Sticks of Fire: a Tampa blog

A recent weekend in Orlando reminded me of the vivid difference between my hometown of Tampa and the tourist capitol of Florida that is just 75 miles away.

After the sun went down and the theme parks were all closed, we headed out to downtown Orlando for some fun. It was a good time, although the Orlando group tends to be more mainstream than what you see in Tampa. Fewer tattoos and piercings were visible on this crowd, and they seemed to be a bit older than a random selection of Ybor denizens. Of course, it IS Orlando, so a lot of the people are tourists who will avoid trouble in an unfamiliar place.

Thinking that maybe it was just my limited view, when I got home I googled as much as I could on downtown Orlando and the crime there and found very little. Try putting “Ybor” and “arrest” in a Google search and see the phone book that you get back. The most striking difference is that in the whole night I saw no fights. I didn’t even see anybody tense with that “I’m going to f-up the next person that bumps me” look in their eyes. Everybody, it seemed, was there to relax and check out the scene.

So I have to conclude that there IS a difference between the two cities’ party districts. Why is one constantly the source of pain and contention while the other appears to function more smoothly?

If you are familiar with Orlando and can offer additional information, please comment below. But here are a few that I have observed:

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Desperately in need of a road trip but short on time and money I Pricelined a room in Orlando this past weekend. My girlfriend was surprised at how fast we got to Orlando since she hadn’t been there in years. It is tough to remember now, but the vast majority of construction on Interstate 4 (aka I-4) is completed and a trip that used to take as long as two hours now takes an hour or so (depending on the weight of your foot, of course).

Our first stop was to Friendly’s. I always eat at Friendly’s diner when I go to Orlando. In my opinion the Coffee milkshake is reason enough for the drive. Afterwards we cruised International Drive (aka I-Drive) checking out the $1.99 stores, the “outlet” stores, and the jaywalking Brit tourists that seem to glow white in the Florida sun.

That evening we planned to check out the night life. Even at 10pm, I-Drive is packed. Not wanting to deal with traffic between there and downtown, I called for a cab. Through the dispatch radio, we learned how the downtown crowd is too young for cabbies to make good money. Immediately I envisioned Ybor City style swirling fistfights and teens running from the police. It turns out the crowd was not nearly as I had imagined. Most people were a little on the young side, which suited us fine.

We spent most of the night at the Independant Bar (aka I-Bar). On Saturday we got a fun but somewhat played out selection of 80’s videos in the main room, and older Industrial in the tiny downstairs
“Pit.” You should know that the clubs close at 2AM in Orlando. I know that is early, but just get started sooner and you won’t even notice. The drinks at I-Bar aren’t cheap, but we found a little pub across the street with dark wood, cheap drinks and rugby on the flat screens - nothing wrong with that!

As the night wound down, Orlando Police block Orange avenue and shuttle cars out towards the ‘burbs. So we walked across the temporary pedestrian mall and grabbed a hot dog for a very reasonable two dollars before hailing a cab back to the hotel.

Back on I-Drive, we found a lot still going on. Many places remained open, so we walked over to Perkins for more food. Yes, more food! I am on vacation, people. And calories don’t count dammit!

Overall, Orlando is a nice change of pace from Ybor city. There is no violent tension in the air, just a bunch of locals out for fun along with tourists happy not to be working tomorrow.

Orlando provides a nice change of pace from Tampa Bay. Take the short drive to head over there and see for yourself. Shop at the outlets and eat at the only McDonald’s I know of that serves panini (whatever that is). Take in a Mystery Dinner Theater show and drive go-karts on a wooden track that soars over the street. If you go, you may want to even stop at Friendly’s and try the coffee milkshake.

One last thing: Try to be patient with your fellow drivers. Remember, nobody is really from Orlando, they are just visiting.

Late last month I noticed that somebody had dumped a mattress by the side of the road near my house south of Gandy. This was not a free bit of furniture like you see sometimes; free stuff left at the curb for anybody to take away. This mattress had seen a rough life from the looks of it; having been cut up and I suspect burned at one point. Also it had been dumped in about 3 feet of scummy water in the ditch next to the road which did it no good at all.

After a few days, I remembered that it was still there and figured nobody had called the city about it. I have had some experience with reporting things via the TampaGov website so I hopped online and sent them a message about it. I expected a form email response but what I got was a little surprising.

Within four hours I got a phone call from city employee Amanda. She told me that the mattress was too big and too far into the ditch for the first people they sent out to pick up, so they were sending out another department that could move the mattress to a location where it could be recovered. It took another couple days for them to remove it because of the Memorial Day weekend, but I was still impressed with the speed and thoroughness of the follow up.

They emailed me with a link to follow the course of my complaint as it went from department to department as well.

