In an effort to prove that Concord does have a nightlife, we decided to venture into the mean streets of the city and find out what really goes down after 5 p.m.
Come to find out, there are several things to do in Concord, you just need to know where to look and also be willing to try something a little different. Who says a nightlife needs to involve alcohol, bad decisions and a lot of money?
The place I decided to go to for the first “After Hours” article only involved two out of the three items mentioned above: alcohol and bad decisions. Don’t worry, both are optional.
Katie and I visited the Barley House a few weeks back for the restaurant’s pub trivia night, which is held every Wednesday at 8 p.m. (unless otherwise noted.) We brought our significant others to increase our chances at winning. Katie and I could have been a team, as team sizes can range from one to six people, but we realized the only categories we knew were pop culture and English literature. We had a hunch that every question wouldn’t center around Justin Timberlake.
We got there early to get a bite to eat. I had an absolutely delicious smoked bourbon chili cheeseburger. Everyone else at the table also seemed pleased with their food and drinks (they even had Katie’s favorite . . . Diet Coke!) So, we were well-fed and relaxed by the time the pub trivia started.
Things started off well, and for some odd reason, a nice young gentleman who I can only assume works at the Barley House came around during round one and handed out Budweiser keepsake steins to a few select tables. We were one of those tables, which means a lucky friend of mine will receive the stein as a regift.
Here’s how pub trivia works: There are four rounds and a halftime in between (plan to be there from 8-10 p.m.) Your team is handed little pieces of paper for you to write your answer on. The paper has a certain number of points on it, ranging from one to six. Basically, you need to be wise about how you use your points. For example, you want to use your six-point card when you’re positive of the answer and save your one-point card for when you’re not quite as sure.
Rounds one and two were a piece of cake, thanks to the fact that Katie’s fiancé is a human encyclopedia. During halftime, things got a bit more tricky. A sheet of paper was handed out to each table with presidents’ and first ladies’ Secret Service nicknames on it, and we were left to figure out who belonged to what nickname. We were able to identify a few (and by “we,” I mean everyone except myself. I just sat there and ate pretzels.) Katie was most proud of herself to be able to identify “Tumbleweed” as none other but Mr. George W. Bush.
When halftime was over, the sheets were collected. I was relieved to discover we weren’t the only ones who had some difficulty. Actually, the D.J. went so far as to mock all participating in pub trivia by sarcastically saying, “You guys did a great job on that!”
Still hopeful, we were ready for round three. The emcee, Deb, returned from eating a tasty-looking dinner (I walked past her on my way to the bathroom) and was ready for some more emceeing. The sarcastic D.J. appeared ready for more D.J-ing (music is played in between questions.) And Team Insider was ready for round three.
In the first two rounds, as aforementioned, we did fairly well. Not to toot my own horn (really, none of the success had anything to do with me as the only answer I was positive of in the first two rounds was that Paula Abdul was once a Lakers girl), but I felt we had a pretty decent shot at winning.
Then the questions in round three started, and all hope was lost.
The one I got most angry about was something along the lines of, “There are two nonmetals on the periodic table that end in ‘-ium’ – a suffix typically used for metals. Name one of the two.”
“Oh! Sodium,” I enthusiastically whispered across the table.
My team, knowing I only spoke up when I was certain of the answer or wanted someone to pass me the pretzels, went with “sodium.”
I was wrong.
It was also in this round that we were asked what orchestral instrument has the highest pitch.
My boyfriend, Rob, who is a musician, was 90 percent positive it was the oboe. Well, if not the oboe, then the piccolo. But, he was pretty sure it was the oboe, so we went with that.
It was the piccolo.
It was also at this point that Katie, being a good wife-to-be, offered to switch spots with Ed. Ed, sitting on the end, was stuck going up and delivering our answers.
“Are you sick of getting up?” she sweetly asked, while patting his hand.
“No. I’m sick of losing,” Ed responded bitterly.
Our final score for the evening was 86 points. The winning team, aptly named “Cranium,” won with 114 points. We left that night not as complete losers, though. We had a Budweiser stein, and I also got to hear “Burning down the House,” by The Talking Heads. I feel I should also mention once again how much I really enjoyed my burger.
Despite the fact that I hate losing, I would go back. I had fun and learned quite a bit. For example, did you know that Martin Scorcese directed Michael Jackson’s music video,“Bad”? Me neither, but I certainly do now after I wrongly guessed Spike Lee.
Sorry, Ed.
