Towne Lounge (714 SW 20th Place)

Dirty Mittens and The Finches were at the Towne Lounge last Friday and my sister and I decided to check them out. We almost didn't find it - it looked like a regular house, with just a sandwich board out front that says "Towne Lounge" written in a font that reminded me of a haunted house (don't ask me why, it just did).

It was a $5 cover. Not bad. I automatically offered up my ID, but I don't think the guy would have checked if I didn't. He seemed to be really enthralled in his own conversation and was bothered by us interrupting him.

The seats were all full, but there was a lot of standing room. Sort of. In between bands, one of the servers went up to the microphone and said if people didn't quit standing right in front of the bar he was going to get really mad. Or something to that effect. He said it more eloquently than that and more powerfully and it was humorous at the same time.

We eventually snagged a booth, which was much better than standing. They have a pretty good ventilation system, which was really nice. Lots of people were smoking, but it didn't bother me too much and I was recovering from a cold.

The music: The Dirty Mittens = Bjork-like, non-decipherable songs. The Finches = potheads telling stories and singing soft folk-lore-y songs. I liked them both. I liked Dirty Mittens way better than Bjork. The Finches are bedtime music good, though, not smoky bar good. (You know how I feel about slow soft music on a Friday night!)

I might go back sometime. I don't recognize any of the bands on their calendar, but that doesn't mean they aren't good.