piano bar field ethnography
Sep. 8th, 2010 11:27 amA few notes after a visit to The Redhead, my first Chicago piano bar:
1) Wow, it feels as though they took a piano bar back in time to about 1954: predominantly middle-aged het couples (seriously, I've never seen a piano bar so completely de-gayed in my life, and I've seen quite a few) in suits and dresses, sipping scotches and similar respectable-type drinks. I swear, I thought the pianist was about to break into "Tenderly."
2) Speaking of sartorial matters- I've never, ever been to a piano bar that, when I walked in wearing sneakers, made me change into a pair of black shoes. It felt for a moment like the world's most upscale bowling alley; I was tempted to request one of the Kenny Rogers/5th Edition songs from The Big Lebowski. Chicago: when they say business casual, they are not fucking around.
3) Huh, pianists only do three-hour shifts here. I suppose that makes sense: none of the other staff, nor any of the customers, got up to sing, so they're carrying the whole load there.
4) Before I left, I did- with the aid of my friend Mr. Jackson- get the pianist to sing "Lights", which made me miss San Francisco. (I was scared to request "Take Me Home, Country Roads"- I felt as though a hook would've come out and yanked me offstage.)
5) Cigars! (They also had custom matchbooks, which was charming.)
6) Before I leave, I'm going to check out Sidetrack; judging from the site, they have a, err, rather different atmosphere.
1) Wow, it feels as though they took a piano bar back in time to about 1954: predominantly middle-aged het couples (seriously, I've never seen a piano bar so completely de-gayed in my life, and I've seen quite a few) in suits and dresses, sipping scotches and similar respectable-type drinks. I swear, I thought the pianist was about to break into "Tenderly."
2) Speaking of sartorial matters- I've never, ever been to a piano bar that, when I walked in wearing sneakers, made me change into a pair of black shoes. It felt for a moment like the world's most upscale bowling alley; I was tempted to request one of the Kenny Rogers/5th Edition songs from The Big Lebowski. Chicago: when they say business casual, they are not fucking around.
3) Huh, pianists only do three-hour shifts here. I suppose that makes sense: none of the other staff, nor any of the customers, got up to sing, so they're carrying the whole load there.
4) Before I left, I did- with the aid of my friend Mr. Jackson- get the pianist to sing "Lights", which made me miss San Francisco. (I was scared to request "Take Me Home, Country Roads"- I felt as though a hook would've come out and yanked me offstage.)
5) Cigars! (They also had custom matchbooks, which was charming.)
6) Before I leave, I'm going to check out Sidetrack; judging from the site, they have a, err, rather different atmosphere.