If you see accumulated junk, or code violations, or streetlights that need repair or in fact just about anything that you feel the city and your tax dollars, should fix or clean or stop, then head on over to the City of Tampa’s Customer Service Center and let them know about it.

Say hello to Amanda for me too.

I recently rediscovered the Courtney Campbell Causeway. You rarely hear about this bridge’s beauty these days. Normally the only mention that you hear of it is when there is a fatal crash or a well known figure is arrested there. The causeway is the northernmost bridge over Old Tampa Bay linking Pinellas and Hillsborough counties and is typical of the Floridian idea of a bridge.

Actually composed of several small islands linked by bridges, the causeway is a beautiful stretch of road for a driver. I prefer to go at night when the temperature is more reasonable and the traffic lighter. You can blast along at high speed with the windows down like Crockett and Tubbs in Miami Vice, palm trees zipping by and the night air thick in your hair. Or you can lope along at a comfortable pace enjoying the beauty of the last rays of the western sun hitting the tops of the palms trees and the hotels while down below the cars and restaurants have long since turned on their lights. You can pull off at several points where an access road and parking areas are open all night.

Fishermen launch boats off of the Causeway. Kids come out there to race and show off their modified cars. It’s a popular place to watch or set off fireworks. Couples come out do, uh, couple things. Other people come for the solitude and, I suspect, there are more than a few clandestine meetings here.

North of the causeway is a tangle of mangroves and salty marsh that hide troves of fish. South is the bay, laid out in dark blue splendor reflecting the city lights. Past the water you see the amber necklace of the Howard Frankland Bridge which is a few miles south of the causeway and far more heavily traveled. At either end of that necklace are clusters of city lights from offices, hotels, skyscrapers, malls. The other bridges, the simple two lane Gandy and the massive soaring Sunshine Skyway, are invisible at this elevation.

So the next night you have nothing to do and are thinking of going to Ybor or find a movie that you don’t really want to see anyway remember that there are a lot of fun places to go in Tampa Bay. Take a drive out to the causeway, bring a cooler and a couple of chairs and watch the sunset with somebody you care about because having fun does not always mean you have to pay a parking fee and a cover charge.

I dropped in at the Pegasus Saturday night for the second annual Derby Darlin’s Benefit to help the league out at the start of their second season. I knew I had come on the right night when I saw the girls rolling around the parking lot as I drove up.

If you dig tall women you really should have been there. Oddly though this was the most “normal” crowd I have seen at a show at this place. The heavily tattooed regulars had been drawn off by the lack of punk or metal bands and a house party at the Tampa Punk House. What was left were the girls in the rockabilly outfits with their outlandish bloodthirsty names stitched on the back (Mercenari Mari!) and the men that carry their purses.

I shouldn’t joke, I’ve been there guys.

The bands were tight and fun. Griz started the night with their tight rock/reggae sound. Johnny Cakes came on next and I am not sure how but they fit about twelve people on the smallish stage. Most bands that play the Pegasus don’t do so with a horn section and big steel drum. The bold sound and hilarious lyrics like “I don’t care if you are fat, homely, or smell bad - you look good to me” (or something like that) kept me smiling. Although by the end of it all, the girls were mostly gone and the crowd was thinning out. Most of the folks, including all but a couple of the girls and myself left after Johnny Cakes. Rumor says the Darlin’s considered the night a success, although not quite on the scale of last year.

Just a reminder, the season opener of the Darlin’s is April 29th at United Skates of America on Armenia. I will certainly be a blast; and if you haven’t yet been to a match, it is a unique experience. Also, like I said, tall girls. Fighting.

So last year Tommy sends me an email saying something along the lines of, “Hey man didn’t you tell me your aunt worked with those Derby Darlin’ chicks selling t-shirts or something?”

To which I replied, “I think so but why?”

Tommy, “I want to get a post on it but I can’t get to the match can you write it up?”

Me, “Sure thing send me what you have.”

Did you ever read my post on the Darlin’s last season? Of course not! I am about as reliable as a bowel movement after 7-Eleven sushi. This season will be different.

This Saturday is the second annual Derby Darlin’ benefit show at the Pegasus Lounge at Linebaugh and 30th street in Tampa. Cheap cover, good music (Griz!) and drunk tattooed chicks on skates falling down.

Of course Sticks of Fire will be out in force with at least one photographer and a couple of us “writers”. If you don’t know anything about the Pegasus you can check out my post on it here. Usually pitchers are cheaper than buying bottles and the clean bathroom is the one hidden near the sound board. If Kate goes I promise to make amends for my “I want to be younger than somebody there this time.” comment with a couple of pitchers of cheap beer, what girl can resist that offer?

Check out the Darlin’s site here and get more information on Pegasus at their myspace page.

