The other night,  I did an acoustic gig.   I don't mean I used my acoustic guitar as opposed to an electric.    I mean no amp,  no microphone, no gadgets.  I played for a group of people who had spent the day hiking in the woods.   The gig was at a small cabin in the woods playing for about a dozen people.   We sat around the wood stove with oil lamps and candles.   It was very intimate. 

I got to thinking about how important music must have been before TV and X-box and the internet,  or even the family radio.  A few generations ago,  before every teenager had his own SUV to drive,  and his own cell phone,  or his own wireless laptop,  the family sat in the parlor together while someone played guitar or piano or violin.  Not only was it a form of entertainment,  it was a way for families to bond and enjoy a common experience.   I think the average kid today would look at you like you had three heads if you suggested that some evening you turn off the TV, computer, cell phone, playstation, and ipod  while you all sit in the living room and listen to Uncle Ed play the accordion.

I don't have any delusions that I'm going to ever be world famous as a musician.  I've achieved a modest amount of success on a local level,  and I'm enjoying it like crazy.   I'd like to be just a little bit bigger,  however.   Just enough to have some roadies.  

Lately most of my gigs have ended relatively early in the evening,  and packing up isn't a big deal.  Last night,  I had a late one.   The first late one I've had in a while as a matter of fact.   As I was winding up cords and lifting heavy equipment,  I was thinking how nice it would be to finish playing,  then walk off stage and know that a crew of roadies was going to take care of everything while I go relax and flirt with the waitresses.

I've been thinking about Springtime.  It's really my favorite time of year.  Everything is so full of promise.   The days get longer,  the weather gets warmer, and that dull brown starts turning to green.  

As I look at the calendar,  the thing that hits me this year is that I haven't booked many gigs for the springtime yet.  I've been very fortunate so far this year to have a number of places that have booked me on a regular basis.   The Brown Hound, Club 57, The Sierra Inn,  and The Rabbit Room have been good to me,  and I'm grateful for it.  Still,  the actual booking of dates is my least favorite part of what I do.  It's kind of like going on a never ending job interview.   I suppose that's the incentive for me to give it my best every time I play.   Well,  time to make some calls.

I had an interesting gig last weekend.  Without boring you with too many details,  there was a little bit of trouble with some of the people in the place I was playing.   No fight broke out,  but there was a lot of shouting and tension in the air.   The owner ended up throwing out this group of troublemakers.

As a performer,  it raised an interesting question for me.   What do I do?   I felt kind of dumb continuing to sing and play while all of this is happening five feet away from me.    At the same time,  I felt like if the music suddenly stopped,  it would have drawn more attention to the matter and possibly would have disturbed more of the patrons than had already been disturbed.  

Last week I stopped by the Flipside's open mic night.   There was a guy playing guitar behind someone who was singing.   I commented to Jeff Riales how tasty his playing was.   They guy obviously has some serious chops,  but he wasn't at all flashy about it.  Very understated and restrained.   Jeff replied,  "He must know the old addage:  Never miss an opportunity to not play."

Man,  does that make sense to me.   I wish more people understood that its ok to not play every single beat of every single measure in a song.   I think some people get nervous or uncomfortable if they're on stage and they're not doing something.    I think a lot of that comes from the Jam Band scene where everyone is playing all at the same time for long periods of time.   I've written before that I don't have much use for that.    I prefer the old jazz tradition where everyone gets a chance to show what they've got,  but they're not stepping all over each other all the time.   A few well placed spaces can be more powerful than a flurry of notes.

There's a fine line performers at my particular level of the food chain have to walk.   We want to entertain the crowd,  but at the same time,  we want to play what we play.   Sometimes the audience doesn't quite get what we're trying to do.

I saw a friend of mine perform last night.   He's a fine performer and something of a music historian who does acoustic  Delta Blues.    For a good portion of the evening,  he had to deal with the drunk guy sitting up front who kept requesting Allman Brothers and Stevie Ray Vaughan.   There's nothing wrong with those performers,  but they have little to do with Mississippi John Hurt or Elizabeth Cotten.   As a performer,  you have to realize that while that guy may be annoying,  he is at least showing some interest in you.    I usually tell that guy that I have to think about it for a song or two because I don't really do that kind of music regularly.   Hopefully after a song or two,  he's forgotten about it.

Now the guy that thinks it's the pinnacle of hilarity yell "Freebird,"  as if he's the first person to ever do it,  is another story.   He needs to be taken out, locked in his truck,  and forced to listen to Perry Como cds until he learns his lesson.

W.B. Blues was scheduled to do some recording this past weekend.   Unfortunately,  Tim got sick,  and was unable to go.   We decided to wait until all three of us could go together.    That left me with some time on my hands.   

I decided to go see a movie.   I don't even remember what movie I last saw,  but it has been a while.    I went to see Borat.   I thought I was going to pass out from lack of oxygen because I was laughing so hard that I couldn't take a breath.

This time of year,  they try to push all the "meaningful"  movies with a message because they want to win an Oscar.   They can keep all the deep stuff.   I like to be entertained.   Even if it isn't especially high brow,  I have to say Borat is one of the funniest films I've seen in a long time.    They should give the awards based on how much the audience likes the movie,  not by how artsy fartsy it is.