The Hotel Cafe

Last night our friend J. (this is in fact, not a blog nick name -- he actually goes by the letter J.) had the purple pumpkin idea to go and see a singer - songwriter tour that was pausing in the Queen City for one night only. It's a strange idea for J. because he's more into punk rock and battle metal than singer - song writer, so this was definitely stretching his boundaries. He found a myspace page for The Weepies, we liked them, and they were in this particular tour, so we decided to check it out.

The tour is called the Hotel Cafe Tour, and they may be coming to a city near you soon. Anyway, we get there and the show is supposed to start at 7:30. We are there at 7:15, 7:45, and 8:15 ... the show started at 8:45 with Kevin Devine. Not bad, a little whiny, and that guy definitely has a chip on his shoulder. We moved onto Jim Bianco(who was weird and his voice was a little creepy) and then to Weepies. They were fantastic. Great voices, good songs. Well done. Then some other guy got up there. His name isn't super important because the madness that followed him upstaged any stage presence, Grey's Anatomy reference or song that he could have sung.

Miho Hatori, the Japanese POP Experimentalist (that's what it says on her website) was up next. She took the stage in a red zebra print dress and cowboy boots. Her small frame adjusted the microphone several feet lower, as her "best friend" set up a Mac computer next to another mic. They took their places and MiHo introduced her first song. It was a SciFi song about a water well that moves each day. Right. The best friend begins several strange electronic loops on the computer. They both start to dance. AP starts to giggle. This is a true sight to behold. The friend and MiHo are jamming to their own music. We can't understand anything they say. All together, it is HILARIOUS! For the next few songs MiHo adds members of the other acts to the stage. J. said it best when he leans over and says, "Weirdest group of people together on stage EVER." I look up and know that he's right. MiHo, her friend, the accordion/trumpet player in a old hat and thick framed glasses, the guy with a thick, furry handlebar mustache, the preppy drummer, and the geeky guy playing the upright bass.

AP gets the giggles in the middle of this spectacle and CANNOT STOP LAUGHING! So we all laugh. It's the most I have ever felt like I was in a different country without stepping foot on foreign soil. Greatness.

As the show progresses MiHo added all 13 people from all 6 acts onto stage with her. It looked something like this (MiHo in the striped dress).

They continued to play this way for several more songs, and sometimes it got really strange, and some of it was terrific. We were thoroughly entertained all night. Thank you Hotel Cafe Tour. (and J.)