Back in the Saddle again...

So, over the last 18 months or so a good friend of mine had been badgering me to play a gig at the golf club we both belong to. He and his wife used to follow my last band here in NY and his memories of that time were fonder than my own. Not that I didn't enjoy those years, but it was a little over 20 years ago and I had no desire to relive it. I hadn't played live in the years since other than a sit in gig here and there and then it was only for a song or 2.
 
After getting more than a little tired of him talking about it, I finally threw out a what I thought was a good bluff. I told him I would do a 1 hour solo acoustic show, and it would require a very nice PA and sound man of my choosing at his expense. It would have to be a full capacity show (approx 150) in the Grill Room at the club and food service would have to be done with at show time. To my surprise he set about booking the room and got the wheels in motion. He informed me the 1st week of July that it was all set.
 
So, now I had roughly 10 weeks to get a set together which was actually easier than I thought it would be. The room was set up nicely and a friend of mine who plays regularly brought in his PA and did a fine job running the rig. Monitors were crystal clear and the sound never crossed my mind after the first song. I didn't really feel nervous so much as I was excited to play to a friendly crowd. Apparently I was either more nervous than I thought, or overly excited. On the first song of the set, I realized after the 1st verse that I didn't put the capo on the 2nd fret as I had been practicing the song for 2 months. Oops! No one knew but me, and the song went over very well and I was off and running. There really wasn't a single bad moment of the entire set. The crowd was very supportive and appreciative, and it was great to see some folks I hadn't seen in years.
 
I've been thinking about how much fun I had during and after the show and wondering about playing out more. I've pretty much decided the answer is no. I don't need the money and I don't need the hassle of booking, setup, tear down, drunks etc. The joy of performing live just doesn't out weigh the rest at this point in my life. I think I'm just going the cherish the memory and leave it at that.
 
p.s. I know some folks at the gig were shooting cell phone video, but the ones I've seen and heard so far were shot by obviously intoxicated people. If I find a good one, I'll post it.

Cool!
I could never give up playing live (yet), though
All the best.

Play Freebird!!!
 

jamesg1213
Nice one Randy. What songs did you do?

Thanks James, I won't go into the entire list, but here's a few highlights.
1st song was Copperhead Road by Steve Earle. I wanted to start things up tempo and keep it simple for myself and this one fit the bill perfectly.
 
3rd song of the set was Whiskey and You by Chris Stapleton. I taught myself to fingerpick just so I could do this song. I did it in Drop D tuning and IMO it's just a great piece of songwriting. If you Google it and find the performance he did at a ASCAP songwriter conference you'll get the flavor of what I did. When I started singing this one, there was the usual noise you get from the audience, but after the 1st verse it went dead quiet and stayed that way for the rest of the song. It was a pretty cool feeling knowing I had their entire attention and the reaction at the end was goose bump worthy.
 
Middle of the set I did Stuck in the Middle With You by Stealers Wheel. I came up with an arrangement of starting it out like a ballad and it was almost unrecognizable. After getting to the part at the end of "and you're friends they all come running and slap you on the back and say pleeeease, pleeease, I kicked it up to the faster tempo to start the next verse and they really liked it.
 
I ended things by announcing this would be the audience participation part of the show and kicked it off with All My Loving and Eight Days a Week back to back. By the time I got to the 2nd song, they were singing louder than I was and smiling broadly.
 
Encore was a last second decision to do Don't Dream It's Over. I wasn't sure if my throat would hold up to do it, but I felt pretty good and took a shot. Towards the end I just nodded towards the audience and they joined me on the "hey now, hey now" parts til the end. Damn near perfect night!

Nice Randy!
I would've liked to see that too...

You're lucky I didn't round up those Gunslinger Men, Larry and Jonbouy...

Cool story. You seemed to enjoy it, and your friend now knows what it takes to get you to play.

Moshkito
Hi,
 
Gratz Randy ... well done. And remember, that "mistakes" are a chance to create more magic in anything you play. I'm sure you know that!

???????!

Mooch, I'm soon to be 57. I had a good run from my late teens through my early 30's. In my 20's I played at least 5 nights a week and did some good touring also. At the end it was literally every Friday and Saturday night for 30 months. I'd never presume to tell another musician what to do regarding performing. It's really a personal decision I made when my kids were toddlers. I was never home, other than to sleep. I missed too much. And I was honest with myself. The fun had gone out of it. When I walked into a club and the place was full of people who came to see us, and I just didn't get excited, it was time to quit. I'd rather do other things with my free time. Without listing all my interests and toys, I don't struggle to fill my time with enjoyable activities.
 
If it was the last time I perform a show, I'm good with that.

Randy that's so cool you got to do that... :)