Posted by: Andrew Holt in Nightlife, Music, Downtown on
Sep 27, 2010
The band was rocking, the crowd was dancing, and the wine was flowing. Sapolil Cellars was vibrant and vibrating as Ce Ce James and her band rolled out the blues all night long.
The Seattle based songstress, voted recently as Best Blues Writer in the state of Washington, displayed her wide range, meandering back and forth between driving tunes and traditional numbers, alternating from aggressive vocals with a strong hint of Joplin to more melodious moments that fostered some slow dancing.
Dressed in all black, and twisting and jerking her body with every note, James doesn't short-change her audience on effort. Often there was interplay between her and the crowd as she roamed through the maze of circular tables, her interaction authentic, not choreographed like a Las Vegas performance.
The band was tight. Three guitars and a drummer supported Ce Ce. The lead guitarist (name unavailable) was the kind of guy I like: didn't upstage any vocals, his solos were inspired but controlled, and he could drive. Plus, he looked the part . . . stringy long blond hair, a black cutoff shirt, the fu Manchu beard, a face that has seen many miles and a smattering of tattoos.
Sapolil doesn't possess a true dance floor, but the limited amount of space that does exist between the band and the tables served as one, as it was stuffed with folks shaking their groove thing. During James' cover of "Aint Superstitious" the amount of dancers was so plentiful that the crowd flowed into the spaces between the tables.
Walla Walla crowds are not renowned for spontaneous dancing but James and her band inspired them to buck the trend.
Posted by: Sam McLeod in Misc Stories on
Sep 13, 2010
I have a problem. I have nothing to write about. This blog is due. My head is empty. It's a caseload of bad timing.
These Tourism Walla Walla folks can get a little churlish if I don't get my blogs in on time-as churlish as a possum with its wormlike tail caught under a wood pallet loaded with hundred-pound bags of chicken feed. (Just FYI, that's seriously churlish.)
But what can I do? My mind is a blank slate.
"You're saying that like it's something new," Annie said. "That's not anything new."
"Well, engage that over-active feminine brain of yours and come up with something for me to write about," I replied, churlishly. "I have to get this blog written today or these tourism people are gonna..."
"I know, I know," Annie said. "Get churlish as wet possum. You're about to wear that word out."
"The possum wasn't wet. It had its tail caught."
"Then write about the possum," Annie suggested.
"It bit its own tail off and ran away. End of story."
Posted by: Becky St. Clair in Culture on
Sep 06, 2010
There are so many awesome things about the Walla Walla Valley that I could write dozens of blogs; I have a hard time focusing on just one thing each month. A visit to Seattle this past weekend, however, reminded me of how incredible Walla Walla's location is.
The Walla Walla Valley is pretty much equidistant from any of the region's major metropolitan areas. You can reach Spokane, Wash., with a three-hour drive, and Boise, Idaho, Seattle, Wash., and Portland, Ore., are all four-hour drives.
This information is helpful if you are, for some silly reason, itching to get out of the valley. Granted, sometimes even the best places on earth make a person stir crazy if they stay too long; a weekend trip to one of those four cities should help cure any cabin fever symptoms one is feeling from spending so many pleasant days in Walla Walla.
Posted by: Burgermeister in Food on
Sep 02, 2010
In Chicago, red hots (hot dogs, to the rest of us) are taken so seriously that some of the finer hot dog establishments charge ten cents extra for that little bit of flaky charring the tube steaks get from spending a minute longer on an open grill. But we digress.
What brought this factoid to mind was our trip to Pendleton recently to sample the wares at the Char-Burger, which has, right on its mansard roof, the words "PENDLETONS FINEST." One assumes that there used to be an apostrophe, and either a strong wind or some Roundup revelers removed it, but you never know.
The Char-Burger is approximately 75 percent kitchen and 25 percent dining room, a healthy ratio in our book. (Of course, the Ice-Burg in Walla Walla is 100 percent kitchen, but that's another story.) The dining area has two four-person booths and a short window-facing counter with four stools. The dutch door into the kitchen serves as the order-taking area and cashier's stand, and offers a prime view of the leaping flames on the grill.
Our only disappointment during our visit was that the milkshake machine was out of service. It was one of those days when a milkshake seemed almost mandatory alongside a burger; but it was not to be.
