Ho Hey | L’Wren | Aris Sports Bar | Irish Haven | Grumpy Cat | Feeney’s Pub
Alright, alright, alright, @YouTheReader, the 5th Month of Pint&Pen&Paper during #GuinnessChallengeSeason calls for the 5th song on The Lumineers’ first album. Remember we established these rules back in January. Ho Hey was the band’s breakout song as the lead single peaked at #2 on the Billboard Hot 40 Charts. According to Wesley Schultz and Jeremy Fraites, “That song was an effort to get under people's skin at shows in Brooklyn, where everyone is pretty indifferent. And I figured if we could punctuate it with shouts we might get someone's attention.” Well, they certainly got everybody’s attention in the Summer of ‘12 and they haven’t looked back since.
Strong open.
Funny story I could share here. Right before #GuinnessChallengeSeason on New Year’s Eve, I was home with my parents and we were talking a little bit about Week to Week Notes. My dad mostly kidding, a quarter serious, (he did have a couple of drinks in him) asked “Could you write a song?” I just started cracking up. It felt a bit surreal. To answer the question for @YouTheReader, no I don’t think I can write a song. I love music but 1) I wouldn’t even know where to begin and 2) thinking I could, feels a bit disingenuous to real songwriters. With the music on Week to Week Notes, I feel more like a DJ responsible for playing music for everybody. That might sound a bit nuts, but that feels more like my lane.
Honestly, my dad half-kidding asking me something like that only helped at the time. When people believe in you, it not only makes you work that much harder and it can give you unintentional confidence you may not have even known you needed.
@YouTheReader while I might not be able to write a song, let me reiterate that The Lumineers are from Ramsey, New Jersey. I bet a good chunk of you reading this are from around the same area. I’m sure when The Lumineers first started, the idea that a folk band could make it out of the Tri-State seemed far-fetch. Now look at them.
Went off on a bit of a tangent there, I obviously need a coffee, but all I’m trying to type is that if you have your own against-the-grain idea, concept, or hell, even a song, I hope you go for it. If you don’t have someone like my dad feeding you unintentional confidence, well, hopefully, you get some from reading Week to Week Notes.
Nothing like a great chorus that everybody can sing along to in a folk song, am I right?
Nothing to see here just your run-of-the-mill TD Bank on the corner of Bowery & Canal…
…just random happenstance.
None of my own Notes had anything to do with the song, so here is what @RapGenius has for it…
…great tune. The first song I ever heard from The Lumineers which I’m sure was the case for most of you reading as well. Now let’s get to the Pint&Pen&Paper….
… but before the Pints of Guinness in Brooklyn, that Sunday I went to a Starbucks to write Stumblin’ Along (Titanic Vol I) and from there I headed to the Museum of Failure. No, I had no idea that they would have a Titanic replica at the museum, just thought that was kind of cool.
Song On In The Background: A Beautiful Mine by RJD2 (Mad Men Theme Song)
Notes if you can’t read my sloppy scribble: 🚨1st Pint in Brooklyn.🚨 Tater tots and French toast are recommended. $9 Happy Hour drinks, 4-7 Happy Hour every day. Sage Advice is the bartender’s recommended drink. The Up and Smoke cocktail is their most popular. Neighborhood locals, private events in the back. They also host salsa nights, karaoke, and screenings. They have live music and art shows as well.
Check out the L’Wren for Sunday night football, Tuesday Movie Night, and Salsa Saturdays. They have plenty of private event space and off-site catering available. I look forward to grabbing another drink at L’Wren again soon!
Guinness: 5.3 (Bottle of Guinness & Non-Guinness Glass)
Guinness Challenge: N/A (No Logo)
Song On In The Background: Lemon by Rihanna & Drake
Notes if you can’t read my sloppy scribble: Sports bar. DJ booth in the back of the place with a stand. Guinness Extra Stout from a bottle. The bathroom and kitchen doors here have a nice wood finish. No spots on the TV at the moment, should I ask to put on the Yankees? Live DJ every day. Different specials every day!
