I played a couple of gigs this weekend, one in a jolly irish run Pub in Watford and one in a Park in St Neots on a sunny afternoon with my trio 🙂
The landlady was Irish and did a Mrs Doyle when we arrived “Sure, and would you take a cup of tea” and told me her punters looked scary but were fine. So said no worry’s I have been playing in pubs for 20 years and had a beer instead. Neck Oil, which was nice.
Audience loving it but a few daft requests. We played outside in a shed open on one side. Garden had a barbecue going on. Women climbing on the tables and dancing and singing along. Not perfect musically as a different set because we didn’t have Clare with us. But it worked. Just like real life again. Audience of allsorts, a league of nations (Asian, Ukrainian, Black and Irish ) plus a birthday guy doing grandad dancing. That’s my tribe.
A pleasant gigging weekend like the old days almost with good humour and a bit of silliness. Today I am in recovery mode a little as the gigs were quite long and I don’t have stamina I used to either. A combination of age and being a bit out of condition post pandemic lock down. As I write unlike the last couple of days its very dull and a little on the cool side too. I am getting on with a few things but it will be a mostly chilled day. A new song brewing at present among other things. I do notice that I have been getting a tad grumpy latterly on my “rest” days recently. The paradox being the better things have gone the more of a come down it is afterward. I am doing a bit in my studio today though perhaps with slightly less gusto than is usual.
Had to laugh, a pub blues player complaining on facebook that pubs don’t pay enough so his band won’t play them. I have heard the same argument for about 10 years now. Going on about how expensive their music kit is. Felt like saying maybe you would get better gigs if you were actually decent entertainers, but I didn’t. I made a comment about the fact that pubs couldn’t pay so much as wet sales have reduced. I was broke before and I am am not much richer now. As Seasick Steve said “I started out with nothing and I have still got most of it left”. Live music is a special joy, interacting with the audience and the band. I really do enjoy every gig from the best even to the worst to some extent to be honest. The joy of the moment and all that.