Hey, friend. Thought I’d check in on you and see how you’re doing. Had a good time singing this weekend. Weather was quite something, though. How was it where you are? The south-western part of the province is cradled between the lakes, the snow can be brutal. They’d been talking for a couple of days about a major snowfall down that way. I don’t mind leaving a little earlier than needed, especially if there’s weather coming. I’ve arrived in a town just ahead of the weather more than once, this weekend looked like another one of those. So I left a bit early and pulled into town after a few hours glad that I didn’t have to drive any farther. Road conditions were getting a bit tougher than I really like. I wondered if the snow would put off people tonight, there’s supposed to be a full house but with this weather… Turned out that these are country people, I forget that sometimes. If these folks stayed in every time the weather looked a little sour they’d never get out. Apparently two people decided not to make the drive. Everyone else made it safe. Good news.
I love this kind of concert. Someone has a great space, they think it’d sound nice with music in it, so they call me and ask if I might do a concert in their barn, or loft, or house, or room, or studio, or wherever. They’re almost always right, the space sounds great with music in it. But this space is really quite special. I can’t remember being this enchanted by the sound of the room. It’s got a fair bit of floor space, and it goes up for two stories, but where you might expect to see a second floor balcony there is none. So the sound has a fair bit of cubic space to bounce around in. Not too reverberant, but just enough to make it sound pretty. Really pretty.
Had a great meal beforehand, in the company of nice people. My hosts have a really lovely house and I enjoy getting the full tour. It’s always interesting seeing what people do with their place, and they’ve done such a nice job here. Meanwhile back in the concert space there are a few mics and speakers set up. Not enough to get in the way, just enough to help out. We take a few minutes to get the sound just right then it’s time to get out of the way and let people start to arrive.
I like the way a roomful of people sound just when they get to the point they’re an audience. Before that point they sound like a social gathering, after that point they sound like an audience. And just when they start to sound like an audience, that’s a very cool sound. And I hear it tonight. A good sign.
The people are pretty much a perfect mix, some musicians, some listeners, some regular concert-goers, some people who’ve never been to anything like this before. Everyone brings their special enthusiasm to the night. The guests are given refreshments and a chance to visit, then they settle down to hear some music. First father and then father and son do a few tunes. This guy has two kids who like playing music with their old man. That’s way too cool, so I have a huge grin on my face as I applaud them off. A short break for people to stretch their legs and charge their glasses then it’s my turn.
I never know what to begin with. So usually I don’t. That is, I don’t usually start with something that I know is a sure crowd pleaser. The good part of that is I don’t fall into a rut of always starting with the same thing. The down side is I never know what to start with. So I just pick up the conversation in mid-stream and hope that people will come along for the ride. By the time I’d finished my second piece I knew it was going to be a good night. Hoots and hollers after the first thing, then for no reason I could figure I started to tell them about writing a musical. Rolled into ‘She’s Alright’ from Act 1. They loved that so much I just kept at it. Over the course of the night I played them a good chunk of the musical, a handful of other things I’ve written, a few obscure songs that I’ve re-worked, even did a couple of R&B things in case people wanted to dance. Oh yeah, and two Beatles songs just because I knew there were a few fans there–a bit of the ‘Revolver’ project. Remind me to tell you about that some time.
It was a bit of lesson. For all of us, I suppose. I’ve been through a whole bunch of life stuff lately, and when that happens sometimes I forget that I’m a good musician. Then I get a show like tonight. Oh yeah, I remember. So it was good, for all kinds of reasons. Was good to see family play nice together, was good to get to make music in such a cool space… and was good to be reminded that I’m a singer. A good one. Funny the things we forget, eh?
Breakfast the next morning was a delight and the drive back was sunny and clear and easy. Sorry you couldn’t make it. But there’s a quick sketch for you. Maybe next time you can come along. In the meantime, hope this finds you well.