Keith at Art Walk, Laguna Beach -- 06Dec2012

I keep swearing off the Art Walk nights, and I keep being tempted back in. I thought that maybe this time would be better since it's "the Christmas one", and I was kinda right. There weren't as many people out as when it's warmer, but they seemed in less of a rush.

I got there pretty early, so The Corner was free, but I left it for Jim & Warren. Unfortunately, they got there just a bit too late, and it had been snagged by some guy I've never seen before. He was, let's say, "sincere", but not very good. Waste of a perfectly good corner...

Anyway, I set up down by the big green swirly bench/art thing, and had sufficient traffic to make it worth it. There was already some guy in Acoustic Alley, and later on, a guy strumming a classical and singing in Spanish, some kid slamming chords on a banjo, and a girl playing cello in the alcove/entrance to a For Lease shop (I'll have to remember that location!). Jim & Warren, having been snarfed from The Corner, set up across the street from me -- I could hear them in between songs, and Jim's new amplified voice helps their "sound" a lot.

I had a big extended family of parents, aunts and uncles, cousins, etc., come by and use me as a babysitter while the adults chatted way too loudly nearby, though a few of them were polite enough to clap a bit occasionally. And after a while, Silly Patty came by to ask for lots of songs, including some I haven't sung in a long while ("To Make You Feel My Love" and "For Free", that I recall).

Anyway, I had some fun (and made $18), so it alleviated, somewhat, my bad feelings about Art Walk. I guess the biggest problem is that, if you're not on The Corner, you just don't get the traffic or attention, and, since I always defer it for Jim & Warren (even if they don't manage to get it themselves), it's kind of a Poor Night, by definition.