Gaslight Theatre and The Retro Rockets

The Gaslight Theatre bills itself as “The Hottest Thing to Hit Tucson Since Sunshine!” offering Musical Melodrama Open Year Round.

True to its name, Gaslight Theatre is a venue for live performances from local actors performing plays such as Beach Blanket Bebop (or "That's for Surfin'!") and Frankenstein Lives! (or “The Jolt’s On You!). They also host a “Family Concert Series” once each week that offers live music suitable for the entire family.

It was a live music event that served as my introduction to Gaslight Theatre. Last Monday I attended a concert featuring the local classic rock band called the Retro Rockets, and their first set promised to consist entirely of music by the Beatles.

OK, this photo has nothing to do with either the Retro Rockets or Gaslight Theatre. I just had to take this shot of the sunset reflecting off the clouds. It made me hungry for pizza.

The Retro Rockets aren’t just a tribute band to the Beatles and don’t limit themselves to Beatles music but they did a great job of covering early Beatles hits. They had a great time doing it as well, and took turns bantering with each other and the audience.

The audience appreciated it, and at the beginning of the evening were singing along with parts of the chorus of songs. By the end of the evening people were loosening up, and most of the audience was singing along to entire songs.

The Retro Rockets made it easy to sing along. After performing the first set of Beatles music, they filled their second set with such recognizable and feel-good hits like “Pretty Woman”, “Peaceful Easy Feeling”, “Long Cool Woman”, “I’m a Believer”, “Hang on Sloopy”, and “Do You Believe in Magic”.

The Retro Rockets (photo courtesy of their MySpace page)

Tickets for performances at the Gaslight Theatre are sold in advance, and the Retro Rockets appeared to have sold out the house.

The seating at Gaslight Theatre consists of two or three chairs around a small wooden table, and if you’re hungry waitresses will bring you food - mostly sandwiches, some desserts, as well as beer and wine. It’s the latter two that I really appreciated. By the middle of the second set, when everyone was singing along to classic rock and roll, and I was sipping on my third beer, it struck me how much it felt like I was back in the early 70’s, booze cruising in a friends car, singing along with the radio.

And guess what? After all these years it’s still fun to listen to great music with friends while sipping on a barley pop or two. And MUCH safer than drinking and driving.

I had a great time at the Gaslight Theatre and plan to be back to take in a play or two and I’ll DEFINITELY be back for the live jazz music coming up in October.

The Web site for the Gaslight Theatre is http://www.thegaslighttheatre.com/ (have patience, it takes a while to load).

The Retro Rockets are booked throughout the rest of the year. Their schedule is on their Web site at http://www.myspace.com/tucsonretrorockets.

All They Wanna Do Is Talk, Talk

Have you ever just wanted to just sit down and have an intelligent conversation with friends? You know, just hash out the problems of the world over lunch?

Thanks to one member of the Tucson Single Professionals you can do just that. Robert Bulechek organizes this event, held every Wednesday at various restaurants around Tucson.

This function offers not only a chance for good conversation, but is also an excellent way to discover new restaurants in Tucson. The venue changes each month, and this month it is being held at Sabra’s Restaurant. Sabra’s is a small, unassuming restaurant that can be easy to miss as you go zipping by on Speedway Boulevard. Thankfully, I decided to make plans to attend a “Luncheon & Conversation” held here.


Sabra’s Restaurant serves Mediterranean style food. That’s the generic term for what, in this case, turns out to be Kosher Jewish meals. Sabra’s is a certified kosher restaurant, which means the food is prepared and served under strict Jewish dietary laws. The food is certified Kosher under the supervision of Rabbi Israel Becker of Congregation Chofetz Chayim and Rabbi Joseph Shemtov of Congregation Young Israel Chabad-Lubavitch.

I grew up in West Michigan, which is a very conservative community, and dining variety was somewhat lacking. Unless your idea of variety is deciding whether to go to Fridays, Applebee’s, or Olive Garden. So this was a very special treat for me. I’ll admit, some of the choices were hard for me to visualize. Baba Ganoush, Tabouli, Sabich, Shakshuka, Malawach were all words I’m pretty sure I’ve never heard of before. The good news is the staff is very friendly and more than willing to help de-code the menu for any newbie gentiles.

