Keith at Irvine Spectrum -- 15Dec2012

Pretty much like last year -- nobody comes to the mall at Christmastime unless they have to, meaning they have shopping to do, and no time for the music guy. Some people are cool enough to at least smile on their way zooming past, and of course, I did have some people who stopped for a while and asked for some songs. And the families with little kids are the ones who tend to stop, so I played the Big Three kids' Christmas tunes (Rudolph, Frosty, Jingle Bells) a lot.

I've been experimenting with using the "pre-wired" backpack solution that I rigged up for "street work" in the full-blown gig situation, both because it's faster to set up and tear down, and because it prevents me having to disassemble and reassemble it when I go from one kind of gig to the other. The difference is that I need a bunch of additional stuff (the second speaker and its cable, the speaker stands, a power and extension cord, etc.), so I'm trying to figure out what all, and how to carry, the extras.

I'm getting it down, mostly, but in the confusion I forgot the most important thing: the tip jar! OK, maybe that's the 100th most important, but it's still fun to get "money for nothing", so I went to a coffee shop and they gave me a large clear cup. Not nearly large enough (yay!), so I had to empty it a few times into my pocket to make more room. I guess it made a pretty big difference though, 'cuz was a lot more money in my guitar case (on the other side of the stage) than the cup, which is the opposite from usual. But I still came away with $102, so at least I made more than the Center did, after the $50 fee.

I'm back there again this coming Friday, which will be my last Christmas gig this year . I imagine people will be even more frantic though, since it'll be "three days 'til Christmas".