A while back, a nice young couple I met at a wedding told me they worked at a place called the Pegasus lounge. They seemed nice enough, but for some reason I thought the place was a strip club. Maybe it is the phallic nature of the word Pegasus. Then I kept hearing about the great shows the place had and thought, “gee it is odd that a strip club has a lot of concerts.” Then I realized that I was just a nitwit and the Pegasus was a bar with a great attitude towards hosting local bands and I should make it there to check the place out.

Wednesday night found me with nothing to do and a commitment I had made here on Sticks that I had done nothing to fulfill so I headed north on 30th street in Tampa to check out the little bar across from Busch Gardens. Located just north of Busch Blvd and south of Linebaugh, the Pegasus occupies part of a small strip mall that I knew primarily for the story my father told me about the owner of the convenience store at the end of the strip shooting a shoplifting child.

The area has gotten somewhat better since then.

The Pegasus website indicates they have been open since 2001 and it has the relaxed, easy feel of a neighborhood bar. The patrons were almost exclusively college age, and the bouncer - Norm - advised me that the majority of their customers are from the nearby University. It is a laid back crowd, with draft beer and pitchers being the drink of choice. You aren’t going to get many surprises - there is the bar, two poor tables, a jukebox, two crappy small bathrooms and a decent seating area in front of the stage. For you heavy drinkers they do have a package license and the liquor store stays open until 3am, when the bar closes. Draft beer selections include Killians and the usual suspects from the good folks of the Anheuser Busch corporation.

Although they seem to host as many nights of live music as they can, they fill out the week with karaoke. Except on Wednesdays, when they change things up and host pornaoke.

Yes, pornaoke. Naked folks bumping… well… just about everything. Hey, it is no cover and I am broke these days so I’m not going to be picky.

I guess the theory is, if you won’t laugh at the the five guys’ warbling rendition of Tenacious D’s “F*ck Her Gently” you can laugh at the nekkid folks projected in fuzzy red tinted quality on the screen behind them.

It gave me a whole new perspective on Elton John’s “Rocket Man”.

For a friendly atmosphere with a younger crowd the Pegasus is a great choice. If you go, say hello to Norm who works the door and hit the tip jar for him. Play some pool, and if you drink enough beer you might just get the courage to let loose with a little Heart or Black Sabbath. Don’t worry, all those people are laughing at the bouncing bodies behind you. At least you hope so.

So I slid out to Ybor Saturday night after the majority of Gasparilla party people had faded back to wherever they come from .

Had to stop in at Blue Shark to pick up some scratch this dude owed me so I ditched the Accord at the Hacienda and skipped through the puddles.

I walked out of Centro, where E and J and Ron had gone to see Smokin’ Aces, and hit the strip with them heading west. This joint was across the street from the still abandoned Masquerade I’d heard.

Walked in as the set started and a certain man named Duncan and the Johnny G Lyon Band started their set. By the way, I have seen Tommy Duncan in a pirate hat and dreadlocks and you haven’t.

Cool, I thought, I’ll just wait until the break. Little did I know these cats don’t take breaks like mortals.

Lucky me they do have a couple of long instrumentals so the singer jumped off stage to hit me up and I could buy that soda I wanted so bad.

Then I had to stop in at a couple of places to talk to a couple of people about work and women and why sugar free Red Bull is far better than the other stuff, although we are pretty sure it gives you cancer.

I also bummed a cigarette from a pretty girl with tattoos all over her arms and chest but as long as I don’t buy it I am not a smoker I figure. I am pretty sure that will give me cancer too.

I know you can go out one night without an agenda other than meeting new people. Don’t let life pass you by and don’t get caught up in being too negative.

I thought those t-shirts my friends wore in junior high were funny but they appear to be legally inaccurate. In a stunning act of poor judgement (in my own pathetic opinion) a Tampa police officer arrested this guy for skateboarding on Channelside.

When I saw the story I thought surely the arrest was for something else and he just happened to be skateboarding when caught.  Nope.  The charge reads “Unlawful Rollerskating.”

Sunday morning, Kowzun said the judge and lawyers laughed when his charge was announced.

Apparently this isn’t the first time skaters were arrested in Tampa.

I arrested 2 skateboarders a couple years ago who 1) damaged a marble staircase to the tune of $400 and 2) refused to leave when asked. Also seized their boards AND their video camera as evidence. It’s not funny when your business is out the repair money or sued when mom and dad look at the tape of Jr. breaking his arm and say “Why didn’t somebody stop my son from breaking the law and his arm??”

OK.  Although it doesn’t appear this guy damaged anything and he apparently followed instructions to leave the area, albeit on his board. Also, and I know I am going to regret saying this, isn’t 25 a bit old to still be a skater?