Once again, friends and I reuned at Rubicon on Tuesday night for $2 pint night. We had a rollicking discussion of rafting, teaching in Thailand and poorly-fit REI backpacks. As usual, the assortment of fixers, grungies, regulars and the like populated the joint, filling it to capacity.

After a couple Monkey Knife Fights apiece, we called it an evening and called for the check. Imagine our collective surprise when we read the print

“7 Monkey Knife @ 2.50 17.50″

Alas! $2 pint night is no more. It is now $2.50 pint night. This recession is hitting everyone, so bring some extra change!

Afterwards, one other stalwart soul joined me at the final night of Lipstick, as DJ Shawn Slaughter is moving to El Lay. I’d never been; although the weekly night of BritPop at Old Ironsides had long beckoned, I’d never actually…

attended. Why not the last one ever?

It was exactly as I had hoped. The line of people was out the door at 10pm, and the dress was appropriate eclectic. I wished I had brought my copy of hipster bingo, because all the usual suspects were there. Lots of skinny jeans. Lots of unkempt hair. Asian woman in leopard print spaghetti-strap with bright red hair. Two guys wearing bandannas as headbands. I wanted to inquire of one of them whether or not it’s true that Hell is for Children, but could not summon the will to puncture the irony. My cohort observed that I was the only person in a tie. A Smiths DVD ran on repeat on the plasma above the bar. Service was slow.

The music, of course, was pretty awesome. It’s so rare to go into a public place and hear good music that I’m not familiar with! Arctic Monkeys! Twee Springsteen covers! A ton of other songs I did not recognize but wanted to immediately Limewire, I mean, purchase legally though an approved online music store.

We left at around 11, I suspect before Slaughter actually started his set. It was really great to see a downtown scene on a Tuesday, even if we were definitely on the upper bound of the crowd, agewise Nonetheless, I felt like I’d upped my cool quotient by a few points, something that get increasing difficult to do as I reel through the 30s. Good luck, Mr. Slaughter! I hope Sacramento can keep it going without you!