As soon as the primaries were over and I realized Barack Obama would most likely become the next president, I began making inquiries about tickets to the official balls and events. Apparently, however, I am not connected enough to pull those kinds of strings. I didn’t intern or clerk at any government office, I don’t have a roomie who went to elementary school with the Nigerian ambassador’s nephew and I was not a Super Ultra Sparkly Platinum Space Cowboy level campaign donor…although I did check the box on my taxes to donate a dollar to my political party…(in this case, I’m assuming that went to the Mountain Party)...doesn’t that count for something?

In any event, I obviously was not going to be eating tiger prawns in a ball gown at the Convention Center…which put me in the same position as about 99.99% of America. So, did the rest of us just stay home? Watch CNN in our pajamas and dream Cinderella dreams? Fortunately, every club and show space anywhere near the Metro DC area had something going on, from DC-based bands to $2000 a ticket unofficial balls. And, while I do not have Jay Rockefeller on speed dial, I do have unrestricted access to the Yellow Pages, so Inauguration Eve found Ryan and myself criss-crossing town to partake of Baracktails, art and DC-style dub/reggae with scores of other young Americans.

After a hard day’s work of telecommuting for Ryan and reading Chinese, Old English and political textbooks for Erin…

...we started the night at the ManifestHope:DC exhibit.

We did not get ANY good shots inside the gallery itself…too many people and a weird blend of natural and artificial light when we were there…so, instead, check out this Flickr photostream posted by Hyperakt, a Brooklyn based design group that had several pieces in the show…

Hyperakt’s Flickr Stream – ManifestHope:DC...

The art was amazing – it’s one of the best contemporary shows I’ve seen lately.

Next, it was time for Baracktails. (Barack -Obama- + -Inauguration Inspired Cock-tails = Baracktails.)

The Washington Post’s Going Out Gurus had this to say about Urbana’s Barack’s Fizz – “If you try one inaugural cocktail this week, make it this one.” Perfect wording to appeal to the young and lazy, so we relied on their advice and description of “a sparkling-wine cocktail accented with Courvoiser, Grand Marnier, Maraschino liqueur, orange juice and strawberry slices”...basically, a strawberry Mimosa...to entice us to Urbana.

Dinner was pretty excellent. In the name of gluttony and the widest selection possible, we shared a variety of dishes: cheese selection (Humboldt Fog, Piedmont and Serenita) with quince paste and awesome fresh bread; steamed mussels with chorizo and roasted peppers in cream sauce; french onion soup with a puff pastry crust and Gruyere; brown butter gnocchi with a watercress and chantarelle mushroom sauce; and finally wild striped bass with sofrito, salsify and pearl onions. As if this wasn’t enough, there was gelato and amaretto biscotti for dessert. We were barely able to hobble to the Metro afterwards.

I don’t know how many people came to Irie Inauguration at The Space, but we were very glad to have purchased our tickets online because, by 9:30, they were turning people away at the door.

Excuse the poor quality of the following images…they were taken in less than optimal light settings with a Blackberry

The Space has a very decayed, decadent Old Washington kind of look to it…exposed whitewashed brick walls, crumbling bas reliefs and dusty chandeliers by candlelight…packed to the brim with people who were all swaying and singing, it was a perfect dancehall moment.

See-I is an incredibly good DC-based dub/reggae band…they headlined the show and really brought it all together. Their female vocalist was unbelievable and I highly recommend seeing them, if ever you have the chance. I think they play regularly at the Eighteenth Street Lounge in DC.

Rawking it.

Kate and Ruth, in a shockingly clear photo.

Sadly, all to soon it was 1:00 AM and time to start making our way back to Kate’s to catch a few hours of sleep. The show itself carried on until well after 4:00 AM, but Ryan and I wanted to be sure we left early enough in the morning to make it through the throngs at the Metro…so it was off to bed for us. I’ll close with a parting image from the evening..