Kazoo Party with Jessie Torrisi and Monzie Leo at Replay / "Food Freedom" and Assorted Foodie News

We arrived at yesterday's Replay matinee to find the presumed headliner, Texas rockers Jesse Torrisi and the Please Please Me, already underway, squeezed into a short middle-of-three-bands slot (with frustratingly low vocals: crank that shit up, Replay!). While it wasn't the barnburner of a set we'd hoped for (perhaps that will arrive tonight at the Czar Bar), Jessie's voice, what we could hear of it, was quite nice, and her set of low-key Americana (supplemented at one point with an adorable handheld air-powered keyboard!) culminated in the promised kazoo party, in which she invited the audience onstage to rock out with free kazoos. Among the kazoo congregants: local hero Monzie Leo, who also played a short unannounced set prior to Torrisi, which we missed (probably because it was unannounced).

In addition to rocking out, it's important (to us) to point out that Torrisi has also designed his and her underwear with the band name on them. Yes, Chip may have bought a pair.















Torrisi and company were followed by local rockers E100. For some reason, we always thought E100 was a one-man band, but now it's a guitar/drum duo with a technically impressive guitar-shredder. They were joined on their last three songs by the dude who plays saxophone in the Pachamama's band on Thursdays.

Torrisi and company publicity photo:















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We love when young progressives do progressive things, so we're sad that we missed Friday's "Food and Freedom Ride" at the Dole Institute. Here's a recap from a piece via LJ-World:

"Eleven young food activists sang about hope as they walked into a room inside the Dole Institute of Politics on Friday afternoon. They are on a 12-day Food and Freedom Ride from Birmingham, Ala., to Detroit. They stopped in Lawrence on the sixth day of their journey to talk about food injustices and the benefits of eating locally grown foods. “I’m looking for food freedom,” said Hai Vo, one of the riders from Orange County, Cali."

Chip: "But if they really believed in 'Food Freedom' they'd quit singing and let me eat my chicken-fried steak in peace."



And speaking of chicken-fried steak, do you realize that Haskell Diner is opening an all-you-can-eat dinner buffet? (you know Haskell Diner, don't you? it's next to the porn shop). Presumably it will contain the Haskell Diner lunch staples of chicken-fried steak, meatloaf, fried chicken, and liver and onions. Chip will eat there every night.

And speaking of other chicken-fried things, our friends at 715 have had chicken fried rabbit legs on their specials menu of late. And lest you think that rabbit legs are small, 715 wants you to know (via this photo they tweeted yesterday) that they serve only the biggest, Night of the Lepus style, mutant bunnies!





















In other hipster/foodie news, LJ-World's Town Talk reports today that the recently closed Penny Annies may soon be transformed into a shop that sells "rare books, vintage bicycles, normal coffee, and perhaps doughnuts." Is this true, or is this just a scenester's wet dream? Stay tuned.

And also, is Vermont Street BBQ EVER fucking re-opening, or isn't it?