Tied For Last

First band of a five-band night.

We had gotten the offer for this gig right after we had confirmed the Continental gig for earlier in the week. Our first inclination was to say no, but Tommy, Rev. Caroline and I decided that it may not be a bad idea to break in Jon and Reah (our new drummer and bassist, respectively) with two shows in the first week…a nice big bang to start the new band while we begin to let go of both The Continental and CBGB because they're both closing soon.

The Tuesday show had been sloppy, but a lot of fun and, overall, we were happy with it. I was curious to see if we would improve after having one show under our belts.

There was a fire a block away from CBGB (nothing serious), so traffic and parking were nightmares. I got there about 20 minutes later than the customary hour before showtime. I dropped off my passengers and equipment and drove off in search of parking. After about 15 minutes, I found parking, but it was very far away. I ran/walked to the show in 10 minutes. This meant it was about 15 minutes before we were officially scheduled to take the stage.

I got down the stairs of the venue, and there was pretty much no one there, except for Jon, who was setting up his drums, Tom, who was walking around, and Reah, who was sitting with a friend. I thought that I was late and that there was no audience. I was not happy.

I frantically started setting up when the sound guy came over to me. I instantly recognized him as a former sound guy from The Continental. He's one of the good ones, so I was happy to see him. He immediately told me to not rush setting up because everything was going to be running late due to the traffic and all.

Then, Tommy told me that there were a whole bunch of people to see us, but that they were just upstairs for now. All was far better.

Jon got his drums ready and then Tom, Reah and I started setting up. When I looked for the set lists, I realized that I had left them at home. This was the first time in over 60 shows that I forgot. Luckily, I had sent it in an e-mail to the band earlier in the week (which I almost never do), so Reah accessed it via her cell phone and we both frantically scribbled out the set list so that we each had a copy.

By the time we were ready to go on, the place was quite full, and we were very psyched.

There were a few problems with Sailor - not the least of which was that I was getting shocked every time I touched the microphone and my guitar strings at the same time. That meant that I had to sing very far away from the mic, which caused the vocals to be a little quiet early on. Even though it wasn't that tight a performance, the audience gave a huge reaction, so that built up the confidence quickly. By two and three songs in, we were far more comfortable, and having a blast. The crowd was right there with us the whole time, and that felt great.

Before we played, Reah asked if she could stand to my right instead of my left. Tom said sure, and so they traded places. I found out why when, with each song, she launched herself offstage and into the crowd, playing bass and dancing the whole time. It helped make for quite a show, and it kept the audience very engaged.

Actually, the energy that both Reah and Jon put out there was just awesome, and I think it was a real treat for those who've come and seen us before. I almost felt like a slacker!

There are still a few kinks that we're gonna work out, but the energy, enthusiasm, and pure fun more than compensate. The feedback from both old friends and new has been overwhelming, and the two full pages of e-mail addresses for the e-mail list are proof (Thanks, BatPam!).

Meanwhile, with each time we play together, rehearsal and gig, we're getting tighter and tighter, and I'm just having a blast!

Set List:
SAILOR
SHE WAS JUST A GIRL
SUPERSTAR
PARTY DRESS
BLOODY TUESDAY
BEAUTIFUL IN BLACK
ACHIEVER
TAKE JANINE AWAY
BAGHDAD
BURNING LOVE