Power Plant

"No, I would not like to go to Power Plant with you." Just the thought of Power Plant brings back embarrassing memories of dancing at cheesy clubs like Iguana Cantina and Have a Nice Day Cafe. My girlfriends and I tried to see Lindsay Lohan and "DJ" Samantha Ronson at Mosaic Club in October and got kicked out of the VIP area after some trashy girl told us we "didn't know Heather."

And that makes me wonder why Rams Head Live! sits among the tackiest clubs in Baltimore, yet still has managed to become one of the premier concert spots in Baltimore. In the past six months, I've seen the Indigo Girls, Hanson, and on Wednesday - The Black Keys, all at Rams Head.

It's about a $10 cab from Charles Village to Power Plant, or, you can valet your car at a restaurant such as Ruth's Chris Steakhouse. Otherwise, parking's about $20 in the lot. Doors for the concert usually open at 7pm, and the opening band often doesn't hit the stage until 9pm, so I like to pick up my tickets from will-call and then grab some food and a drink. Fortunately, Rams Head is huge and there are several levels, so it's pretty easy to find a spot where you can see, even if it's packed. Also, Rams Head has two bars which are fairly easy to access, and the drinks are around $4-$7.

When I go to a concert with my mother, we'll valet our car at Ruth's Chris and get a glass of wine and some appetizers. (Blackened tuna, chopped salad, and tomato-and-mozzarella, yum!) On Wednesday, my friend and I checked out happy hour at Babalu Grill. The menu seemed too good to be true -- and it was. Mojitos aren't really "in season" right now, but they were two for $4. Big mistake! The mojitos tasted like nail polish remover, and the mint was soggy and brown. We played it safe with two rum and diet cokes for $4.... and figured out why the drinks were so cheap. The bartender clearly used the cheapest rail rum.

The food was decent. The Caribbean bruschetta ($3) was underwhelming, and the chicken fajitas ($4) were soggy and too spicy. The one bright spot was the plantain chips and mango salsa. Delicious! The tab for the entire dinner was $19.97, and though the food was mediocre, it was worth every penny to sit on a conga drum at the bar.

conga drums/bar stools. (Oct. 2006 -- Halloween date party!)

I went to the concert not knowing anything by the Black Keys, and I was shocked that the gig sold out. Unlike most of the shows I go to, the audience was mostly men... and mostly in flannel. Black Keys consists of a singer who plays guitar (with way too much distortion) and a drummer whose talent parallels Meg White from the White Stripes. He kept the beat but didn't offer much in terms of fills or interesting beats. Maybe I'm missing something?

So moral of the story... though I fully support a grand dismissal of Power Plant Live, don't forget about Rams Head; it's the mango salsa in a happy hour of mush.