The Park Tavern

Greg Lee, dancing machine

Yacht Rock played the Park Tavern last night.  We had a pretty good night--it never quite reached the insanity of a few of the previous Park Tavern gigs, but it was fun and the crowd was pretty into it.  For some reason, it was a much older crowd than we generally see.  It was like our usual crowd sent their parents, and this was a safe gig--there are tables for sitting and it ends before midnight.  I think seating and bedtimes are important to that demographic.  You could throw restrooms in there, too, except that the Park Tavern restrooms are not user-friendly.  It's news when the men's room does NOT flood, and the women's room always has a line.

Our Beatles tribute, Please PleaseRock Me, opened the show.  It was pretty good!  I was on and off stage for most of it, playing tambourine and cowbell.  The first song had tambourine--I realized this (standing offstage) about halfway through.  Do over!  Damnit!  The last four or five songs had horns (Greg Lee, Paul Poovey, and myself).  We were really crammed up on stage and it was tough to hear, but I think we were pretty good.  Paul said his trumpet was sliding all over his face, which made Penny Lane especially challenging.  Is it ever going to cool down?

A quick change and we were back as Yacht Rock.  I was determined to suck less than the previous night's implosion, and then we decided to do a soft start--a quiet count in, beginning before the break music had been turned off--and just like that, I'd already started screwing up.  Not impressive.  Once I finally started playing, I was OK.  I still rush really bad on Greatest American Hero.  If I would just relax, my accuracy would greatly improve.

I got a little more ambitious about the number of notes I was going to play on Whatever Gets You Through the Night.  It turns out, I can't really go for it and sidestep at the same time.  I think the solos were good, but I had to remind myself--to the left!  to the right!  I bet I could sound like this if I could stand still.  It would also help if I was in the monitor, but that'll never happen either.

Give a Little Bit is back.  I played the solo correctly two nights in a row; a miracle.

I screwed up the end of I Wish for no apparent reason.

The rest of the night was pretty easy.  I played a something wrong in the bridge of Power of Love--like instead of Eb major, I played a C major triad or something gross.  Not my best work.

I think we have one more Park Tavern gig this month--October 17.  It's been a great summer of gigs.  We'll be back next spring.

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