A few years ago, I was talking with Buddy Nelms, The Loft's proprietor, about the constant battle to keep folks interested in live music.
He called it battling the couch.
"You want to tell people, 'Just get off the couch.
Get out. Have fun,' " he said. "Once they come in, they have a great time.
"
I thought about that this weekend, as I eyed a fancy new couch at the house -- a leather La-Z-Boy recliner, positioned tantalizingly in front of a high-def TV. I eyed the couch, but the only time my butt made a depression on it this weekend was during the Colts/Patriots playoff game Sunday night.
Right now, Nelms and other clubs aren't battling the couch for my attention.
They're battling the cine-plex seat.
I opted for movies last weekend over live music. And 50 weeks of the year, it would've been a bad decision.
Fifty weeks of the year, I would have to confess my sins to the Gods of Rawk for what's clearly a mortal sin for a music buff.
You can see a movie anytime. You can see a movie after work on a weekday.
You can see a movie at 1 p.m. -- and it's cheaper then.
It was awfully hard to skip Sun Domingo at the SoHo Bar Grill, particularly after hearing their three-part harmonies on their MySpace page. It may have been even tougher to skip The Demspeys at The Loft, since last time I saw them, the drummer came into the crowd and played part of his solo on my beer glass.
But this is the time of year that we're flush with award-winning and sure-to-be-nominated pictures.
Unless we want to watch them at home -- where we can hear the washing machine in the background, the dog's whining to go for a walk, and we have to make our own popcorn -- we must strike while the best films are on the big screen.
(Where's Jack Black when you need him? As a rock star and a film star, surely he understands my pain.
)
So I missed at least two good acts this weekend. Some will say I chose poorly.
But I did see "History Boys" and "Stranger Than Fiction.
" I've got to squeeze in "The Queen," "Pan's Labyrinth," "Flags of Our Fathers," and "Curse of the Golden Flower" this week to catch up on movies that are suddenly playing here, all at once, and might not last more than a week or two.
And yeah, I realize that I already had a shot at "The Queen" and "Flags." I don't know what to say.
When those films played here before, I must've chosen to catch the live music instead.
This week is my celluloid punishment. Or is it a reward?
Rest assured, though, that the next time Sun Domingo and The Dempseys are in town, I'll be in the thick of it.
Maybe the real mistake I made was buying that new couch.
Fans of Columbus' Keni Thomas -- the Cornbread frontman who's making a go of it as a songwriter and singer in Nashville -- undoubtedly already know his backstory as an Army Ranger who was on the ground in the incidents presented in "Blackhawk Down.
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Thomas was a guest on the National Geographic Channel's Monday night episode of "Final Report" examining the failed Mogadishu mission.
If you missed it, fear not. The channel will rebroadcast the episode at 10 p.
m. on Saturday.
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