Power Plant Live

The Power Plant Live wasn't on my list but it's one of those places that young Baltimoreans feel obliged to check out at least once. The opportunity presented itself on my friend's birthday. After a very filling meal at Uno's, we proceeded to our first stop at the Power Plant - Howl at the Moon, a dueling piano bar. I have heard so much about it. There are two pianists ostage, with occasional support from a drummer and a bassist. They take requests and being such a popular place, they almost always bidding wars going on. The fun part is the fact that the competitive bidding is acted out musically. I was quite impressed by the vast knowledge of songs, their ability to change songs on a dime once the current one was outbidded, their ability to keep track in their heads, and mostly, their ability to fake through shit they didn't know. College/NFL fight songs showed their brilliance, which ended in a protracted bidding war against two mildly obscure schools, NC State and James Madison(with the latter winning). There were so many bachelors and bachelorettes that it almost seemed like a Moonie wedding reception. I didn't have as good of a time as my friends because the tone of the evening was a little too redneck for my tastes. It made me feel slightly uncomfortable. Quite amusing, nonetheless.

The rest of the night was much more conventional - drinking and clubbing. Now, I'm not the biggest fan of going out dancing. I don't engage in it unless I have had a fair amount to drink. It bores me, although alcohol does a lot to raise my boredom threshold. Due to the amount I ate, the alcohol had very little affect on me. Ballroom dancing is lot more interesting to me but I suck at it because I only do it once in a while and I don't have the time nor the will to do it regularly so I wouldn't suck at it. And I don't like sucking at things, probably the greatest source of stress in my life, the fear of sucking. At least at a club, you'll be fine just from letting yourself go and having at least a fundamental sense of rhythm. There's always a slew of jackasses who look worse than you. Still, it's boring to me. I had a good time, though.