Keith at Irvine Spectrum -- 18Feb2012

Got to play on the big round stage this week, which gets a lot more traffic (being out in the flow) than the little stage tucked back over by the food court.  There's still no seating near the stage, and I actually think it's less conducive to people just standing (or dancing) out in   front of me, but I sure get a lot of people streaming by.  Unfortunately, not a lot of stopping to listen awhile (probably due to the sudden cold snap), except the anonymous (and silent) people sitting back around the tree's planter box.  (Though I have a feeling that there were more people listening than I'm aware of, due to the 360-degree configuration.  There were some occasional bursts of applause coming from weird angles, and I'd turn to find a group out behind me somewhere.)

I guess I'm getting used to the silence, though -- it didn't bother me much this time.  And I suppose I should just assume they're really listening, and talk to them accordingly despite their silence and distance.  I *am* the one with the amplifier, after all.  (Though nowhere near the amplifier that Movie Girl has, with her Way-Too-Frequent and Very-Loud "Theater X Is Sold Out" and "No Outside Food" announcements.)

I had a pretty good idea after the last cold night gig.  Normal people combat the chill with a hot beverage, but I can't stand coffee (even though I *tried* to drink some of the un-asked-for Starbucks that a thoughtful guy brought me last time) or tea, and hot chocolate kludges up your throat.  I thought, "Maybe I can stand tea with enough lemon in it."  And then I thought, "Why not just drink the lemon-sugar-water, and leave out the *tea*?"  So I 'waved up some lemonade, put it in a thermos travel mug, and sipped it all night long.  Yummy, warming, good for the singing, and a lot less burpy than carbonated Dew.  Win-win.

And I had another left-field kind of idea -- it would be fun to give a little present to the little kids that came to dance for a while; specifically, "Finger Lights", little colored LED flashlights that you can strap to your finger.  They're cheap (4/$1 at the swap meet), and will be fun for the kids to dance with, and then keep.  So I brought a pocketful on stage, and, naturally and disappointingly, never got a Kids' Dance Party started.  I did give a few away to some tween girls who were hanging out (and doing gymnastic routines), and a little girl (3?) who kept coming up to the stage to tell me who-knows-what in not-only baby talk, but *Farsi* baby talk.  Anyway, it'll probably be a better trick back at the old stage location.  We'll see next time.

I also bought a little tambourine to see if I can get a little more participation going in the Dance Parties.  And it worked a couple of times, though with bigger kids than I'd anticipated...

It occurred to me that, since the iPad is sitting there on the music stand (being the Music Book) anyway, I could just fire up the recording program in the background, and let it record the evening's audio, albeit poorly, with its built-in mic -- just in case anything great happens.  It kinda worked, though it picks up the crowd chatter almost as well as me, and the guitar is over-loud because it's acoustically aiming right at the iPad all night.  Here's a song that came out pretty OK, though: Over the Rainbow

Probably because of the huge traffic, I seem to have sold about 20 CDs, which probably also accounts for the near-record $152 in the jar.  Also, I had a guy ask me if I play "corporate" gigs (to which I replied "I'll play anywhere!"), and as I was packing up another guy asked me if I'd play the 20 minutes before the Navy Seal movie (he'd rented the whole theater for him and his Seal pals), next Saturday.  Um, sure, I guess.  I don't know if either of these guys will actually call, but it's nice to be asked.

Keith at Irvine Spectrum -- 06Feb2012

Finally a great night at Spectrum!  After the last few not-much-fun gigs here, I was frankly starting to think it might just not be worth the trouble anymore.  But the weather was warm and the friendly people were out, and I had a great time.  Looks like the warmer it gets, the funner it'll be...

I was determined to try to talk in-between songs, whether I felt like it or not, but there almost always seemed to be people involved so I didn't have any trouble just talking to them.  That probably helped bring in more people, too.  At one point, I had 30 or 40 people standing around me, dragged in by the dancing kids, and the phalanx of parents watching them.

In addition to all the attention, it was apparently Unusual Request night -- one guy half-jokingly asked for Jimi Hendrix, but I had just run through my acoustic version of "The Wind Cries Mary" earlier in the week, so I up and played it for him (and he was clearly impressed).  The rest of the requestors had a lot less luck -- a guy asked for some Alison Krause, and failing there, for some Don Williams.  I've never heard of Don Williams, so the guy promised to send me some links, which he actually did.  Don is an old-school country crooner, with lots of references to "the blood of the lamb" and such.  Sorry, dude, not exactly my style.

Later on a guy came up with a fiver and asked for some Bee Gees or Andy Gibb.  Oddly specific, and a complete strikeout.  I offered some Beatles as a substitute, but he didn't seem interested at all.  How can you like the Bee Gees and *not* like the Beatles?  Vice versa: OK, but...?

He kind of gave up and went back to his girlfriend, and I played some stuff that seemed to be at least in the same ballpark, and then he came back up, with another dollar, and asked for some ELO, with, of course, similar non-results.  Really?  ELO?!?  I guess I should be flattered that folks think I'm that good/versatile, but I'm mainly baffled.  I always wonder if I should go home and learn at least one song by these unusual-requested artists, but then I think: One request in 10 years of doing this?  A statistically losing bet, no doubt.

Anyway, I had the best gig there for a while (which, frankly, my lately-badly-bruised ego really needed), and took home $96 to boot.  The iPad Songbook is really working out well, speed and versatility-wise, and I may have solved the clipping-distorted vocals problem I've been having, too.  I even picked up two new "Likes" on my "Keith Comer, Good Music" Facebook page.  A good night, all around.

Keith at Laguna Artwalk / Twig -- 02Feb2012

Had a great time playing at Susie's "Twig" giftshop again. Susie wasn't there at first, but her sister was minding the store. I started playing and a girl named Madison and her mom came in. Madison's Mom (as she's apparently always called) was kinda crazy, knew the words to lots of songs, and wasn't afraid to use 'em. She sang along to nearly everything, couldn't resist buying and wearing a little red retro hat, and when Susie arrived, gathered everyone for a group sing-along, too.

Maybe not quite as many people overall as last time, but still plenty of people to play for all along, and most of them appreciative and willing to find a favorite on the list -- usually at Madison's Mom's insistence. She even went out onto the sidewalk a couple of times to drag people in off the street to listen. I need her to come out *every* time!

I hadn't bothered to put out any CDs or a tip jar -- it's not really necessary (and seems a bit tacky inside Susie's store) -- but when she noticed it late in the evening, she dug out a canister of some kind and put $12 in it. Someone else contributed a fiver, too. I guess I'll put a jar out right at the start next time -- Susie seems not only to not mind, but to insist on it...