HOT SPOT #5 ZODIAC LOUNGE *Special VDay Edition*

The question goes...."What do the lonely do, on Valentine's Day?" Hmmmm, well I answer that by saying....,"Go hear some great Music, with soulful Spoken word, and a sexy atmosphere.  That is exactly what I got when I stepped foot in the Zodiac Lounge, located at 6135 Mt. Moriah Suite 105! We went to support my Friend Marque with his 1st show which happened to be on Valentine's Day.

I walked in and the lights were low, they had smooth R&B playing through the sound system, you know, that "Grown and Sexy" type music.  We grabbed a seat right in the front so I could make sure we didn't miss a beat.  The MC for the evening began to push traffic to the bar by announcing their 3-for-1 drink specials until 8:30. So of course I went straight to the bar.  They had your typical drinks included in the special, but they really were only $5, and they were pretty good. So we proceeded to get 3 rounds...so that's ummmm....x3, carry the 1.........ummmmm....9 drinks for $15 total.  We figured we didn't want to do the sloppy stumble out of the club so we order some food. 

The Music started and the mood was just right! Marque was accompanied by a lead, bass, keys, drums, and background singer.  Now to be honest, in my professional musical opinion (trained in classical, jazz, gospel, and play piano) the following people need to be replaced: The Vocalist- extremely pitchy, did not know how to propel her vocals, where the mic faltered-------> actually that's it. And she wasn't the cutest thing and everyone can use a looker behind them.  On the other hand, Marque was AMAZING.  I had heard him play before as he accompanied my choir at church on our youth day last summer, but that was Gospel, and this was music for the soul! I felt every note he played, I followed every run hit! I can't even run like that with my vocals...and I'm a pretty good runner! It was beautiful.

Then I look up and it was intermission, and I noticed we still had not received our food! Yea.....terrible food service.  It took a good 2 hours to receive our food.  But the waitress did give us a complimentary round for the long wait.  During intermission, 2 poets feed us with a couple of words.  Me being honest, again, Phat Mac was awesome. I loved how he involved the audience by coming out to us and hitting us with some "Bipolar Love"! But....uuuhhh......A.T. Chill....yea, not so much.  He forgot his poem 2 times and had to let Phat Mac go so he could gather himself, which that is fine....it happens to the best of us.  Personally something about his tone annoyed me. He just wasn't my type of poet.  Needless to say, they were both banging and only contributed to the already amazing evening.

After intermission, Marque and his band, whom has yet to come up with a name, hit the stage for a second set. He got more personal with us by coming into the audience and it seemed like he was playing directly to you an only for you! Now we all know behind every great show there is a great woman. The woman of the evening was Marque's lovely girlfriend Brittani (hope I'm spelling it right)! Brittani was right there at the stage cheering her man on, she was backstage handling all the little mishaps we didn't know about, she was at the door taking money, and seating people.  To Brittani I say KUDOS BOO!

I know this blog is long but when I truly enjoy myself I have a lot to say. Marque and Brittani, keep it up!

Signing off....Mz. iC....HOT SPOT #5....OFFICIAL!