Wow. I had thought that after the big night we had at the Myrtle Court the night before, that this solo gig at the Food Court would be (a) a disaster 'cuz of my trashed voice, fingers, and knees, and (b) a disappointment 'cuz of the huge crowds that the other location gets and the usually dismal (and disaffected) turnout that this one does. But I was way wrong. Mostly.
It started out really good -- lots of people's dinnertime, I guess. I started on time at 6:00 (for a change) and had a good response for a while, but then it emptied out and I was left playing to mostly empty tables, and no response at all. At 7:30 I decided to give my knees a rest and, wait for it, Took a Break (gasp!). I wasn't really even sure *how* to take a break, but since there was nobody there who was even gonna notice, I just turned down the amp and walked away. Wasn't that tricky, after all.
After some of the crowd had "turned over", I got back up there and got to have a fresh start. Newly-arriving members of the audience tend to emulate the behavior of the already-there people, so once dead silence sets in, it's hard to break. But with the fresh start, you get to try to "get it going" again. I'm gonna have to use this trick again.
The really surprising part was that my voice, although completely trashed the night before, was in outstanding form for the second half of the show. Really high and clear, and responsive. I really had no right to be able to sing at all, after the four and a half hour show on Friday, but it was the best I've sung in weeks -- maybe months. Was Friday night's beating a "warm up"?!? Mysterious.
I had lots of appreciative people, all the way through. Families, single guys, teens, some little kids. Had a cute little gonna-be First Grader, Camilie (?), befriend me, and request a bunch of songs she'd never heard of, just because she'd recently learned to read and was having fun doing so. And a little Kindergarten Cyndie Lauper dress-alike who just wanted to dance and dance with her grandpa.
Weird moment early on: a pair of apparent military guys came right up and stood 3 feet away as I tried to finish "Homeward Bound". I'm trying to sing and wondering what the heck this is about. At the end, the Big One said something appreciative (whew!) in his Texas drawl, and then asked, "Can I play one?". That's a new one, so I said, "I don't know -- are you any good?" He said "I ain't *bad*", so I asked the Little One, "Is he any good?", but of course the friend wanted to see this happen, so he said, "Sure!". There weren't many people there then anyway, so I gave him my guitar (he declined the head mic), and I sat down with the friend to see what would happen.
He started with some song I'd never heard, strumming some chords and eventually singing, but without the mic that was completely inaudible. He quit that after a half a verse, and tried again with Johnny Cash's "Folsom Prison Blues", but he didn't really know the chords, and messed up the words, too. So after a verse of that, he just wanted off, and apologized for being too nervous. I told him that everybody has to start somewhere -- it gets easier. And off they went.
Anyway, lots of people dropping lots of little bits of money in the jar and guitar case. I made $66 -- half again more than the "Main Stage" the night before. 66 bucks looks like a lot of money, when it's almost all ones and quarters. But it's apparently all about the "connection" -- and I'm beginning to think, counter-intuitively, that people tip a "full" jar more than an empty one, so I started the jar with several bills in it, instead of the usual two, and 4 bills in the guitar case. Seems to have made a difference. Or maybe I'm just good...
Naaahh...
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