Of course there were also words on the menu I did recognize and I was able to find several tasty sounding choices. You can order pizza, spaghetti, and salads if you really have no sense of adventure. On my first visit there I tried the mushroom soup, and on my second visit I had the tuna pita. While these choices may not be that far out of my comfort zone I’d have to rate them as one of the best bowls of mushroom soup I’ve ever had and THE best tuna pita. I think on my next visit I may be ready to try some Shakshuka.

The conversation part of the “Luncheon & Conversation” was provided by the members of Tucson Single Professionals that arrived at Sabra’s. On my first visit I was a stranger to everyone there but was quickly made to feel welcome. In addition to Robert our host, and myself, there were two other guys and two women named Pam and Corrina. (I’m sure there’s a Freudian reason why I remember only the women’s names, but that’s a topic for another post.) On my second visit, there was a slightly larger group of five women and three men. Again, everyone was made to feel like old friends gathering to chat over a good meal.

Robert does a great job of researching interesting topics of possible discussion, and sends them out with the email invitation for each event. In the two events I attended all that research went for naught however, as the group discussion took off on its own with topics such as skydiving, piloting a plane, moon phases, best places for brunch, best local Mexican food restaurants, and stories about the places you’re from.

In the end, we didn’t even come close to solving the world’s problems. We did enjoy each others company, good conversation, and great food. What better way is there to spend a lunch hour?

Tucson Singles Professionals is an excellent way to meet other single people in Tucson. Don’t worry if conversation is not your thing, TSP schedules regular activities such as wine tasting, AAA baseball games, dance lessons, concerts, etc. The events are as diverse as its members. TSP is free to join. You don’t have to live in Tucson, and you don’t even have to be professional, but you do need to be single. More information is at: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/TucsonSingleProfessionals/

Classic Cars, Classic Rock, Classic Diner

One of the benefits of having beautiful sunshine and warm weather most of the year is how well automobile bodies hold up. Coming from Michigan I am constantly amazed at the beautiful condition of the cars rolling down the road alongside Petey and me.

The combination of great weather and proud owners of pristine older cars means that sooner or later the owners of these cars will want to show them off to anyone that may be interested. A quick search on Google revealed two classic car events that are regularly held in Tucson.


Of course Michigan is no stranger to automotive events! The Motor City is host to one of the largest classic car events each year called the Woodward Dream Cruise. My home town of Grand Rapids has started a very successful event in the same vein, called the 28th Street Cruise. Both of these events boast thousands of participants every year.


But while the Tucson events can’t match the number of classic cars that are on display, they make up for this by holding events a couple of times each month. As I write this article, there are bi-weekly events scheduled for the following three months. That means there are plenty of opportunities to get out and enjoy some of this family friendly fun.


Friendly is an apt description all the way around here. The owners of the cars are happy to talk about their passion for their hobby, Little Anthony’s is a friendly place to grab a bite to eat, and the people that show up are here to appreciate these lovingly restored classics.


Variety is everywhere in the parking lot this night as you can see by the photos. The lineup included a 1968 Mustang, a 1932 Ford coupe, a 40’s era army Jeep, and my personal favorite, a 1970 Dodge Challenger R/T sporting the awesome 440 Six Pack. There were Chevelles, GTOs, and circa 1940’s Oldsmobiles.


Adding to the nostalgia is the sound of classic rock music playing from a local DJ. His portable studio is set up in the midst of all this American iron and helps resurrect the ghosts of a Saturday night long ago when cool cars, rock and roll, and the local drive-in were what you spent the rest of the week waiting for.

Little Anthony’s is located at 7010 East Broadway Boulevard. Be there or be square.

Grill

I’m a big fan of serendipity. You know, those “happy accidents” that can turn an expected experience into something else altogether.

That’s exactly what happened to me yesterday in downtown Tucson. I had planned on checking out an evening of performance art at the Arts Incubator Gallery. The first Monday of every month is supposed to be “7Up” night. This is where the gallery gives seven local performers 10 minutes each on stage for their art.

I had even called the gallery earlier in the week to confirm the time and was told 7:00 p.m. Seven at seven. That should be easy enough to remember. On the appointed Monday I arrived downtown and found a street side parking space near the gallery. But as I approached the galley’s address I was surprised to find a big iron gate guarding the entrance to the front door. Locked, dark and foreboding, there was obviously not going to be any art here tonight, performance or otherwise.

