A Sunday cocktail (or two)

A little Sunday evening cocktail at Icenhauers ( http://www.icenhauers.com/ ). Located on Rainey St., in the ever expanding down town entertainment district, sits a row of quiet little bars. A newly revitalized area that stands in stark contrast to itself. The east side of Rainey is predominantly occupied by renovated homes turned into drinking establishments, some with nice little backyards designed to accommodate a stage. The west side of Rainey has a few newly renovated homes but the stark contrast is the homes that still exist and are occupied by the home owners (I think there is a story in that as well and might just explore that in the near future.) Icenhauers has a nifty story on their website and some really great before and after pictures. It does make me smile and feel good that even though life, progress, and developers have encroached upon this little corner of Austin, they are doing well in preserving it also!

The bar has been described previously as a simply gorgeous, small little house. A very nice seating area out front. The entry has two modest sized rooms to the left and right with seating and televisions for watching what sport is on at the moment. A little farther in and you hit the main area with a well stocked bar to the left and access to the back yard. Floor to ceiling windows let you observe the festivities from inside.

The musical flavor for this late afternoon was provided by The Nightowls (http://www.facebook.com/ryan.harkrider?fref=ts ) with Ryan Harkrider sharing the vocal leads with his attractive co-vocalist Autumn ( http://www.facebook.com/autumnsmusic ) The music has that Motown sound with that black tie appeal. No doubt about labeling this band, as they will admit the sound they are going for is in fact Motown. The alternating vocals from male to female are fun and great, and the sound from the band was distinctly better than the last time I saw them at another venue (I will leave unnamed.) This switching keeps it entertaining and allows them a wide variety of tunes they can pull off with great respect.

It was a beautiful evening with perfect weather and a friendly crowd. Everybody definitively had a great time socializing. The Nightowls do it perfectly! With the ability to be great background music to any good conversation as well as performing those favorite tunes that do make you stop talking and listen, they are a great dinner/happy hour/out-for-a-few-cocktails type of band. They do play frequently around Austin so look them up and go.

Laters