K&W at Brea -- 16June07

This was only the second time I've played at the Brea store, though Warren's been there a couple more times with Jim. It's got a terrible layout for playing -- there's no decent place to set up and play, but we figured something out, kind of in a too-narrow aisle, back to the store. We end up pretty far away from the people back in the corner of the café, and I remembered that from last time, so I made sure to personally interact with them right from the start ("Can you hear us back there?" kind of stuff), to make sure that they were "in" the show.

While we were setting up a guy came over and asked when we were going to play, and what kind of stuff. I gave him a list, which he got pretty excited about, and when he saw "Bus Stop" he said that he'd come over and sing harmony, if I had a spare mic. I did, and told him he'd be welcome. He introduced himself (Dave) and wandered off, but came back over once we'd started, and, sure enough, after listening for a while, asked us to do "Bus Stop" and I fetched out the other mic, and we went to town. He knew the words, and sings really well, so we started hunting the list for more songs that had harmony in 'em.

Of course, I choose songs specifically that sound OK *without* harmony, but there were plenty that sure don't mind having the harmony in 'em -- and we played 'em all. It was pretty big fun. He was a little freaked about the fact that almost all of them had been transposed down, but it didn't seem to actually throw him in practice.

Then a group of high school girls came in and were *very* enthusiastic about us playing. One of 'em plopped down on the ground right in front, so I handed her a list, and when she saw "While My Guitar Gently Weeps", she 'bout wet her pants. Turns out she's a *huge* Harrison fan, so of course we played that one for her. I'm pretty sure that she and her friends were literally screaming (quietly) at the end of the songs. Unfortunately, they could only stay for a few, but they made the night even more fun.

Though he clearly didn't intend to stay there all night, Dave kept singing, and thanking us for letting him, until the very end. He sang along on most everything, and was gracious when there wasn't a part for him. We met up with him and his friend in the parking lot afterwards, and it turns out that he's a part of the local musician scene, and has been for a while. He and Warren knew a bunch of people in common. It could turn into some alternate playing opportunities.

So, overall, a great night. Certainly different, and that's a good thing.