by erin thursby scopes1925@msn.com
It’s a Thursday night; do you know where you should be buying your beer? If you’re a single female looking for a non-threatening place to chill with a great drink special ($1 drinks for the ladies) Pub Ragusa might be the place to hang on a Thursday night.
I got there early in the night, hoping to avoid a cover charge. As I found out later there wasn’t any need to, since they don’t have a cover. What they do have are scads of European men, who, unlike most straight American men, will actually coordinate their shoes with their outfits. The Bosnian/Euro contingent is one reason why the bar serves espresso, besides beer and wine. The beer selection also reflects the partially Euro crowd, with Warsteiner, Stella Artois, Guinness and Yuengling on tap. As the night progressed, the Europeans made up about a third of the bar crowd. One thing I did love was that the women never came close to outnumbering the men.
Two pool tables, a dart board and a few computer games are available for those that like to test themselves in games of skill after a few beers. As for myself, I’m a bad pool player and even worse at darts when I’m sober. I’m afraid I would accidentally peg the barkeep with a pool ball or hit one of those nice European guys with a dart. (Possible conversation opener: “I’m sorry, I hit you with my dart. Can I buy you a drink?”)
Thursday night is also Jam Band night. The band playing that night was two members of El Toro Loco, Paul Lentz and Steve “The Crazy Bull” Cybulski. Later in the night they were joined by Brian Jenkins on the drums. All three are sought-after regulars in the Jax music scene. Lentz, who played some damn fine guitar, modestly claimed that he wasn’t really a guitar player. He played on Steve’s son’s beginner guitar, making it sing despite the fact that he was playing through a bass system. As for Steve, well, there were times when his hands were a blur as he worked his strings. At this venue the guys had the freedom to play what they love and do some wild funk improvisational stuff. Some of the solos, including Brian Jenkin’s drumming, were truly inspired.
Bar patrons shouted out requests and one of my new bar buddies nearly went up to play. Unfortunately, my drinking bud hadn’t played for a while and he was a little shy because of their obvious skill. Still, that’s the point of the Jam Band Night. Anybody who wants to give it a go and play with the band can.
By my third beer, the band and I were friendly enough that I could razz them like Sonny, the proprietor of Pub Ragusa.
“Come on,” I yelled “bring on the cheese!” And then I asked the band to play all the songs that bands hate to cover, though they are inevitably requested. The drummer, Brian Jenkins, rightly threatened to strike at the mention of ‘Mustang Sally.’ After a short standoff and a conference, they opted for ‘We Want the Funk.’
While the conference was going on, an entire kickball team, mostly made up of athletic twenty-something males, spilled into the bar from the place next door. That’s when the dancing began, a trend started by a completely goofy member of the kick ball team. Since he was enthusiastically dancing, it was all I needed (and I don’t need much) to get me out onto the dance floor. Goofy Kickball Guy’s Slightly Cooler Friend pulled my female bar buddy onto the dance floor. I punctuated my dances with swigs of Smirnoff Ice and Tooters that were actually surprisingly good.
I left the bar with regret, hoping I could come back some Thursday night when I didn’t have an early morning. If you want to make Pub Ragusa your new neighborhood hangout, it’s on Bowden Road, just after the 95 exit. Take a right and it’s in the first shopping center on your left.
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