What better place to start out on Hot Art, Cool Nights? News flash: talked briefly with Chase Lyons and he told me Soji would be entering the catering realm very soon. Good news for anyone who wants to just walk away from the same old, same old. I am not going to criticize Southern Belle Sandwiches for their crustless little ham and turkey and pimento marvels, but surprises are nice, especially in the food and beverage arena. I can report that Soji has expanded the offerings at their raw bar yet again, and the timing with the onset of summer is impeccable. I also tried Orion beer for the first time and I have to say, I think it is better than both Kirin and Sapporo. Same kind of light lager, but the flavor is a bit deeper and fuller than those two. Perfect compliment for the blend of sashimi and rolls I had in mind for the evening.
After dinner it was time to catch the rest of the show. Jade Brady, who also works at Soji, had a number of her pieces on hand, but some of the other artists she’d lined up didn’t make it for fear of the weather. Luckily, that held off. Jade has another solo show coming up at Circa 1857 on June 6th. More gossip: Kelli Paxton, GM of Radio Bar and co-owner of the beer garden she and Dave Remmetter and one other owner are opening at Steele and Government told me it her was her last shift at Radio Bar and she was headed over to the new place to help lead the final push for opening. We chatted about the exhilarating nightmare of opening new places for a bit. I’ve opened several myself and can assure you it is exciting and terrifying and exhausting all at once. I told her the story of the original Mike Anderson’s on Highland opening without any bread knives to cut poboys with. That’s why I usually give the new spots a week or five to work out the kinks. I also stopped by Red Stick Social at the Electric Depot since I had a free shuttle run over there and didn’t have to work out where to park or where the entrance was. I think the place has an outside chance at success, mainly as a private party venue. The bowling lanes are the only thing that really stands out. And I managed to score a new piece at Pop Shop Records where Brandi Catoire had her display set up. I grabbed this one because I thought it would work well with the Willie Lamendola and Gabriel Saint pieces I already had if I moved one photo to another spot.
All in all a very productive evening. Looking forward to the next Mid City Makers Market and the upcoming First Wednesday at The Baton Rouge Gallery. There’s a lot more culture in BR than is readily apparent. You just have to go out and track it down. Facebook has made it much easier to keep up with events. All you have to do is like one event and their algorithm will run every other similar event by you. You can mark yourself interested, like and follow, and get notifications in advance and the day of. Pretty neat, and other than keeping up with old friends in different places, probably the most appealing feature of Zuckerberg’s Village.