Wednesday, June 14, 2006

We're jammin', and I hope you like jammin' too

On Tuesday, faced with another night hanging out in my hotel room, I decided to see what the "Jam Session" social event was all about. I took the shuttle bus over to Avalon, a nightclub next to Fenway Park. What I found was a performance space similar to The Bayou in Georgetown, with a small dance floor and tables in front of a large stage, with bars around the sides. On the stage were an assortment of guitarists, drummers, keyboardists, and a few people who seemed to switch instruments at random. The event lived up to its name -- it was a jam session. Apparently no one up there was a professional, except for the guy who had lyric sheets and possibly sheet music for some of the songs. I'm not sure if musical talent was a requirement to get up on the stage and perform with the group. It was like a P-Funk show, if P-Funk were a bunch of dorky white guys and instead of "Flashlight" they played "Margaritaville." The show was heavy on blues and classic rock, with songs like "Breakdown," "No Way Out," and "All Along The Watchtower" played in the time I was there. I didn't get quite drunk enough to enjoy myself (the beers were $6 apiece), but I will say that it wasn't all bad. Some of the musicians were actually quite good, and a few of the singers were excellent. But I think I'll skip the Jam Sessions next time I come to Tech Ed. I would have had more fun watching the NBA game at a bar.

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