July 6, 1998, Seaport Inn, Alexandria, VA
All images (c)1998 by Christopher Russell
The Seaport Inn has the best and worst of locations. While there's usually superb pedestrian traffic (open the door, and in they come), there's also the occasional knee-deep flood that gives Old Town its "charm." At least Seaport boasts a year-round open mic, now hosted by
Brooke Yoder. After Dave Graziano "retired" from hosting duties, Brooke took over, and the open mic remains in capable hands. Half of the host's chore is making all comers feel welcome (so they'll come back, of course). Brooke does that well. But he also delivers a seemingly endless supply of good bar music-- country, classic rock, folk-- according to his take on the audience's mood. Working musicians can learn a few things from this guy. On this night, Brooke worked solo, which is too bad, because his buddy Diana Keene was not available to work her magic on pedal steel. Ah, next time....
No contact info is available for Brooke just yet, but be sure to visit The Seaport Inn any time, especially on Monday nights for the open mic.
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