My previous visit to the Crooked Ferret Pub was rather brief. In essence I was just sticking my head in on a “normal” night (no poker games or major sporting events taking place). New Year’s Eve, of course, is anything but normal anywhere you go. It also happened that the Crooked Ferret was the closest available venue that advertised something resembling a New Year’s Eve party, complete with shot specials (of which I did not partake). By contrast, the Whatever Bar across the street simply said “come join us for New Year’s Eve” with nothing specific.
Adding to the mystery, there was live music simply advertised as “2 bands” on the marquee out front, with no mention of exactly which bands they were. Turns out they were the two Humble-based bands Krowsif and Number of Others.
I arrived shortly after 7:30pm, based on two things: 1) a wild guess that the later of the two bands would be wrapping up shortly after midnight (which turned out to be quite wrong), and 2) I just felt like getting out of the house before getting sucked into one of the many New Year’s Eve television specials. Turns out Krowsif didn’t start playing until 9pm. I passed my time playing a little Megatouch and catching bits and pieces of the Chick-Fil-A Bowl (I normally do not watch much college football, but it was the only TV programming available that looked remotely interesting).
However, Krowsif was well worth the wait. The set was about two-thirds cover songs and one-third original material. One of the covers was “Drive” originally performed by The Cars, which I’d love to see featured on the band’s first album or EP.
After Krowsif was done, we had a brief pause while Number of Others took the stage. From all appearances, this latter act is either primarily or exclusively a 70s and 80s cover band. A brief aside here: I’ve noticed a rather shocking trend that cover/tribute bands seem to not get the respect they would otherwise receive were they to perform primarily original material. Number of Others deserves I am especially amazed at the above-average level of talent, in light of the fact that this act is an amateur effort (as would later be told to me by lead singer Rick Stewart).
The most memorable songs of their sets were “Born to be Wild” (Steppenwolf), “Turn the Page” (Bob Seger), and “Saturday Night Special” (Lynyrd Skynyrd). There were many others; I didn’t keep a set list, I was too busy rocking out and downing Lone Star with Coca-Cola on the rocks for my chasers.
The countdown to 2011 came in between what could have been considered two separate sets from Number of Others. And as I said on Facebook earlier, I am glad to see 2010 done and committed to the history books and blog archives. This festive evening at Crooked Ferret during which I got to meet some very interesting people was just what the doctor ordered.
I may well make the Ferret my semi-permanent New Year’s Eve destination. I haven’t decided yet; there’s always the possibility I’ll be moving yet again in 2011.
