Crawling

Just had a great evening!

Met up with some friends in NoDa for our first Charlotte Gallery crawl. I was immediately surprised how difficult it was to find parking! Even in the chilly weather, every where seemed to be pretty busy. The Hub and I met said friends at a small coffee house, Smelly Cat, and were introduced to the guy who would be playing music for the evening. After grabbing a quick chai, we decided to peruse some galleries, promising the evenings musical act at the coffe place we'd return. The first gallery we stopped at was populated by college students showing their art. They all seemed nervous and over eager, but the art was surprisingly good. A piece with political connotations caught my eye, and after asking the artist about it I was dissapointed that he didn't have more to say about the politics of the piece... it seemed it was kind of a spur of the moment art work. Which I suppose is fine, Art does not need an agenda. The students were talkative and generously poured the free wine, overall not dissapointing.

We moved on to the next gallery, which seemed to have a more varied crowd, and more experienced art work. Overall it was enjoyable, but I certainly don't understand the price tags on many of the pieces! Not that the works of art aren't beautiful or moving or fun or interesting, but I can't see paying 8000 for an artist I've never heard of. I suppose it is considered an investment?

In the spirit of not boring my Hub, we decided to stop at a bar, Dolce Vita, where I partook in the fabulous and under appreciated Framboise! It was fantastic. Listened to a great guitar/violin duet there (part rock, part classical, I loved it). It was the kind of place that made you feel simultaneously at home and as if you were in a special, intimate place.

Back to the Smelly Cat. More Chai. Josh and Dane (who, if I could find his webpage, I would link it. Sadly, I cannot) was fantastic! The kind of chill, acoustic perfect coffee house music that I love. He played a mix of originals and covers, all of which were thourghly enjoyable. It made me miss my guitar. I enjoy the small, arts setting and definitely hope to hear them again!

Great night. Looking forward to catching up with old friends tomorrow!

For now, pug is snuggly, and I must comply with his furry demands.