While Ol' Bessie the Barmaid may not have a problem with the "new and improved" Sunset, I sure do. For one thing, the last thing I wanna deal with when I step out for a drink is LIVE MUSIC. At least at a rock club you know that all conversation will come to a crashing halt as soon as the music starts, but even a small jazz combo or a solo performer with an acoustic guitar can be a conversation killer. You STILL have to shout over them, feeling rude for doing so all the while.

I also incorrectly assumed that I saw the last of any longhaired white guys wielding a folk guitar while singing plaintive self-penned love songs about relationships that have gone sour when the '70s ended, but now they're all over the place again! What sin did we commit to bring about the return of this pestilence? And who decided that this humorless whining counts as "entertainment"? Why can't they just sing some old Roger Miller tunes that the rest of us to sing along with? Now THAT would be entertaining!

The other bane of my bar-going existence is the sudden proliferation of POOL TABLES. Those goddamned space hogs barely FIT in most bars, and I often find myself ducking the butt end of a pool cue as it's being mishandled by some overly-tattooed "tough guy" or gal (who most likely has a Masters in 19th Century German Philosophy or some other useless degree). Why can't they just go to a POOL HALL instead? Isn't that what those places are FOR? It's like somebody getting a game of NINE PINS or bocce ball going and having the balls roll under your feet as you try to "relax" and converse with your friends.