“This... is the sublime melancholy of...

“This... is the sublime melancholy of our lot that every You must become an It in our world.” -Martin Buber

Visions Cabaret is a surprising place. You drive past a gas station, down a dark, narrow road, next to the freeway. You pass a copse of trees, and the neon light of its facade practically mugs you with its startling presence. Once you pay your $10 cover, you find that the inside is relatively clean, with an arrangement of short and tall bar tables around two large central stages. There's a decent bar, with drink prices hovering around the $5-10 range.

It was Saturday night around 9pm; I came expecting the club to be packed, but it was Valentine's weekend, and business was relatively slow. I bought myself a beer, put a roll of ones in my pocket and sat at a back table to give myself time to take in the scenery without being shaken down.