The saxophone player, likely wearing his old moth-eaten band jacket from his high school days, jumped up on a table at Short’s Brewery and let loose with a furious squawking solo. It was heavenly and the raucous crowd loved it, showing their appreciation with fist pumps and droplets of beer spilling and splashing out from their pint glasses as the room shook with shouts of goodwill.
The brass and percussion Detroit Party Band backing the sax solo was in fine form and swinging the room with a joyous manic fury. And then, just like that, it was over and the band, in their cheesy improvised uniforms festooned with metallic gold lamé and glitter, marched out and gave the next band on stage its turn to entertain the crowd at Short’s 22nd all-day Birthday Bash.
We had been back from our winter stay in Portugal for several weeks and were having a wee bit of trouble acclimating to the lack of spring-like weather here in Northern Michigan. Add to it our senses were still being pummeled daily by the insane flip-flopping of the current administration’s zestful zeal for a totally unnecessary war and the resulting and predictable high price of gas causing, in turn, a trickle-down recession, and, well, we were in need of some place to temporarily hide out from the reality of world events — both political and natural weather phenomenon — for a brief respite.
Short’s annual Birthday Bash seemed like the perfect option for a short-term hiding out place. Fact is, living in Northern Michigan there is no short supply of places to run off to and take a break from the everyday facts of life which, at times, can grind down the very soul.
My wife and I are partial to, when we’re ready to throw in the towel in search of a respite, head over to Petoskey where we enjoy just wandering around the downtown streets and treating ourselves to something we don’t really need. Followed by maybe a beer at either the Mitchell Street Pub, the Back Lot or maybe Beards or Elder Piper breweries.
Sometimes a drive up to the Pigeon River Country State Forest for a hike is just the thing for a temporary hideout from reality, or maybe the Jordan River scenic overlook at Deadman’s Hill near Elmira is all it takes to right our ship after a particularly depressing news cycle or blip of lousy weather.
But on a gloomy, chilly, overcast afternoon back in April, Short’s was the perfect spot to throw in the towel and take a break from the non-stop war mongering, bad weather and feeling helplessly locked up inside when all we really wanted was some decent warm, sunny weather to permit a stint of soul-affirming work in the garden.
Good food, good beer, good music, good friends at Short’s, all added up to an enjoyable place to reenergize the soul. And it worked. Especially when the Detroit Party Band marched in and performed their 15-minute mini sets crowded amongst the tables and partygoers while the pub stage was being set up in between bands who played from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.
We arrived in the late afternoon and departed in the early evening hours but in between we saw one of our favorite bands, Deliah Dewylde, a retro rockabilly duo hailing from our hometown of Gaylord playing nothing but old classic twangy hits and obscure countryish tunes from before the ’60s.
A classic rock trio, a horn heavy blues band playing outside in the beer garden enhanced the day, and of course the ragtag group of 20-plus refugees from high school band rooms across Michigan and their mini sets spaced in between the headliner bands with their raucous grooving feel-good vibes was the cherry on top of a day that banished all thoughts of a futile war and bad weather right out of our weary minds.
Michael Jones is a columnist and former staff writer for the Gaylord Herald Times. He can be contacted at mfomike2@hotmail.com.
This article originally appeared on The Petoskey News-Review: Keep it Simple: Northern Michigan is a good place to hide out | Opinion
Reporting by Michael Jones, The Petoskey News-Review / The Petoskey News-Review
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