I’ve been to a lot of bars in my life — at least three per week. And I’m not exaggerating when I say I’ve never seen a bar more crowded than the Rimrock Steak House at 9:30 p.m. last night, when the wake for yeoman local guitarist Joe Shikany was revving up (details on Shikany’s tragic death here). I bumped into Fred Holzman before the music got started, and he was visibly — and understandably — shaken up. “I wasn’t done with him yet,” said Fred, who was on the kit for the opening “right on” toast and a “You Are So Beautiful” tribute. It takes a man, and in this case many men, to call another man beautiful. But with Shikany, the shoe fit — and I’m not just saying that because he had awesome hair for a guy in his late fifties (which he did). As Fred said, he touched a lot of people, and most of those people were at the ‘Rock last night, including owner Connie Dunn, a former Wedgwood Broiler waitress who hasn’t seen the devil’s side of midnight in awhile (I can attest that she took a nap yesterday afternoon to have some jam left in the jar). Dunn obviously instructed the Rimrock bartenders to ignore the “soda” in “bourbon and soda” drink orders, which was wholly appropriate, and had the place staffed to the gills and humming despite fire code Armageddon. At this, Joe was smiling from heaven, or heaven’s heaven. Wherever the highest place in the sky is, that’s where he is. We’ll miss you, brother. Rock on.