CULTURE
19
Virtual Happy Hour is Here For You Written by
DOYLE MURPHY
Y
ou’re not drinking alone in your basement/bathroom/ closet. You’re having a virtual happy hour. Until that “new normal” we keep hearing so much about kicks in, we’re all just looking for ways to slog through the daily chaos. Chris Denman, who hosts the St. Louis-based podcast We Are Live!, was kicking around ideas a couple of weeks ago with Matt Longueville of STL Barkeep for navigating the current whirlwind of health and economic disaster sweeping across the world. t first, on ue ille, whose business hires out bartenders for parties and events, was going to come on Denman’s show to mix a few cocktails. But that idea quickly led to them roughing out plans for Virtual Happy Hour, basically an online variety show that takes place at 4 p.m. every Thursday.
Along with the “Quarantine Cocktails” demonstrations, the show has featured national comedians and musicians, including former Houdmouth keyboardist Katie Toupin and comedians Iann Bagg, who has been a regular on Jimmy Kimmel’s Comedy Club show, and Jessimae Peluso, whose many stops included MTV’s Girl Code. St. Louisan Pat Gioia is on every show to help with the drinks. “It’s combining the stuff that I love doing with, ‘Hey, maybe there are some people looking for entertainment during some super strange times,’” Denman says. About 10,000 people tuned in for the first three shows. ast
Host Chris Denman and comedian Mia Jackson share an online cheers during Virtual Happy Hour. | WE ARE LIVE! week’s broadcast included guest comedian Mia Jackson. Musician Daniel Womack, lead singer of the Georgia-based rock band Futurebirds, made a brief, but silent appearance, due to some technical difficulties such is the nature of roducin a new show on the fly. (He later followed up with an ap-
Two-Man Band Serenading We’re Searching Alcohol South St. Louis Online During Pandemic Written by
Written by
JAIME LEES
JAIME LEES
W
The small but mighty marching band in action. | SCREENGRAB VIA TWITTER/@Nate_Tice
pearance on We Are Live!.) Master Blender David Whitmer and Andy Mansinne of MGP dropped in, virtually, to teach viewers about rye. You can tune in, drink or no drink, at 4 p.m. through the We Are Live! Facebook page. Past shows are archived there as well, because it’s 11 a.m. somewhere. n
ell this should bring a little sunshine to your day. It also might make you cry, but they will be happy tears. A two-man brass band has been marching through the Tower Grove South neighborhood, thrilling residents with their heartwarming version of Ben E. King’s classic “Stand By Me.” The two men, roommates Dominique Burton and Benjamin Kosberg, played tuba and trumpet as neighbors stepped out on their porches and lawns to wave — and film the surprise performance. One video uploaded by Twitter user @ Nate_Tice had been viewed 2.5 million times by Monday. It shows Burton and Kosberg marching down the middle of Connecticut Street. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch later spoke with the pair of musicians. “I was getting stir-crazy at home, so I said let’s just go play,” Kosberg tells the daily. “That was all we really planned.” Planned or not, we’re fans. Thank you for bringing this blast of hope to all of us. n
riverfronttimes.com
W
e knew that people in Missouri loved their alcohol, but we didn’t know until recently that they loved to tweet about it, too. According to a report from LawnStarter. com, a full 15.5 percent of tweets from Missourians since the start of the pandemic here have been about alcohol. And not the cleaning kind, the drinking kind. While people from other states are tweeting their very important political opinions, we’re over here tweeting about things like “Is the liquor store still open?” and “Dang, dogs and beers are cool.” But we’re only twelfth on the list for states that mention alcohol the most during this crisis. Maine is at the top of the list with 20.33 percent. Y’all must be really bored up there. If you’re in Missouri and you need another reason to tip back a Quarantini, check out this virtual happy hour and sip on, friends. Sip on. n
APRIL 8-14, 2020
RIVERFRONT TIMES
19
