Charles Bradley and the Menahan Street Band are playing the Wild Buffalo in downtown Bellingham tomorrow (Friday, December 7) and it’s the closest they’ll be coming to Vancouver on this tour.
If you’ve never heard of Charles Bradley before or seen him perform, watch a few seconds of this video of him performing for KEXP in Seattle during Bumbershoot last year (I’m in the audience here!), and you’ll see why his performance cannot be missed.
Think about it.
Charles Bradley + small intimate venue + 1 hour drive from Vancouver
This will be good. It’s too bad it’s 100% sold out (says Wild Buffalo), but if you can somehow get your hands on some tickets, it will make for a grand Friday night.
Even if you can’t get tickets, I know from experience that Downtown Bellingham is a fun rock & roll getaway from Vancouver. Leave after work and drive to the border; you’ll likely zoom through the border in 20 minutes – it’s rarely busy heading southbound late afternoon. Once across the border you’ll be in downtown Bellingham 15 minutes later, it couldn’t be easier
My advice for spending a night in Bellingham?
Check into the Coachman Inn Motel for a cheap but cheerful accommodation. Head downtown and browse through Avalon Music and Everyday Music, two old school record stores which kitty corner from one another! Seriously!
Thirsty? Drink a Belgian/craft beer and chow down on pulled pork at The Copper Pig, a quality dependable pub, and then grab some Irish Whiskey at Uisce, an authentic (think Irish Heather) Irish pub, and participate in their Trivia Tuesday if you’re there on that day. Once you’re properly buzzed, head to the Wild Buffalo where you and a handful of others will have one of the best music experiences you’ll ever have in your life.
