A few weeks ago my girlfriends and I decided to go to Detroit to see one of our favorite bands play, The Used. The Used concerts are cursing, punk rock, scream at the top of your lungs, crowd surfing and mosh pitting until you cannot mosh anymore type of concerts. So, in that case we decided to make a night of it in the city. Iffy about what to expect in a Detroit hotel, we decided to book a room at the Atheneum Suite Hotel on Brush Street right across from the Greektown Casino parking garage. As soon as we pulled up to the hotel, we thought
fancy.
The excitement only heightened when we entered the actual building. Gleaming ahead of us were a pair of paintings portraying Gods of some sort, but whatever they were, they added an ambiance of royalty or a sort of classiness, if you will. Yes, we felt classy.
We picked up our room keys then headed up to the 3 floor, which was surrounded by plant after plant with a balcony overlooking each floor below us. We pulled out the key, inserted it a few times until the red light turned green and beeped. As soon as we entered, we saw a sort of living room space, with 3 couches, a coffee table and flat screen TV.
A hotel room with a living room? We didn't reach the height of our excitement until we saw the flight of stairs that led down to the bedroom which also wore a flat screen TV.
As you can see, we were pretty excited about it. Before we could enjoy any of the amenities, we had to fulfill the duty of every female and get ready for the concert. We decided to play the theme of the concert, bandanas, converse, spiked boots, ya know the works. Our first stop was the Old Shillelagh which was right down the street from the hotel. The Old Shillelagh is the oldest Irish pub in Detroit and definitely the most popular. It was opened in 1975 by John Brady, who was a retired Cop born and raised in Dublin, Ireland. For this and many other reasons it became a hot spot in Detroit with its classic Irish feel and 20 beers on tap. This is known as the place to be on St. Patty's Day if you want to green elbow to green elbow with Irish and Non-Irish drinkers screaming with pride and obnoxious cheer. I decided an authentic Irish beer was the perfect beer to have in such an authentic Irish Pub, so I chose a Harp.
We ate, drank and enjoyed the company of the friendly staff until it was time to finally leave for the concert. The concert was at the Fillmore.
Oh, the Fillmore and the many memories I've had with you. The Fillmore is right smack dab in the middle of it all. Across from Comerica Park and right next to the Fox. Such a small place, but such a good one. Nothing like The Palace or The Joe or DTE and its just the way I like it. Small and graced with the presence of many, many bands that are talented, yet underrated. Many bands who have traveled around the world to satisfy and entertain their true die hard fans. Bands who encourage the crowd to partake in the music rather than just watch. The Fillmore is one of my favorite venues and I will cherish every memory I've created there.
