Thursday night I went to see singer/songwriter Rocky Votolato at The City Winery with Phillip and Cristina. For those of you who don’t know of Rocky, click on the link below to cop a listen:
Rocky Votolato – “Portland Is Leaving”
The City Winery is one of those charming places that’s charming on account of its dim lighting and because the whole thing used to be a factory whose dirty floors and rusty hardware have been polished to a high sheen. These places are irresistibly likable. You feel so appreciative for the great atmosphere, you order twice as much stuff off the menu. That’s how the thinking goes.
They have a great selection of wines and craft beers and their food, though a bit pricey (if not by City standards then by yours truly’s what-I’d-pay-for-fancy-in-down-home-in-Kentucky standards), is very good judging from the one french fry I stole off Cristina’s plate. You’ll have to ask her whether the ten other fries and four mini burgers were truly worth twenty bucks.
Rocky seemed to be enjoying the City Winery’s high polish just as much as I was. He said –
I’m used to playing in places much dirtier than this … this is great!
And proceeded to play a great set.
The opening act wasn’t too shabby either, a red-head named Brooke Wagner.
Unfortunately, nobody talked to her after the show. They were all lined up to see Rocky. I felt bad but still didn’t say anything. Instead, I bought a t-shirt and had Rocky sign it. He signed Cristina’s shirt better and I was jealous. But I still like his music.
I would recommend The City Winery to anyone looking for a relaxing night out. They have a wide variety of musicians cycling through the place, both in terms of genre and level of notoriety (a.k.a. ticket price). I’ve posted their website below for reference.