On a warm summer night, a woman goes to a literary reading, where she’s introduced to a flaxen-haired poet. The poet has left his home in the woods for a night out on the town, and seems immediately enamored of her. After the reading, they go to a nearby restaurant, where they feast on Spanish tapas and drink glass after glass of red wine. The poet never leaves her side, whispering into her ear; she has become the center of his universe. A band takes the stage. They break into soul-swelling Gypsy swing imbued with the ghost of Django Reinhardt but completely at home in the 21st century. The poet and the woman dance for hours. That night, she dreams of a lost kiss as the poet’s face recedes into darkness, back to his woods, never to be seen again. Beso Negro whips up a romantic frenzy with the Highway Poets on Friday, Jan. 4, at Hopmonk Tavern. 230 Petaluma Ave., Sebastopol. 8:30pm. $10—$13. 707.829.7300.
