Cowboy, Indian, Bear Friday, Feb. 13 2009 at Jackpot Saloon

Bart texted me and told me about this local band he was digging on, Cowboy, Indian, Bear, at the Jackpot Saloon in Lawrence.

Attendees: Me, Bart

Money spent: $25 ($5 at the door, $20 on beverages)

Adrometer rating: 0 (Bart ranks near the very top of the friends-Adro-approves-of list. Why, I don't know, but we want to keep this dream alive.)

Overall rating: 1 The opener was decent, but CIB didn't do much for me. Good venue, good company, but the show was less than memorable. But for $5, what do you want?

Met up with Bart at Rick's for a pre-show pitcher. Mikey was bartending, so the pitcher only cost $5. Me and Bart hadn't hung out in a while, so it was good just to catch up.

We decided around 11 p.m. to get on over to the Jackpot to make sure we got in OK. $5 at the door, the manager was working the door. Medium-sized crowd. We grabbed a booth and a round and chilled while the first band, who I believe was called "Versus," played. They were good, solid background music. Bart's drink of choice was Makers Mark on the rocks, mine was cold beer.

I asked Bart to try to describe CIB for me, and he said, "Radiohead meets TV on the Radio." That got a laugh out of me, that's a pretty bold comparison of anything. But remember, he was drinking MM on the rocks.

While we sat there Ryno sent Bart a text telling him he needed to get down to Abe & Jake's immediately for a private party and free beer. "Everyone you know is here," Ryno texted him. "Not so, because I'm hanging with Jones right now," Bart texted back. "You both need to get down here. Immediately."

We decided to forgo the middle band for free drinks. At A&J, there was sure enough a private party with lots of people we knew... I even got a chorus of "Jones!" when I walked in the door. We drank there for an hour before deciding we should get back to Jackpot for the headliners.

Walked in at the perfect time for CIB. They were just about to play their first song. The crowd had picked up a lot. Nice showing for a local band.

CIB was a little too mellow for me. Not bad, by any means, I just wasn't too into it. Plus, I think I was in the mood for something that rocked a little harder.

Still, a good time with a good friend, and even a little side-trip to free beer land... made for an eventful night.

No tickets for this one, so you just get photos from the night -- at Jackpot and at A&J.