I hit the town with the ladies last night. It was an honest-to-god date night with Brenda and Alice that included both dinner and a show.

We met up at the Icon Grill in downtown Seattle. I don’t hang out downtown very much, so it was a nice treat. Brenda and Alice are always great company. We determined that married and single ladies who mingle have a lot of fun (no, we are not depressed all of the time :P). We kicked off the meal with a little chicken-fried calamari which was delish. I ordered the fried chicken salad, which was also good, but I think it was a little bit too much fried food for me.

I had a couple of glasses of the Chateau Ste. Michelle Indian Wells cabernet sauvignon. As the server was taking orders for our second round, Alice turned to me…

Alice: How is that cab? Is it dry??
Me: uh, duh, duh, duh…

I have two basic categories for wine which are good and bad (I guess I could also use drinkable and vinegar). This wine was good. I might even go as far as saying it was delightful, but I just can’t really distinguish the body/style of a glass of wine. Does that make me a lush?

After dinner, we strolled over to Jazz Alley to see the Pete Escovedo Orchestra. Now, if you’ve never heard of Pete Escovedo, I can assure you that you are not alone. I had no idea who he was prior to making my reservation for this show. Regardless, the show was packed. Why? Pete Escovedo tours with his daughter Sheila E, who used to play with the artist-formerly-known-as-Prince back in the 80s.

My reflections about this show:

* We sat close to the stage, but on stage left so we really had the best view of Sheila E, the bass player and the wind instrument guy. Sheila E totally rocked! As in, she hit those drums like she was backing up Metallica. The woman is strong! I loved that she had a wide grin on her face as she played and ‘dialoged’ with the energy of the crowd. She also looks damn fine for a 52-year-old woman.

* After the show, we were chatting about Juan Escovedo, another Pete Escovedo progeny who plays congas. What is it like to live in your sister’s shadow? The crowd would clap after his solos but it would completely erupt when Sheila E was in the mix. We all felt a little bit sorry for him.

Overall, it was a really fun show. I love to kick it with my girls. I love to wear dresses. Just another Saturday night in the life of Girl*wander.