Platonic Mistress
Mr. Troll’s birthday is January 18th, which means this year it was on a Monday and coincided with the Poor David’s Pub open mic, which is hosted by …wait for it … Mr. Troll. As usual Carlos Sanchez was on sound with Samantha Sanders behind the bar. Poor David and the Mrs. even made an appearance. Again – as per usual – Troll took the “dreaded first slot.”
The regular suspects were in attendance and on the list – myself, Baylis Laramore, Darren Rozell, Tin Man Travis, and John Mason. Joe the Bear and David Lavinette played for the first time. Mike Randolph with his Moog Etherwave Theremin, made his second appearance. Scott Thornton was in the Philippines on an Zen retreat and was unable to make it.
Happy Birthday, Mr. Troll!
The featured artist was Platonic Mistress out of Ft. Worth. The trio of Fernando Page, guitarist and instigator, Rob Blevins on bass, and Dylan Rocamontes on drums played in-your-face rock and roll. On their Facebook page, they call it power pop or new wave with stinging alternative rock undertones, but, as Billy Joel said, “it’s still rock and roll to me.” Call it what you want, they did it well.
You can find their music on SoundCloud. At one point, Page told the crowd that he realized his finger was bleeding, and he apologized. Apparently a few days before he had played his fingernail to the quick. But why he apologized – and he apologized at least twice – I’ll never know. No one really noticed it before he said something. And after he mentioned it, it was all we could see. F.Y.I. to performers – don’t apologize – most of the audience will never know.
Regardless of the apologies, Platonic Mistress kept up the groove going and rocked the house. The trio has an undeniable chemistry combined with youthful energy. The singer-songwriters on the list provided an interesting counterpoint of age and wisdom. Not to mention the celebration of Troll’s birthday with two candles on a cookie cake (provided by Samantha) and a rousing Happy Birthday song. The evening ended – as open mics often do – with a jam.
Peace be with you.
