A QUICK BACKSTORY:
The band - now down (hopefully temporarily) to
three - had practiced with me on bass for only two rehearsals.
We decided that we should probably go about getting a gig or
two for late August or September to give us an eventual goal
that would require us to get our asses in gear as a trio. Also,
we really like playing out, and the allure of gigs might bring
in more prospective bassists.
After some begging on our parts, our dedicated
photographer/mailing list girl/one woman all-around support
system - Rev. Caroline agreed to work the phones and try to
book us. To start, we decided to go for places we've really
enjoyed playing in the past.
Late Monday afternoon (7/28), Rev. Caroline got
in touch with the booker (Victor) at the Orange Bear. He said
that he'd help us with a gig later on if we could cover for
him THIS SATURDAY. Caroline said yes, and all of a sudden, we
had four days to get everything down as a three-peice. NO PRESSURE!
;-)
I bought a bass amp Monday night (six months,
no interest!) and started practicing. The band had only one
night to practice together (Thurs), so I basically carried my
bass with me throughout the week (lunchtime practices in my
office, practices after work, after dinner, etc.).
AND NOW THE GIG:
Only band of the night.
I can't state enough how much we love playing
the Orange Bear.
The only downside is that you never get onstage
on time. The major upside to that is that we've never been hurried
or pressured to get on or offstage, never had our set cut short,
and never felt anything other than absolutely comfortable there.
The whole staff - including every bartender we've ever had there
- treats everyone (bands and patrons alike) like they're regulars.
The club hosts an open mike before the bands on
Saturdays, and they give everyone a chance to play. Most of
the acts were pretty good. Typical open mike stuff, but nothing
as extraordinary as the didgeridoo (a five-foot long Autralian
Aboriginal flute) player that was there the first time we played.
We got a pretty good showing, which was that much
more impressive considering we had only four days' notice.
Tom had quite a few friends there. Since it took
awhile for us to get on, and since he was perhaps a bit nervous
that he had to play bass on a few tracks, he did not resist
when his friends tried to ply him with alcohol.
We got onstage and the first thing we noticed
is - Damn, it's hot up here. We got through the first couple
of songs and sounded pretty good. At that point we pretty much
settled in and relaxed. Playing the bass while singing is fun,
and I think I handled the job pretty well (in my opinion, at
least). I even got in a few fills and walking bass lines.
The only slight problem I had on bass was that
my hands were sweating so much that I had to keep looking down
at the neck so that my hands wouldn't slip to the wrong fret.
That ends up keeping me from moving too much while singing,
and it might take away a little from our stage presence. This
is why we're still looking for a bassist. Musically, we were
at about 90%, which is true of a lot of our previous gigs.
We were going to dedicate the show to the recently
deceased Sam Phillips, the founder of Sun Studios and architect
of rock and roll. I even wore my Sun Records shirt (which I
bought at the studio itself). But then we found out that the
guitarist for Iron Butterfly ("In-a-Gadda-da-Vida")
also died that week, so the show was really a tribute to him.
Tom even ended "She Was Just a Girl with that famous intro
riff.
The band was really comfortable, the crowd was
very encouraging, and Tom was pretty drunk. We got to "Sailor,"
so Tom had to take the bass and I picked up my guitar. Rev.
Caroline was at the bar and told me that the bartender (the
lovely and charming Maria, who was dancing throughout) said
to her, "I love this song - This one's on me," and
handed her a free beer. Maria must have really liked us because
after the song, she came up to the stage with a free shot for
me. Since I don't drink onstage, I subsequently turned the shot
over to Tom who gladly accepted it, and soldiered on like a
good drunken trooper.
Then, after a few more songs, I had to tune up
while Tom jokingly played the intro to "Sweet Home Alabama."
I told the crowd that if they wanted to try, they might just
get Tom drunk enough to sing. Our good friend Edy then got him
a shot of bourbon, which he downed.
Shortly thereafter, we did a very sloppy version
of Everclear's "Santa Monica" with Tom on vocals.
Geller (our kickass drummer with a new haircut) even got up
and danced during the first verse. Then we did a sloppy version
of the Replacements' "Waitress in the Sky."
As we got up to our final song, I think I was
so relieved we had done so well, that I let my guard down. Hence
I totally blew "Take Janine Away." I screwed up the
bass line. I screwed up the lyrics. I pretty much screwed up
the whole damn thing. Lucky for me, I was the only sober one
left in the place!
(all songs are Steve on bass and Tom on guitar unless otherwise
noted)
Superstar
Party Dress
A Song for the Ladies
She Was Just a Girl
We're Alright
Sailor (Tom - bass, Stephen - gtr)
Lead You On (both on gtr)
Wasted
Eve of Destruction (both on gtr)
Stay Up and Talk to Me (Tom - bass, Stephen - gtr)
Got No Life
Santa Monica (Tom - Lead Vocal)
Waitress in the Sky (Tom - bass, Stephen - gtr)
Take Janine Away
