So here it is on a Friday night, around 9 p.m. and I'm trying to break into the OC Weekly building. Which is locked. I had left something on my desk that I decided could not wait until Monday, but between all the construction going on and the fact that it's waaay after hours, there's no way I was getting in. After jumping around, trying every key I had (which is only 2, and one is to the bathroom), and trying to squeeze my fingers through the cracks between the doors, thinking it would somehow magically get the rest of me in, I gave up. Probably was about to get the cops called on me too. Damn. Nothing left to do but go down the street and get a beer, right? I mean, I was already there and trying to break into buildings can make a girl thirsty! So I went down the block to The Olde Ship to get a pint and admit my defeat.
It was packed, but I scored a hi-rise table near the bar. I wasn't there long before a man that kind of resembled my friends grandfather walked up to a large stand up bass. Oh yeah, they had live music, I remembered. He was joined immediately (OK, not immediately but at more of a slow shuffle) by a few more elderly gentleman who each proceeded to pick up an instrument.
What happened next blew my socks off. What can only be decades upon decades of musicianship came exploding from the tiny center stage and filled the room with the most precise and flawless jazz that was ever played in an English pub. The man on trombone played so skillfully and effortlessly, the kind of ease that makes someone say hey I could do that, Until you realize that no, no you cant.
I grabbed the waitress and asked who they were.
“They're called the BBC Jazz Band. Would you like some sticky pudding?”
Yes, I want some pudding. When are they here?
“Every Friday”
So go, this Friday, any Friday, have a pint and watch some jazz that can really be appreciated. These guys know their stuff, they've probably been doing it for 50 plus years. The sticky pudding is worth checking out, too.
I don't even remember what I had left on my desk.
The Olde Ship, 1120 W. 17th St., Santa Ana, (714) 550-6700