Bummer. Now what? Well, I hadn’t had my dinner yet. Maybe I could cruise back to central Tucson and grab a bite to eat at a restaurant I hadn’t tried yet. Just then a window full of 8x10 flyers caught my eye. I looked up and saw a huge lighted sign. GRILL was all it said.


As I wandered inside it was immediately apparent that this wasn’t going to be your typical homogeneous Applebee’s or Olive Garden dining experience. I was reminded of the diners my father took me to when I was a kid. Chrome rimmed, red vinyl stools lined the central seating area. Booths were available against both side walls.

It wasn’t like I was suddenly transported back in time to when the restaurant was new. No, this place has seen thousands of diners meeting up with friends, reading a newspaper, chatting, getting some relief from the summer heat, and maybe even grabbing a bite to eat. The place has character, like an old friend.

As I sat down at one of the booths I was handed a glass of water and a menu by a very busy but friendly person. The cover of the menu announced I was at GRILL, offering fine dining, full bar, live music, catering, world domination. 100 East Congress Street. Located next to Wig-O-Rama.

I won’t bother listing the types of meals offered. If you’ve ever eaten in a real diner you’ll know the kind of down home, tasty food available at GRILL. Instead, I’ll provide an abridged version of page five of the menu:

Welcome to the Grill! A few things you should know:
THIS IS NOT YOUR HOUSE This is our house. We like it; Grill is a nice place to go, and we are determined to keep it that way. We’re fanatical about it, plum crazy. Please do not move our furniture around, stand on our chairs, mess with our lights, or plug your laptops into our outlets without discussing it with us first. We’ll work with you. Just let us know what you need... well, we might work with you. You can’t sleep here; there are all these motels and hotels nearby, and those nice bus stops we’ve got all over downtown, they’re there for you. We’re more than happy to help you out the door and point you in the right direction if that’s what you need. THE GOLDEN RULE This should be first, or have its own page or something, but it isn’t and it doesn’t. We have so many people here, all the time, lots of different people that are nothing like you, nothing like us. We are really into that. We do not tolerate racism, sexism, ageism… there are so many bad –isms that piss everyone off, but there are lots of good ones too. If you subscribe to a good –ism, that’s great, and we support you in your efforts, but we will frown heavily upon preaching or proselytizing in our restaurant, or even right out front of it. Just treat everyone here with the respect we say they deserve. CHEESE TOTS This doesn’t make sense, but we’re serious about this. We don’t put cheese on potatoes. Not on your tots, nor your fries or mashed potatoes (knishes are a special exception, but don’t ask us to explain why). The rule’s been in place so long that no one here remembers how it started. But tradition is tradition, and we are slaves to tradition. Well, we do adhere to that one thing. AND FURTHERMORE: MIRACLE DIETS, SELF-INFLICTED EATING DISORDERS, ETC. (Atkins, Vegan/Vegetarian, et al) So, you want no carbs, you want only non-stolen, non-animal product, that’s fine. But remember, this is Grill; the grill is the part of the car that killed Bambi, as in Fresh from the, and Hot off the… You do what you want to yourself, we don’t care, but it’s your decision. We serve meat, lots of meat. Here’s how you make plain white rice at home: One part rice, two parts water. Cook for 20 minutes. If you have food allergies, or religious reasons (pigs feet make you think of Satan?), then we’re sympathetic, we’ll do what we can. But hey, we’re not always sure if the soup is vegetarian or not. If there’s the word “VEGETARIAN” in the name, then it’s probably vegetarian. Maybe not. Bacon adds flavor. TATER TOT OR FRENCH FRY IN NOSE MAY COMPLICATE BREATHING (and other food warnings) Grill serves eggs and meat any way you want, but if you order your meat rare or your eggs undercooked, you must recognize you’re taking a risk. You are hereby warned and we are absolved of responsibility. Shellfish is also problematic. But you know that already. Be aware that any food may contain harmful bacteria, and the way to get rid of it is to cook it to at least 140 degrees Fahrenheit. And forks are dangerous. Don’t put them in or near you eyes. Hot coffee can burn you. Chew your food before swallowing. Don’t talk with your mouth full. Don’t talk to a big man’s girlfriend. Don’t eat off the floor. Put the lid down and lavese las manos. People on cell phones will be assiduously ignored. Do it outside.

As I sat there waiting for my order, I thought of how grateful I am for the Grills out there. Individualistic. Creative. Honest and unpretentious.

Oh, the food’s good too.