Just returned from Austin -- Texas that is.
It's a little tree huggy for me, but I love visiting.
Happily this trip included a Wednesday night. Wednesdays are good because the Jazz Pharaohs play the
Elephant room on Wednesdays and have for more than 20 years. My buddy Winker took me there the first time I visited him probably 15 or more years ago.
Also happily, Hyundai put us up at the W Hotel, which is only a couple of blocks from the Elephant Room.
I was there to drive the new Hyundai Veloster Turbo, as well as the Elantra Coupe and Elantra GT. I must admit, I sort of blew off the Coupe. There was only the opportunity to drive two cars on the ride-and-drive route. The third car was left for the 10 minute loop around the hotel when we returned. I drove the two cars I really wanted to drive on the route, so I'll wait until until the Coupe shows up in my driveway for a week to drive it.
I was mightily impressed with the Veloster Turbo. It was a blast to drive.
Hyundai beefed up its appearance both inside and out. The front leather-covered seats are killer.
With a starting price of just under $22,000, it uses a 201-horsepower 1.6-liter four-cylinder turbo-charged engine for its giddy-up.
It handles great with good brakes and responsive steering.
Simply a blast to drive.
But enough business....
After the ride and drive, several of us showered, changed and embarked to the Elephant Room. We arrived there around 4:45 PM. The joint was deserted except for a server and a bartender: no patrons, no barflies, no Jazz Pharaohs. WTF!
I could have sworn it said live music from "4 til 8" on the Web site. What the heck was going on?
As it turns out, the band doesn't begin until 6. I went back to the Elephant Room Web site before starting this blog to see exactly where I went wrong. What they've done is connect two separate thoughts in basically the same sentence. It reads: Live Music Nightly, Happy Hour 4-8 p.m.
I blame myself. My buddies were less than happy with me, but I avoided a lynching by buying the first round.
Yes, we did what any self-respecting group of guys would do: We sat down and poured a few beers down us as we waited.
The band started on schedule and they were well worth the wait. Shy a few members, it wasn't as good a show as I've heard from them, but still great.
We enjoyed about 40 minutes of music before we had to adjourn for dinner with the rest of the group. Hyundai went above and beyond the call of duty by directing the bus to dinner to swing by and pick us up. Otherwise, we would have had to cut our listening time in half to walk back to the hotel.
I love it when a plan comes together!
If you are ever in Austin and want to hear some great music in a joint in the basement of an office building that's so dark you can't see from one end to the other, it's the Elephant Room.
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