived at Market Square I could tell from one end to the other that we had a genuine busking situation. We always have buskers, of course, but they aren’t, shall we say, of a uniform quality. These guys reeked of talent from the first note I heard. Not surprisingly, they had gathered a crowd. I talked to Alex Culbreth and Joanna Smith after they played and learned that they are members of Alex Culbreth and the Dead Country Stars (awesome band name) from Fredericksburg, VA, and they had played the Blue Plate Special earlier that day.
The two of them decided to freelance while the rest of the band slept and they’d earned a few dollars from the appreciative crowd. They offered me an eponymous CD which I gratefully accepted. They call themselves “alt-country” and “Americana.” I’d say that’s true, but there is also a fair share of old time honky tonk classic country. I’ve enjoyed the CD quite a bit and hope to catch them down the line. The next stop for the band was Saturday night in Johnson City.
I also noted a few other things in the general area: For starters, watering bags on the trees lining Wall Avenue. It’s heartening to note the city can now afford to water all the trees in a spot since previously I’d noted only one tree in a group would be chosen to get the treatment (search for “tree gator” for the whole story). Odd that it comes on the heels of our wettest January since the 1880’s.
I took a final picture of the space that was Sangria’s. It’s now for lease and a sad letter notes the demise of the restaurant. Urban Woman and I ate there only once. We didn’t think it was bad, but it wasn’t great and it seemed expensive to us, though we were eating more in those days and you can run up quite a bill without realizing it when you share small plates. The service also didn’t really seem that great on our one visit, so we just never made it back.
Also noted, a cart selling Scruffy City t-shirts and finally, I took a photograph of the Urban Outfitters banner. It seems to be actually happening. I hope to have more on that for you very soon. The number is on the banner, which I think you can read if you click on the photograph, for any of you interested in employment.
I also walked over to the State Street Garage to see what was happening and found a portion of the new floor has been erected. It isn’t anchored together completely, but it is taking shape. I suspect this means the supports are finished and progress will come with increasing rapidity. As you can see from the juxtaposition of the family and the crane, that is one big crane.
