Pia Pia Piano's

When you wake up in the morning to find three stamps of varying words and pictures on your hand as well as a discarded Burger wrapper (of the Blue 9 variety) and half a Gatorade all accompanied by a thumping headache, you know you had an interesting time the night before.

That was me on Friday morning, slowly piecing together the night before.

It started with a song. To be more precise it started with the song 'Something in Common' by Free Energy, a happy clappy dancey pop song that my former roommate Victoria had fallen in love with. Whenever she comes to visit down from Queens we have to listen to the song many many times. It transpired that Free Energy were playing a small gig at a bar called Piano's. Now let me put into context why this was exciting. I fucking love Piano's (the bar.... I could give or take the instrument). If I have nothing to do and am out then inevitably I will recommend Piano's, it has everything, a bar, a dance/club bit and a gig venue in the back. I had my 23rd birthday there and to be honest when the big 25 hits I'll probably be there again. If you have come to visit me in New York, I probably took you there. I've managed to pull women from all corners of the globe in that place. It's my New York Robinski's.

Delighted that I had an excuse to go I was all over the idea of a night out like a rash on a nymphomaniac. The crew was a good one. Everyone had a connection to 203 East 14th Street, they had either lived in the apartment or were dating someone that lived in the apartment.

We started the evening in the same way any night at 203 begins, we listened to 'Something In Common' 7 times on repeat. We slowly started drinking some Wine and Beer. I harped back to an old saying 'Beer before Wine feeling fine, Wine Before Beer.... feeling fine!' A big night lay ahead. We arrived at Piano's after a rowdy cab ride and stumbled in. We headed for the back and into the gig room. Now I hadn't been in this room for a while and had forgotten the nasal stinging stench that singes your nostrils when you enter. A mix of B.O, beer and Hispters. It smelt gross. We sucked it up and had more beer. Victoria then requested we move to the front by the stage so we could dance.... begrudgingly I obliged. Once the band started setting up I could see Vic becoming more and more excited. Finally a waif like individual with the waistline of Kate Moss appeared n the stage and wrote down the set list.... guess which song wasn't on it! We asked politely and he decided to stick our song on one from the end. As the band struck up and started Victoria became 'That' girl. You know, the one at the front of the gig who dances way to much and is far far to into it. The rest of us had to take it in turns to dance with her to avoid embarrassment. It took a while, but eventually the opening chords to the one song we knew struck up. There was one problem, our friend Markus was in the toilet. So unfortunately for him he missed the one reason he came out! The rest of us danced, Vic may as well have thrown her pants on the stage and just like that the band were done. We had our picture taken with the singer.... seriously, and then scurried off upstairs to the club part.

By now I had switched from Wine to Beer to Vodka to JD, things were starting to become blurry. After busting out the weightlifter move a few times 4 of the 6 of us went home, these 4 are of course all in a relationship, so it was up to Victoria and I to hold down the fort. The problem was Victoria had been caught in the tractor beam of two competitive guys both vying for her affection. She seemed to be enjoying it so I took the time to talk to the bemused Chinese girl standing next to me. The conversation didn't exactly flow! Eventually Victoria managed to escape her two would be suitors and headed off home, I decided to stick it out with Miss China, unfortunately her boyfriend turned up and I took that as my cue to leave.

All in all a fun, drunk night at Piano's and now I have somewhere to stay should I get lost in China. I wouldn't expect anything else.

Oh and for those wondering about the Burger wrapper.... I was hungry when I got home.