Tied For Last

Only band of the night.

We found out a week and a half before (Jan 31) that our bassist, who had given notice that he'd be leaving, but who had said that he'd cover all remaining booked gigs, was actually going to bail on the last two shows that he had initially planned on playing. We don't wish to bad mouth him, and we do wish him well, but this really put us in an extraordinarily tight spot.

Luckily, we'd been in the position of playing as a three-piece before, so Tom, Slim and I hastily put together a set of usable songs that fit the following criteria; they had to work with only one guitar, either Tom or I had to be able to play bass on each song, and with that, one of us had to be able to sing as well.

Playing bass on our songs isn't that difficult if you're already a guitarist. The problem is playing bass while singing - especially when you're not used to it. I brought my bass to work every day and practiced at lunch, and Tommy went to guitar stores at lunch and practiced on their equipment.

We would be good, but a bit sloppy.

Meanwhile, we all tried desperately to ignore the weather reports that were predicting a blizzard of 20+ inches of snow, because NYC clubs generally don't close, so we knew we would be playing - even if it was to be just us, Reverend Caroline, BatPam, Mike and the bartender.

We made the drive down with little incident. It was snowing, but there wasn't too much coverage, and very little traffic. Both Tom and I were able to find spots right outside Otto's, and our friend Jason had opted to join us as well. This meant that, at worst, there would be at least one more person in the audience than onstage.

We got in to Otto's, and there was a comedy show underway. A few of our entourage went back to check it out, but I waited at a table by the bar with the others so that I could greet any other folks who might brave their way through the storm for a night of rockin'. We also spoke a little with Nell, the awesome bartender. I was driving, so I was drinking seltzer, but I heard she poured with a heavy hand. Our kind of gal!!!

I couldn't have predicted it, but as our set time drew near and the comedy troupe packed up, there came a steady stream of TFL friends through the door. I was quite excited as I was setting up to see every table in the place filled, except for the one right in front of the stage (NYC audiences - myself sometimes included - are often too cool to sit in the front). Then, the lovely Amber, along with her beau Matt, came in to fill the last table.

We had planned on playing to nobody, and instead it was a packed room (later on, others from the bar wandered back to what became a standing-room crowd)!

The show started and we were sounding pretty good. Our playing was very tight, and even the songs that traditionally have two guitars were sounding full. Most importantly, both the band and the crowd seemed to be having a truly great time. Shows like this are the reason we became musicians in the first place. Well, that and the girls.

I only had two problems. I couldn’t move around anywhere near as much as usual because I always had an instrument strapped to me. Worse still, we play a lot harder live than we do in rehearsal, and live we have to go from one song right into the next or else the show can lose momentum. Playing bass so hard without stopping was causing me to have a serious cramp in my forearm (yes I know this makes me sound wussy. If I were actually a bassist/vocalist, I'm sure I could have handled it). Many forearm jokes were made by band and male audience members for the remainder of the evening - to the feigned chagrin of some of the ladies in attendance.

By the end of I'm Not Fine, I was trying not to scream in pain. I got a much needed break with a new cover tune that we had chosen just for the three-piece. We played Tommy Tutone's 867-5309/Jenny, and Tom sang it. He sounded great, and the audience clearly dug it. Since I was able to not have to sing, I was able to play bass much more softly (and properly), and that helped a LOT!

Then, it came time for Tom to play bass for the next two songs. We did Sailor and Beautiful in Black. Tommy even played a bass solo during the latter number and it sounded great. I'm also going to state right here before I forget that Tom and Kisco Slim were ON for the whole night. Three-piece or not, this was one of our best shows in a long time.

With the bass back in my hands, we forged ahead, dedicating Superstar to BatPam as she passed Valentine's Candy to the audience on our behalf. During Achiever, I lost my place on the bass twice, but the audience didn't seem to notice (politeness? Drunkenness? Who's to say?). During A Song for the Ladies, I blew the lyrics to the first two choruses, much to Rev. Caroline's amusement.

By this point, despite my minor flubs, the show was really going great, and the audience was active, loud, and seemingly enjoying themselves. Tommy sang on Wasted, giving me a little more comfort so I could drop back and just concentrate on bass (side note: our good friend Edy swears that she will be onstage for "Wasted" at our show in Brooklyn on the 23rd. She says she doesn't know if she'll be dancing or singing, but I told her she's welcome anytime).

By the time we got to Baghdad (the song), my arm had cramped so much that I wasn't holding the pick properly, so I had to finish out the song with my thumb. Happily that was the last song I was scheduled to play bass on.

I picked up my guitar and we dove into Got No Life. During the second verse, the guitar signal cut out, so I tried figure out what was wrong, and I saw that everything was connected correctly, so I knew it had to be the cable. I put down the guitar, went across the stage, grabbed Tommy's Les Paul, and was back at the mic in time for the next line of the song.

I then switched cables and we finished the last two songs of the set with me back on my guitar. And all was right with the world.

Set List:
(Steve played bass unless otherwise noted)
SHE WAS JUST A GIRL
WE'RE ALRIGHT
TAKE JANINE AWAY
PARTY DRESS
I'M NOT FINE
867-5309/JENNY
SAILOR (Tom bass)
BEAUTIFUL IN BLACK (Tom bass)
SUPERSTAR
ACHIEVER
A SONG FOR THE LADIES
WASTED
BAGHDAD
GOT NO LIFE (Tom bass)
STAY UP AND TALK TO ME (Tom bass)
VIVA LAS VEGAS (Tom bass)