ELLICOTTVILLE ENTERTAINMENT (11/21/08)
Checking Out the Tunes and Other Stuff In Ellicottville
By Robby & Sherm Wilkens

The earliest opening of “Ski Season” since 1995 happened yesterday. Holiday Valley opened The Yodeler Lift and six slopes. What’s more Thursdays edition of The Buffalo News carried a front-page story on Holiday Valley and its third earliest opening ever. We have had about forty inches of snow in the last few days and it has stayed cold so the Snow Making men and women of Holiday Valley have been able to do their thing. We look forward to more slopes and lifts being open by tomorrow. THIS IS REALLY GOOD STUFF.

On a warmer note, our “Seven Band and two DJ” music week gets going tonight Friday November 21, 2008 in the usual way. About 9:00 PM, “Personable D.J. John Barry”, dressed in his usual attire, will be spinning tunes and doing his personality show LIVE from Balloons Sound Booth. John’s show is very audience friendly. If you wish conversation, just listening or dancing, John plays to the wishes of his audience, plus he makes it fun. John, and Balloons excellent menu, which is served till 10:00 PM, makes Balloons one of the premier places to kick off your weekend of fun. Check it out tonight.

The first band performance of the weekend will begin 9:30 PM tonight in The Double Diamond with “Steve Dudley” and his rendition of “Cocktail Rock”. Steve is usually a one-man band playing well-known “Classic Rock” tunes. If my memory serves me correctly, on at least one occasion, I have seen him perform with a wonderful female vocalist. We shall see. With “Noel The King of Fiction” in The Double Diamond’s kitchen, the meals I’ve had there have been off the charts as to how good they were. In fact the last time I was there for a meal I felt it necessary to go into the kitchen and applaud. It was that good.

Moving on to Saturday, the music begins, as usual, 5:00 PM in Balloons with “Harvey and The Hurricanes”. Harvey Murello and his group has been a Balloons regular band for over ten years. At one point, back in the nineties they were called “Tommy Z and The Hurricanes”. Their music is mainly “Blues” done with real class and style. They do what I call “Down Home Blues” that being music you can relate to with feeling. The best complement I can give them is I never miss when they play here. Please remember Balloons is an all ages friendly place, so bring your family for a great late afternoon of wonderful music and even better food. Following Harvey, “Chatty Frank Watson”, one of the most fun DJ’s to play in this area, will keep the party going from Balloons Sound Booth with his around the bend and over the edge humor that is still all ages and family friendly.

Back on Washington Street at 9:00 PM Saturday, The Gin Mill will have a new band for Ellicottville, “The Kokomo Time Band”. From their web site and talking with Jim Steffan the bands leader, they are “Festive-Lookin’ and Feel-Good Soundin’” really audience friendly four or five piece group. Their music consists of “Calypso, Oldies, Tex-Mex and Cajun”. What that sounds like is an excellent restaurant menu and an even better music venue. Another thing that stuck me from their web site were the colorful outfits they wore while performing. This should be an excellent show and really good fit for The Gin Mill, which is one of the funner places to see live music while enjoying good munchies and beverages at user-friendly prices right here in our village.

Strolling back to Monroe Street, The Double Diamond will have “Jokers Wild” in house beginning at 9:30PM this Saturday. This is a very high-energy “Contemporary, to Classic to Modern Rock” group from Olean. They were last here in October and have a pretty good following. The main ingredient that this group brings to the table, besides their excellent cover music, is fun and audience participation. The Double Diamond is continuing in its “Nietzsche’s tradition of a really wide variety of live bands every Friday and Saturday night.

After another quiet Sunday (Music Wise), we move on to Monday and our regular groups. It all starts with “Pasta and Blue Grass” 7:00 PM Monday in The Gin Mill. As always Blue Grass with Heart preformed by Gail, Doug and Bernie, “The Blue Mule Band” and all the spaghetti and garlic toast you can eat preceeded by an excellent salad all for $5.95. With the order of two dinners, The Gin Mill Good Guys offer an excellent wine special for your three M enjoyment, that being Monday, Music and a Meal. The Gin Mill Good Guys hope to see you there.

MONDO MONDAY Ellicottville’s Unique and Only Music Happening or Experience, what ever you wish will begin around 10:00 PM this coming Monday in The Double Diamond. There isn’t much more that can be said about this “Experience” that hasn’t already been expressed. Mr. Darvacette, Lil Joey, On Bass Brandon and Frankie Da Drummer create this very fun Double Diamond event each and every Monday night.

The Final music gig of the week will be Wednesday, Wings, Wagner and Winston, another Ellicottville and Gin Mill music tradition, beginning at 9:00 PM this and every Wednesday. Joe and John’s music, which I call “Acoustic Folk to Southern Rock”, now, includes some “Johnny Cash” which John Winston does quite well. All I know for sure is The Gin Mill is one fun place for thirty-five cent wings, cold beverages good music this and every Wednesday night. Mr. Chorny and The Gin Mill Good Guys cover all the details.