Usually when we hit PJ's on a Tuesday night, it's just to spin records with PBMJ, but last Tuesday we ran into someone other than the usual suspects. We passed right by him, but Andre 3000 was hanging out in front of the Corktown bar, sporting paint-stained pants and a dirty beanie. He looked rather disheveled (maybe he was trying to fit in?) but, nonetheless, someone clued us in to his presence. We stepped outside to find the Outkast singer devoid of an entourage, but rather just hanging out with one single friend. He told us he was looking for some live punk music to enjoy and that he was in town to do some recording. According to Pitchfork, he's in town working on music with Aretha Franklin. Though we wanted to hang around and stare at Dre, we thought it best to leave him be. He granted us a selfie and then was on his way. We heard he headed to Northern Lights Lounge to enjoy some live tunes.
Overeating for a cause
American Coney Island hosted its annual Coney-eating contest Thursday night, raising money for the Keros Family Fund, which helps police and firefighter charities. Two contests took place, one pitting cops against firefighters and another that was open to the public. Takeru Kobayashi, a competitive eater who holds several world records, including six Guinness records, was in the audience and even chowed on a few of the restaurant's famous wieners. In the crowd, DDAYS also spotted Fox 2 news reporter Charlie LeDuff, former Piston Rick Mahorn, and Ashley, Seth, and Les Gold of Hardcore Pawn alongside Public City's Jason Brown and Monica Cheick. Matt Holowicki of Plymouth won the contest, chowing 17 Coneys in just 10 minutes, a new record for the competition. We're thinking about competing next year.
The Lions and the Oak
DDAYS hit The Oak on Thursday night to catch the end of the Lions exhibition game against Buffalo. Though the boys in blue overtook the Bills, 23-0, there was nary a hoop or a holler from the crowd inside the Wyandotte bar. Seems we've grown wary of cheering for a losing team, even when they're winning. We did, however, spot Katelyn Wong, Kyle Laliberte, Jeremy Bezzo, and Steve Sajewicz in the crowd and enjoyed perhaps one too many Moscow Mules.
Lions, and punk, and metal! Oh my!
We were catching some preseason action on the flat-screen TVs at Hamtramck's New Dodge Lounge, but the bar crowd seemed to be mostly football agnostics, arriving early for a punk and metal show that night. Luckily, Andrea Bonaventura presided over the bar, and she always attracts a colorful crowd. The football talk was light, though. Maybe it's because it wasn't the "real" season, but it looked real enough. With all the penalty flags flying, one spectator said, "This game has more flags than a car dealership." But there are always football fans lurking in every scene, even punk and metal. After a successful Lions field goal in the first quarter, we heard a few claps. You outed yourself, dude!
Farewell Mr. Jeter
We tried, but DDAYS never managed to spot Derek Jeter anywhere outside of Comerica Park while he was in town with the Yankees last week. Though we staked out several Starbucks locations, the Kalamazoo native was nowhere to be found. Jeter likely played his final games at Comerica Park this week (unless the Yankees face the Tigers in the playoffs) and he was honored with a special ceremony during the series. Happy trails, Mr. Jeter. — mt
