The Return of Bookies & Welcome to the Belmont

Things sure are getting strange around here in Detroit.  Maybe I've been around too long, but everything seems to be going full circle again. In the late 1970s and early 1980s the best place in town was a tiny little rundown bar called Bookie's on Six Mile west of Woodward.  Bookie's needs no more critical acclaim from me - if you were there - you know what I mean.  (If you were never there - well, it was probably better that we even remember).  

Now there is a new place that has taken over this hallowed name.  Shouldn't great bar names be retired just like hockey numbers?  We''ll never have another #9 playing hockey for the Wings and we should never have another Grande or Bookie's either.  Nevertheless, the Detroit Film Center had a 10-year celebration scheduled at the new Bookie's with the Cyril Lords, Fondas & Waxwings playing, so it was time to pretend that the last 20 years never happened (a very appealing thought) & head down to Bookies.  This Bookies is in downtown, so at least they kept the "park wherever you can" philosophy alive.  This bar is much nicer than the original one & has the 1920s gangster motif.  The place was not set up for bands & doesn't really have a stage.  This small fact has never stopped a show & the I was perfectly satisfied with the sound & the steady stream of Labbat's that the bar staff was efficiently dispensing.  Welcome back, Bookies, but I'll still probably be calling this place Bookies II or something like that. 

The next piece of news to hit was the opening of another bar in Hamtramck.  I agree that this isn't a shock, but the "new Belmont" would actually have live music.  This almost replaces the closing of the irreplaceable Lili's in terms of places to see bands in Hamtramck, but I better not see anybody opening up a new Lili's in Royal Oak either!