Friday night Yacht Rock played our monthly gig at the room formerly known as Andrews Upstairs, but now called 8 Traxx Disco. In addition to changing the name, they also asked that we start an hour earlier than usual so that the DJ might commence spinning after midnight (and presumably "take it to the next level"?)
We were supposed to begin at 9:30, but there was no one there, so we waited until 9:45. At that time, there were still very few people there (the main level of the room was completely empty). People finally started trickling in somewhere around 10:30 (our usual start time!). Nice move. We played until 12:15 or so before giving way to the DJ. The club had requested that we clear the stage in fifteen minutes so that the DJ might set up and get going, but fifteen is impossible for me--thirty minutes is possible if I'm flying, and forty-five minutes is my average. When we started tearing down, our crowd dispersed, and by the time we were clear of the stage, the room was empty. I'm not sure if the club had really thought this one through--not only did they mess up our gig by starting early, but trying to mash a set with the DJ on the end of the night killed her gig too!
Playing-wise, things were good. We continued on the previous night's good playing--perhaps were even better since the great Mark Cobb was playing with us last night. I had a couple of minor oops moments (Bb in the bass instead of C for the last chord of How Long and a really sad glissando in Steal Away that made Bencuya laugh). Other than that, things were pretty good. Saxophone-wise, I'm still overblowing a bit, and I had no good ideas for the second solo of Takin' it to the Streets, but I could hear myself pretty well and my reeds felt pretty good.
One funny thing: I was putting everything I had into Baker Street, and I was leaning way back, and the girl in the front row happened to lean way forward and she nearly headbutted me in the...groin! Seriously, the combination of me bending my knees and leaning back and her (I presume) rocking it out caused her forehead to hit me high on the left thigh. I kept playing, but it was a weird moment!
My denim suit looked fantastic, but was very hot.
Some idiot had spilled fog juice all over the carpet right where I was set up--it was like playing in an oil slick. I'm sure all my gear has that stuff all over it, which now means the inside of my truck now has that stuff all over it. Buy a funnel!
Kip Conner ran sound for us. Even though he was there (with Zack, his assistant) all day fixing stuff and making everything way better, several people in the band still complained about the job he did. I think that for some of these guys, it's just their way of discussing the sound post-gig--bitch about what the guy SHOULD have been doing. I think Kip did a great job, and I'm way happier that he was there instead of that diabetic ogre we used to see.
What a night! The crowd, in the end, was pretty solid, so we made our money and got out early. Greg Lee and Bencuya and Co. helped load my gear out. Thanks for that!
I'm playing with the Schooner tonight, and then my first church gig STARTS at 6:30 AM Sunday morning. Somebody sleep for me!
www.davidfreemanmusic.net
