Cantaloupe Girlfriend

Okay, here is the bad news: it's already 3 p.m. on Saturday afternoon, and my day is barely underway. However, the reason for my slow start is the good news: I had so, so, so much fun at the Mod dance party at the Burritt Room last night.

I arrived at about 9:30 and immediately made my way to the bar.  That's where my friend Julie found me and pointed out the table she'd secured for us.  Once I'd ordered my Champagne Julep, I joined Julie, and we got to the important business of chatting and catching up.  About half an hour later, our friends Kevin, Steve and Tom showed up, and the party really got going.  We sipped a variety of cocktails, including the Hotel Nationale, the Jade something (it's a rum drink) and the Critical Mass.  Actually, I'm the only one who tried the rum drinks, my friends mostly stuck with the Critical Mass.  I have no idea what was in that one, but it also was delicious.

As you can see, the Burritt Room has a delightful specialty cocktail menu.  At one point later in the evening, my friend Tom said to me, "We have lots of drinks in front of us, just pick one and drink it."  He was right, and so I did.

Truly, though, the cocktails were just a sidekick; the main attraction was the music.  Several DJ's took turns spinning Mod tunes from the 60's (primarily) until today, and it was fantastic.  I made multiple appearances on the dance floor with Kevin, Steve, Kevin and Steve's German friend (whose name I must confess I have forgotten), and Tom.  One musical highlight was the seamless transition from Deep Purple's "Hush" to "The Only One I Know" by the Charlatans UK.  Perfect.  And the best moment of my evening was the point when one of the DJ's played "With A Cantaloupe Girlfriend" by The Three O'Clock.  In case you're not familiar, the Three O'Clock was a Los Angeles band that was part of the city's Paisley Underground scene in the early 80's.  I love them, and not just because their music takes me back to the only good parts of junior high school.

I was absolutely in heaven for those three minutes.  I wanted to hug that DJ after the song was done, but I settled for merely thanking him.  As a result of my dancing and cocktailing, I didn't get to sleep until well into the wee hours of this morning, and we see where that has gotten me today.  Believe me, however, when I say that it was well worth it.  There are Mod dance parties and 60's DJ nights regularly in San Francisco (in fact, there is another one tonight), and I officially will be making it a point to attend them more often.