Dinner, Friends and MUSIC!

We have made many new friends here including Ricardo and Roger who own and run Paladar's Restaurante here in Cuenca. We'd only been there once but enjoyed it so much we wanted to do it again.

When we saw an announcement about Bobcat Jack performing at Paladar's on January 16th and we immediately sent in our reservations. We found a couple of good friends who were interested as well and they joined us.

Well, did we ever get more than we bargained for! The food was wonderful - this was the menu for the 3-course meal.

Starter: Thai Crunch Salad with Peanut Dressing

Main Course: Pork Tenderloin medallions topped with pear chutney served with cheesy smashed potatoes and seasoned roasted vegetable medley

Dessert: Carrot-pineapple cake with cream cheese frosting

Yes, it was as delicious as it sounds! Because the house was overbooked (sellout+), the time between courses was a little slow but the conversation at our table more than made up for that.

We meandered downstairs to the garden area for the show. We thought we were just seeing Bobcat Jack but oh no, we had TWO performers. The second was Geoffrey Castle. They opened with a great Southern Rock number that had feet tapping and heads bobbing and the show never slowed down.

We enjoyed hearing the blues from both performers but were blown away by the music Geoffrey was playing on his electric violin, a 6 string violin! What an unbelievable talent, no matter the music genre. We chatted with him during the break and really enjoyed the talk. Oh, and I've already bought four albums online!

Here's what the Seattle Post-Intelligencer has to say about"Mist on the Mountain":

On his solo album, the Seattle violinist offers an eleven-track collection of stunning originals showcasing his pioneering talent on six-string electric violin. Tapping ancient Celtic melodies and modern pop, rock, and jazz, Castle has created a pure, uncluttered masterpiece. Among the gems is the ethereal "Underhill's Waltz," and a remarkable version of Miles Davis' "All Blues."

—Gene Stout, Seattle P-I

From his website: "Geoffrey Castle combines old school R&B, funk, jazz, blues, and gospel with traditional Celtic melodies. These seven songs feature performances by Alan White (drummer for John Lennon, Yes), Ben Smith (drummer for Heart), Garey Shelton (Grammy-winning bass player) and Eric Robert (the keyboardist featured on Underhill's Angel)."

All in all, a wonderful evening that we hope to repeat soon. And we hope you will take time to listen to some of the tracks on Geoffrey's albums. Some are very different from others but all display his amazing talent. Check out music samples, then get a copy for yourself (and maybe a few for some friends!) as digital downloads or on CD!

PS. You can see all the photos in our SmugMug album.