I wasn’t really able to have much of a conversation but the Aris Sports Bar’s food online looks good. Go Yanks!
Song On In The Background: Mary Jane’s Last Dance by Tom Petty
Notes if you can’t read my sloppy scribble: John next to me is DJ Stepchild. Imperial pint glass, ahh a proper pint glass of 16 oz. “Best Guinness in Brooklyn,” says DJ Stepchild. Bar’s bar, but Irish Haven does have pizza. This is the pub that The Departed was shot. They’ve also shot Law & Order, The Kitchen, Blue Bloods, and some SNL skits here. Ray Donovan as well. They even set up the bar for it to be a remake of Carnegie Deli. The scene where Leonardo DiCaprio orders cranberry juice happened in the seat next to me. The pool table they use in the Departed is also in the back room where they break his hand. Frank Lawler from County Kildare was the original owner of the Irish Haven, he established it in 1964.
Irish Haven has been a neighborhood institution since 1964. Good thing I didn’t order a cranberry juice (I do lowkey-high key, high key-lowkey like it) and luckily DJ Stepchild didn’t crack me in the head with his pint of Guinness. He was a very nice guy and I had an awesome conversation with him! The Departed is one of my favorites and now look at that we get to do a Critiquing Critics tomorrow on the film set in Irish Haven. They have a whole checklist of events coming up. I look forward to grabbing another Pint of Guinness at Irish Haven again soon!
Song On In The Background: Can’t Get Enough of Your Love Babe by Barry White
Notes if you can’t read my sloppy scribble: Sabrina is the bartender of this sports bar. Lakers vs Grizzlies. The dart board has a ton of people playing. They have pub grub food-wise. Yankee bar 🫡. Exposed brick behind the bar, a bit #Rustic. Once a month, the Grumpy Cat will host Top Shelf Karaoke with DJ Dave and Darts afterward. They have a picture of Jackie Robinson hanging up in the corner. One of the owners, Gary, looks like Garfield and is always grumpy so they named it after him after he built the bar. Poor Gary 🫤.
The Grumpy Cat looks like a very fun place to sing karaoke and play darts. Garfield the Cat was created by Jim Davis (not related if you’re wondering). Jim named the orange tabby Persian cartoon cat after his grandfather, James Garfield Davis. The original Garfield comic came out in 1978. Garfield and Jim Davis jointly hold the Guinness World Records title for the Most syndicated comic strip - current. As of 2015, the Garfield comic appears in some 2,100 journals in 80 countries. It’s also estimated to be read by about 200 million people today. (Source: Wag Walking) I look forward to getting another pint at the Grumpy Cat again soon!
Song On In The Background: If You Had My Love by Jennifer Lopez
Notes if you can’t read my sloppy scribble: The Bacaleitos (codfish fritters) are recommended on the food menu. Feeney’s Pub is named after John Feeney. “Old man Feeney” was the first of 3 different generations of Irish owners of the pub. “Furlongs was the original name, then it was Fords before Feeney’s.” Pool table in the back. Yankees bar. 2 Gingers Irish Whiskey sign behind the bar with a Puerto Rican flag hanging up on the wall. Popeye has just entered the bar. Margie is Puerto Rican and we had a nice chat about the Yankees. She was a fan that Bernie Williams was my favorite player. Dominos will be played here every Sunday courtesy of Margie.
Feeney’s Pub is a local neighborhood pub on 5th Avenue in Bay Ridge, NY. It’s an old-school joint that has seen a ton of good times! When you’re not ordering a Pint of Guinness at Feeney’s makes sure to check out their frozen margaritas this summer. Their small pub grub menu will feed your late-night munchies. I got to witness Margie and the bartender play dominos at the bar, very nice people having some fun. I look forward to grabbing another pint at Feeney’s Pub again soon!