Weekend Bits

—On Saturday night the Mrs. and I went to see Richard Thompson at the Berklee Performance Center. I've seen him at least half a dozen times, but this was the first time I had seen him perform with a full electric band since about 1998, and it was a killer show. He never fails to entertain, but this time the combination of material from his new album and a choice selection of older songs made it the second-best show I've seen him do, after his awesome "1000 Years of Popular Music" in the fall of 2004.

The Berklee has great sound, but the seats are just awful. They're old, lumpy, and uncomfortable. Over the course of a two-hour show, they really take a toll on your back. There must be a famous music-star graduate out there who would be willing to cover the cost of new seats.

—A while back I said I would do a post about the newly expanded SoundBites restaurant when I had a chance to visit the new space. We finally made it there yesterday (I think they moved next door about a month ago), but they aren't entirely up to full speed yet. We waited in line much longer than usual; according to the owner, the new kitchen has some limitations that are affecting preparation and/or cooking. We definitely waited a long time for our food; typically the plates are on the table within five minutes of ordering. He's planning to add a second kitchen to handle the weekend crowds, and when that happens things should even out somewhat.

The new room is very attractive, with a couple of distinct sections, a roomier self-serve coffee area, and a full bar, a holdover from the location's previous incarnations as a Mexican cantina and, before that, a barroom of varying levels of seediness depending on the crowd it was trying to attract. So we'll have to check back in to see how things are progressing.