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Scenes from last night’s “Tropical Sons” gig at Bayou Bistro

Joey deVilla with his gray accordion in a cowboy hat, aloha shirt, and sunglasses. The photo is taken from a lower angle and shows a mostly clear blue sky and palm trees in the background.
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Bayou Bistro logo

Last night, I joined Tom Hood and the Tropical Sons at Bayou Bistro, a little bar and restaurant located right on the bayou just east of the Greek “village” in Tarpon Springs.

Joey deVilla and accordion in the foreground, with Tom Hood and the Tropical Sons behind him, playing their instruments. In the background are a dock, fishing boats, and Tarpon Bayou.
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Wednesday is “open mic night” at Bayou Bistro, where anyone can hop onstage and play for the patrons. Since there’s no guarantee that anyone will bring an instrument, most open mic nights feature a “house band,” which in Bayou Bistro’s case is the Tropical Sons.

While Bayou Bistro is a short drive away for most of the other band members, it’s a fifty- to eighty-minute drive for Yours Truly, depending on the traffic. I can’t do it every Wednesday, but I try to play when I can.

Bayou Bistro. It’s an open-air covered wooden patio with a bar in the center. Just about every seat is filled.
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Bayou Bistro is a charming down-home bar. If you drive past it, you might not even realize that it’s a bar — it’s hidden away by the water, and you could easily mistake it for a fishing shack. But it is indeed a bar, with friendly staff, and sandwiches that don’t disappoint (I’m fond of their mahi mahi, shrimp, and banh mi sandwiches).

Bayou Bistro. It’s an open-air covered wooden patio with a bar in the center. Just about every seat is filled.
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As you might expect, a band called the “Tropical Sons” has a sort of uniform, and in our case, it’s aloha shirt and shorts with optional hat. For last night’s gig, I went with my “Disney Polynesian” shirt, which is one of my favorites. It’s a gift from my friends Natalie and Eldon, who somehow found it at a market in Ottawa:

Joey deVilla in a cowboy hat and aloha short. In the background is a fishing shed and the dock behind Bayou Bistro.
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We played from about 5:15 until 8:30, with a break to get a bite in the middle. Here’s what my view looked like at the start of the gig…

The band “Tom Hood and the Tropical Sons,” as seen from Joey’s vantage point upstage. Pictured from left to right are Richie playing bass, Jay on acoustic guitar, Tom Hood on ukulele, and Dave on electric guitar. In the background are a dock, fishing boats, and Tarpon Bayou.
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…and here’s what the audience saw:

The band “Tom Hood and the Tropical Sons,” as seen from the audience. In the background is Bayou Bistro’s parking lot, palm trees, and a little bit of Tarpon Bayou.
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This is the “accordion’s eye view:”

The band “Tom Hood and the Tropical Sons,” as seen from Joey’s vantage point upstage, with Joey’s accordion in the foreground. Pictured from left to right are Richie playing bass, Jay on acoustic guitar, Tom Hood on ukulele, and Dave on electric guitar. In the background are a dock, fishing boats, and Tarpon Bayou.
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When we took our break, Mary took the stage:

Mary plays her brand new ukulele solo. In the background is the fishing shed, a boat, and Tarpon Bayou.
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She attended the gig to catch our act and collect the ukulele she won at the raffle for Tampa Bay Ukulele Day, which took place last Sunday in Dunedin.

She played a number of amusing songs, including one called Pink Flamingos, the unofficial symbol of Cheektowaga and other towns in the Buffalo area. As a long-time resident of Toronto, I got the reference.

Joey deVilla and accordion in the foreground, with Tom Hood and the Tropical Sons behind him, playing their instruments. In the background are a sunset, a dock, fishing boats, and Tarpon Bayou.
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A short while after, we started our second set, also known as the “Sunset Set.”

The band “Tom Hood and the Tropical Sons,” as seen from Joey’s vantage point upstage. Pictured from left to right are Richie playing bass, Jay on acoustic guitar, Tom Hood on ukulele, and Dave on electric guitar. In the background are a sunset, a dock, fishing boats, and Tarpon Bayou.
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And we played on into the night, wrapping up around 8:30 (Bayou Bistro closes at 9).

Once again, a fun gig! I’m going to be busy for the next couple of weeks, so it may be a little while before I get a chance to play at Bayou Bistro again.

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