Jeezum crow what was going on last night at the Belmont Inn? Was our wonderful (formerly) little pub quiz written up in some popular publication or website? Did the news of my smooth, sexy magic on the mic finally find its way to Hollywood?

Alas nobody can explain the mysterious ebb and flow of Pub Quiz crowds. All I know is at 6:20 last night I was stuck in traffic on the way to my Belmont Inn gig, cursing at being delayed on what is normally a fast drive. At the venue itself, parking was scarce and I had to squeeze in far away, lugging my huge, heavy PA system nearly two blocks (I’m feeling twinges in my arm this morning and am planning to file for workman’s comp.) Once inside the doors and set up (10 minutes late), a line formed for sign-up that winded back past the Video Poker machines. Executive Assistant Renee and I watched it form, mouths open. It was like that scene at the end of Field of Dreams when the “people start coming” to the baseball field, cars stretching endlessly down the road leading up to it. Only we didn’t have Ray Liotta, Burt Lancaster, and James Earl Jones on our team; it was just the two of us.

“Oh my god,” said Executive Assistant Renee.

“Me too,” said I.

A frenzy of signing up commenced. New teams, old teams, and everyone in between. Beanie Babies were counted, money was taken. At one point we actually ran out of forms, forcing EA Renee on a mad dash to the Zupan’s next door to make copies. Every black tarp-clad pool table in the house was teeming with people, to say nothing of the tables themselves. In some corners, quizzers were standing to get in on the game!

In the end, we had 112 people playing Pub Quiz. A total pot of $336 with $168 going to the first place team.

Wow

I was terrified and nervous at the start of this one, but Belmont Inn, you were a joy and a pleasure to host tonight. Even with the Belmont Inn staff’s delayed kitchen service (they were down a worker on what had to be one of their biggest nights ever, poor guys), people were in good spirits and we had lots of fun and laughs, and you were all very patient and kind as we worked diligently to get everything graded in a timely and accurate manner. Outside of one moment where everyone (very rightly) screamed the correct answer to my incorrect answer regarding the source of Adam Sandler’s famous line “you eat pieces of shit for breakfast?” (It’s Happy Gilmore, not Big Daddy, as I had), people were on their best behavior, and I thank you from the bottom of my heart. One sweet gal even brought me cookies to make up for what she deemed unruly behavior two weeks ago (she also brought cookies last week but substitute host Dave Walker got them instead. Curse you Walker!!!). The cookies, combined with all those squeezably soft Beenie Babies and everyone’s good cheer turned Pub Quiz Station 23-7X5 into a warm, cozy place of love and coziness.

Huzzah to a great (startlingly enormous) night!! And congrats to United States of Whatever for taking home the first-place prize and enough cash to pay for, like, two fill-ups at the gas station

-Justin