And a good time was had by all….

Brad’s 50^th ! It’s like your wedding all over again, seeing everybody that you’ve known for the last thirty years. The really hard part is that you simply cannot talk to everyone, the music is loud, people pull your attention from here to there every time you turn around.

When a band is hired for a private party, 300 miles away from their home base, they don’t know what they are walking into. I think they were blown away by the warm reception and enthusiasm of the crowd.

Daniel Castro has never played in Reno before and the blues lovers were astonished by his brilliance. People kept saying, “Where did you find him?” The answer is a small club in Berkeley, because we don’t mind traveling to see someone great. Most of the regulars have seen Chris Cain and knew to expect fireworks. Our other “non blues” friends couldn’t believe the quality of the music. This guy is an international known blues phenomenon. And he was here, at our party.

We counted 120 on the guest list, but friends brought friends, and a few bar regulars slipped in. We were horrified to learn that it had been published in two Reno newspapers, even though it was a private party. I really don’t know how many people were there because of that, but it worked out fine. It was good that they got to have a freebie and we made them happy too.

The Reno Blues Society showed with great excitement and were on the dance floor from the very first note. Because all of our regular blues clubs have closed in Reno, there has not been a true blues show in this town for over a year. I had hundreds of hugs and thank yous from the blues lovers, who were completely loving it.

We had an open tab at the bar, for our friends, with a limit. They poured all night and we never reached the limit. And believe me, everyone was drinking hard. I don’t think the bartender was counting very well, but she dug the tips. The caterer did an exceptional job, bringing way too much wonderful foods. There was a least twice as much as we needed.

Brad has dreamed of this party for the last ten years. He was over the top with excitement. It was truly a night for him to shine.