The Samples

The very first Samples show I went to was at the Ira Allen Chapel in Burlington, Vermont. It was one of my favorite shows - right up there with Tom Waits in Akron, Ohio. The Samples are playing at the Ira Allen Chapel tomorrow night (3/2) - wish I could be there. The Samples are an under-rated band and have persevered over the years without mainstream marketing or radio play (except for 102.7 WEQX out of Manchester, VT). It's great to hear they are still making great music!

Check them out at: MySpace - The Samples

MAGIC HAT

Good company, a #9 and nothing else to do!!! Seven years anxiously awaiting and Magic Hat Beer has finally arrived in Northeastern Ohio! Not sure what took so long but the wait made it even sweeter. Magic Hat Brewing Company is located in South Burlington, Vermont (greatest state in the union - Ohio is 7th) and the makers of par excellence micro-brewed beer. Here's a description of the #9 just to get you thirsty: 'A beer cloaked in secrecy. An ale whose mysteries and unusual palate will swirl across your tongue and ask more questions than it answers. A beer brewed clandestinely and given a name whose meaning is never revealed. Why #9? why, indeed. A sort of dry, crisp, fruity, refreshing, not-quite pale ale. #9 is really impossible to describe because there's never been anything quite like it.' Now you see what I'm talking about but you have to taste one to know why I am even posting this on my blog. I would like to thank the beer rep who suggested putting this on-tap at two local establishments. Keep it coming and let my wife know that I won't be home for a while.

Any micro-brews that you love? - post comment.

Magic Hat Brewing Company