There are gigs where things do not go exactly as planned. There are power outages, busted rigs, and traffic delays. Hopefully, the problems are easily remedied and the audience is none the wiser. If your lucky, the problem in localized to one person.

This was Ricky Blues’ first gig at Johnny’s Bar and Grill. The audience enjoyed the band, and the owners were happy. For me, it was not my finest gig.

This was one of those gigs where I could not seem to get out of my own way. I felt confused for the better part of the gig, wondering where the next change was coming, what came next, and where I was in the song. I was not tired. I was completely sober. I was just confused. Like any professional, I soldiered on. Luckily, I don’t think that my guffaws were too noticeable.

I don’t know if any musician is perfect. I don’t know if there is any musician who has never had a bad night. When I have a bad night, I use it as a learning experience. Figuring out ways to recover from mistakes, slips, or lapses of concentration is an essential part of live performance. I remember a comment Will Calhoun made one night, “If you hear a wrong note, have another beer. If you hear two wrong notes, it’s not wrong, it’s jazz.”

Our good buddy and sometimes drummer Rick Donato was in town, on break from his Chorus Line tour. He sat in for a few songs and it was a blast to work with him again.

We took our time starting the gig. The Yankees were playing the Red Sox, and the game was in extra innings with a 0-0 score.  We waited for the 12th to get started. When big sporting events are going on, the audience will tend to have an eye on the game and an ear on the band. Mercifully, this was a regular season game. Post season? Forget it. Football game? Really forget it.

Nevertheless, we were well received and will hopefully play this venue again. Here are some pictures from the show:

Created with flickr slideshow.