Sam Bisbee Concert at Joe's Pub 2-24-2012

We had fun last Friday night at Joe's Pub in the East Village, despite the rainy weather. Lucy and I left work at 4:30 PM and stopped by the chic Puerto Rican restaurant Sazon on Reade Street for a delicious seafood dinner. I had to smile when we were waiting at the bar for our table and "Law And Order" was playing on the TV screen. I got to watch part of an episode with Detectives Briscoe and Curtis before we were seated just after 5 PM. Along with the colorful decor and lively Latin music, Lucy enjoyed her cazuela (seafood stew) and I enjoyed some shrimp in white wine sauce with maduros (sweet plantains.) Muy sabrosos!

After dinner we took the No. 5 train at Chambers Street to Astor Place and headed to the Public Theater on Lafayette Street, which is still undergoing extensive renovations. This time, we entered Joe's Pub through the new entrance inside the lobby instead of the outdoor entrance, which is now closed. We took our seats at the new counter directly in front of the stage, which gave us a great view of the stage and the band. All seats at Joe's Pub are now reserved, and you can choose a table or a counter seat when you order your tickets. There's still a two drink minimum at the counter seats and a $20.00 minimum for food and drink at the tables. A new menu offers sandwiches, pasta and soup, and ice cream for dessert. The drink menu offers various beers, wines and mixed drinks, as well as soda. Lucy and I stuck to Diet Coke and Coke with a twist of lime, respectively.

We met two fellow VDO fans at the table behind us who attended last year's Sam Bisbee concert also. Sam and his six piece band took the stage just after 7:30 PM and rocked the house with a nearly 90 minute set including all the songs from Sam's new EP "Broken Ladder." We were delighted with the surprise appearance of Sam's brother John Bisbee, who literally climbed over our counter to the stage to play harmonica on "Do It All Over" with guest vocalist Laura Cantrell. No George Geronimo Gerkie appearance, alas, but I hope he'll drop by later this year. GGG probably forgot to show up again, or maybe he was hanging out with his best girl Pippi.