Things Come Together

Last night we played our first show at The Living Room.  For many bands, not such a big deal.  Lots of people playing bigger venues.  In fact, last night itself was a big concert night in New York.  I think but could be wrong that both the Counting Crowes and the Black Crowes played.  So on the major national act side you had those guys.  And then in the folk-rock-our-circle scene you had Elizabeth & The Catapult with Jeff Taylor at the Music Hall of Williamsburg.  So there were plenty of options to choose from.  (ed note: Pete Lalish, guitarist and songwriter for EAT CAT, played guitar on Pain Is A Reliable Signal)

Nevertheless, and despite all those competing avenues for attention, the nice thing about the gig was that all that screaming at the top of my lungs paid some dividends and the room was full.  The other nice thing was that it was full with people that were new to the sound and I think we were able to win over some new fans.

The show itself was very good.  There were a lot of different takes on the overall acoustics in the room.  A bunch of people loved them.  Some people decidedly did not love them.  Others felt like there were pockets where certain instruments were too loud.  Certainly, on stage, the monitors were a bit all over the place and I couldn’t immediately tell what was what.  I guess that happens when you have 11 people in a band.  That’s a lot of people.

But, there is one thing that was consensus.  And that was that the energy and the vibe was very powerful and very big.  And I also think that the playing and the performance itself was very very good.  We practiced, you see.  So when you practice, you can work on things like dynamics and you can work on parts of songs and emphasis, and you can also grow affectionate towards your fellow mates and it can all come together and coalesce.

We started with ‘Broken Bow’.  As I’ve written, the best part is the end.  The whole thing was great.  Next up was ‘See Something’.  That’s one tune where my vocals can tend to get drowned out and I either need to sing in an upper register or get a better mix through the monitors to let myself project the lower register in the right way.  ’Dirty White Coats’ was lovely.  The chorus is the best part and then heading into the second verse when Bronwen comes in.  ’Colorado Drugs/Ways That We Destroy Ourselves’ was good.  Bron said she wanted to sing the second verse next time and I’m cool with that.  That could be an interesting twist on a song that is so angry and dark and riddled with obfuscation.  ’Don’t Look Away’.  Best part is the lyrics and the climax at the end.  Highlight of the set was ‘Life Is Hard’.  We have this gorgeous intro, the song is super tight, the lyrics are pretty good, the song ends perfectly and then a beautiful little outro.  People vibed with that.  ’Hold My Heartache’ equals Stan Harrison and Matt Ray and Bron and me and Paul and everyone actually.  We then covered ‘Hearts on Fire’ by Cut Copy.  I thought it came off nicely.  I love listening to Matt Ray play the piano and this tune is no exception.  Closing number was ‘Valentine’s Day’.  Another song with a darkness.  But then people wanted an encore so we jammed out on “Vicodin’ and actually had a jam and Noah’s guitar tone, which was excellent all night, crystallized and we sounded like Spacemen 3 for a second.

As I said, the highlight is and was and will be the band and the energy and the camraderie that we’ve come to share.  And the highlight was that the room was packed and we won over some new fans and we rocked and it was a powerful thing and then here is another highlight: there will be more shows.

Because of all the cancellations and the people that drop out at the last minute and the people for whom life gets in the way, it’s always special when there are certain people that always show up.  Always come out and show their support.  So I feel it appropriate to just mention some of the folks that made it out last night and say thanks.  Close friends, you know.  People that are fans but are also doing this because they care about me.  Putting up with all this self-aggrandizement is a difficult thing and having  a friend in a band can be annoying at times.  So thanks to:

Brandon and Andy are two people that have come to virtually every show.  Brandon brought a bunch of new people as well.  Mike, Rob, and now Jason, his little sis, Jana, and her friend Page.  Mike, Zecki, Ed, Nii-Ama and some of the folks that I spend my days with.  Tony has been there for awhile and is a huge supporter.  Joe has helped me through some tough times and also shows up to shows on a regular occasion.  And then there’s everyone that is friends of the band that made it out and showed their support.  All the significant others and lovers and musical people and artists.  So thanks to everyone.  You guys make it a beatiful thing to play music.

Until the next one!

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