Cafe Ambrosia was Cafe Hungry Like the Wolf this afternoon. The guys behind the counter were apparently (from what I could gather) striking back at the pretense of a « rockist » critic from earlier in the day by playing what sounded like « Decade » (nothing after 1988 was on the disc, which was just as well) from beginning to end — much to the grim, seething, teeth-gritting silence of many of the customers in the joint (although a couple of customers did come up and chucklingly congratulate them on their unusual selection). The fellas behind the counter laughed and grooved along with “Rio” and “Save a Prayer” and “Union of the Snake” and “Wild Boys,” but it seems they hit their limit after “Notorious.” They cut the CD in the middle of the next song and quickly threw on a Morphine CD, much more in keeping with the usual Ambrosia (and usual hipster cafe) ethic. You could feel the rockist tension ease into a saxophone-induced reverie.
