Popkins & The National

This past Friday found me anxiously anticipating the arrival of The Cult at The National. Would they still be any good live? Would the lead singer still be hot? All the important, universe-impacting, hard-hitting questions.......... :)

Prior to arriving at The National, our crew met up at Popkins for a pre-show bite and a beer. It should be noted that Popkins has a new chef who has instituted a new menu w/a bit of French flair. The menu has poutines (which I may one day get around to trying), steak frites, tons of seafood options, various sandwiches on buttery, toasted egg bread, "pizettes" and many other items that will encourage one to drool. Maybe I'm the last to know, b/c it's been a while since I've dropped in here, but just wanted to pass the info along like any good blogger!

My friend and I tried the Pizettes. I had the mozzarella, tomato, basil and my friend tried the goat cheese, caramelized shallot and ham. Hers won me over, hands down. (Duh! It had GOAT cheese on it!) Salty, sweet delicious. Mine, not so much. The sauce was too thick for my tastes as well as too sweet. The crust gave itself away as pre-frozen, thawed and baked. We all agreed we missed the former chef's thin pizza crust. (Lesson: Don't cut corners! People notice!)

In closing, I would like to go back and try a few main course items to get an overall feel for the food again. I am sad that the chopped salad is gone, I really used to look forward to having it.

As far as The National, it did not disappoint! I am, by self-definition "old" (btw- over 30 does = old ;) ) and therefore like to sit down while enjoying a few hours of music. Our group was very lucky to find a handful of seats together on the upper deck/balcony.

Otherwise, it was standing room only on the floor and packed from corner to corner. They have a bar upstairs and down that have easy access and pretty good service, considering the amount of folks they are serving. The upper deck has bathrooms located in the back hallway, so you don't have to go all the way back downstairs to hit the ladies/gents (*I mention this b/c it's such a luxury. If you've ever been to The Riv in Chicago, you know what I mean!)

Opened in 1923, the interior seems to be restored, with a big, white, plaster dome in the middle of the ceiling and a romanesque frieze moulding all around the top walls of the theatre. I really love that as a city, we're trying to hang onto and restore our downtown/Jackson ward area.

The show itself was phenomenal with the encore consisting of, of course-- Fire Woman and Sanctuary. These guys really know how to please their fans and they have still got "it." My fav part of the show (other than the encore) was when Ian Astbury gave a shout out to the Jonas Brothers for "keeping it real" and being "Dirty Little Rock Stars."