Mike's Ten Pin Lounge is similar to many watering holes found around out river city, pool and cold beer on tap daily. It's the music that makes the place come alive, especially on Wednesdays and Fridays when the virtuosity of the Mondinband make the average pub a paradise. John Mondin on lead guitar, Paul Graves on bass, John Coatney on drums and Bob Werner on keyboards make up the group. These guys are like listening to Steely Dan, the Alman Brothers or Frank Zappa without even having to pay a cover charge. Don't worry about work boots and old jeans because there's not going to be a hulk at the door telling you to go get nice clothes on to enter. On some nights there's a lot of dancing and on others people just sit back and get mesmerized by John and the boys as they kick ass on every number they play. John is a guitar god that makes anything he picks up sing praises to rock history and each member of the band is a seasoned pro. There's nothing like live music, where real strengths and weaknesses can not hide, where no stops to redos or re-recordings are possible to make a band sound great. In the case of the Mondinband, it's amazing how they seem to read each other's minds, go into trans-like melodies and always hit the right note. Thanks to Mike for making a place where you can buy a beer for a few bucks and feel like a million bucks. The blues live there and it's always worth the drive from St. Louis if you are not an East Sider.
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