10/10/08 Cellar Door (Visalia, Ca)

Visalia isn't what you think it is. This south valley town had a reputation of being a sleepy city with nothing to do, no music scene, had to drive to Fresno to party and see the city lights. The truth is that Fresno could learn a lot from main street in Visalia. Clubs, bars, restaurants, shops, clothing stores, record shops and most of all people having a good time ready to support live music. There is an unexpected energy on main street that leads up to the Cellar Door. We love this place. Great atmosphere, great staff led to a great night. It was our first time playing the Cellar Door, so the crowd was decent, not packed but not light. But the thing I love about nights like this is knowing that the people who are there had a blast. Met lots of interesting characters. On a break I met an outspoken lesbian who ended up grinding on the foot of the stage and was in the middle of taking her shirt off when the bouncer swooped in like Ray Lewis to stop her. Visalia's own Coley Cole ripped the mic on "Strong Feet on the Concrete" and left the mic melting. It was one of those nights were everybody, including the staff, seemed to be very good looking and determined to have a great time. That is always a win/win situation. Great food, wide selection of wine/beer and the staff were generous and very accomodating. We're definitely looking forward to coming back next year. At the end of the night marisa(a very sweet staff member) hooked me up with coke....in a bottle.....from Mexico. Like a Cuban cigar or Swiss chocolate, bottled Coke from Mexico made with real sugar is a delicacy for the true soda conniossuer. It kept me awake on the drive home.