Love & a 45 @ Rio Rita Tonight

We'll never forget the summer we discovered our parents' abandoned .45 collection in the garage. In between shiny black discs featuring songs we'd been raised on (probably Beach Boys, Marvin Gaye, Chicago), we discovered some gems that were totally new to us. Our first introductions to Nilsson, Harrison's solo stuff, Tim Hardin and Steve Young all happened that summer in the garage, and many a mixtapes for boyfriends of the future were forced to deal with our romantic nostalgia because of it.

For that reason (and whatever reason you have for continuing to keep your vinyl obsession raging) it's absolutely imperative to head to Rio Rita on Monday nights for their weekly Love and a .45 get together. Bring a handful of your favorite .45s (we assume they'll also accept the 7", just don't bring in the Gravity or Ebullition catalog), sign up and spin three tunes to your eager audience. Everyone's a DJ, and everyone gets to thrust their dense and persistent memories on the helpless crowd: how could anything go wrong? Side note: this sounds like a wonderful way to propose to your girlfriend, if you can manage to get your hands on a .45 of Fleetwood Mac's "Save Me a Place."

Rio Rita has a handful of awesome weekly events they'd love for you to attend. Tuesday's at 8 pm are always set aside for Old Timey Music Circle and Thursday's at 7 pm are for Arts & Drafts, where you're invited to bring whatever piece of art you're currently working on. They serve pizza, light fare and alcohol (we can attest to the strength of their Bloody Mary), and they're located at 1308 E 6th St, just look for the old 7 Up sign and pull over. The video featured above is for M83's "Sister (Part 2)", which was filmed inside this lovely little coffee / wine / booze lounge. Do go check it out if you haven't already.