The best kind of fun is the fun you never expected to have.  Last night, Bill and I decided to go to Tommi’s Bistro for dinner.  Although I usually keep track of events there by checking their Web site, I failed to do that last night.  They usually have events on Thursdays and Saturdays, so I was expecting our usual quiet dinner.  When we arrived, our favorite waitress, Dani, was there.  She smiled in delight when she saw us and gave me a big hug!  I wasn’t expecting such a warm reception, but I definitely appreciated it.  She made us feel very welcome.

I looked around and noticed all the reserved signs on the tables.  On the stage were Vitek Spacek, the guy who leads the jam sessions every second Thursday of the month, and his brilliant keyboard player, whose name escapes me right now.  There was also a bald guy I’d never seen before.  Turns out, he was the headliner, David Hanselmann.  At first, I thought he was American.  I heard him speaking English like a native.  Edited to add, I have just learned that David Hanselmann is German-American, hence his very native grasp of both German and English.  I have also heard that Mr. Hanselmann has been suffering from cancer and wasn’t able to perform last year.  I never would have guessed after seeing him perform last night.  He put on a great show and we really enjoyed it.

We asked Dani if there was room for us, even though we hadn’t reserved.  She said there was.  She put us at a four top that had been reserved for two people.  I felt a little bad about it, even though I know it’s not uncommon for Germans to share tables even if they aren’t actually together.

Anyway, Bill and I had our usual delicious entrcote steaks, though he had his with a small side salad.  He’s trying to watch his weight so he can get into his dress blues when we go on our cruise.  I had my usual addictive wild potatoes.  We shared a bottle of wine and were pretty much done eating before the show started.  Although we could have left, we decided to stick around and were soon joined by the Germans who had thought to reserve.  We paid 15 euros per person and though we didn’t stay until the very end of the show, it was well worth the price of admission.

The couple we sat with came from Calw to see the show.  The male half spoke very good English.  His wife seemed somewhat less fluent.  Both of them were friendly and welcoming and we enjoyed an interesting conversation with them as we listened to David Hanselmann’s musical stylings.  He sang a lot of great songs from the 70s and 80s as he played an electronic drum.  The crowd really got into it when he sang “Easy” by the Commodores.  Toward the end of the evening, a couple of intrepid ladies got up and danced!

I didn’t have the best view of the stage…

The music still sounded great!

We’re going to have to make a habit of attending more of the shows at Tommi’s.  It’s such a treat to live in a town with a venue that offers great steak, friendly service, and fabulous music.  Dani reminded us that there’s a live jam session on Thursday.  She will be working and said she hopes we can make it.  Even Bill, who is chronically tired during the work week, says he’s game!  That might be just the thing to get us in the mood before our next trip begins on March 14th.

I see they are having Scottish folk music on the 19th.  I think we’d attend if we weren’t already going to be in Scotland!