K&W in Laguna Beach -- Tuesday, 18June2013

Even before we started, the organizer of the Fete de la Musique showed up. He'd had to rush around to see all the bands at the Fete, so he wanted to hear more of my stuff, I guess. Or maybe it was by way of apology for how badly the Fete went for me...

Anyway, he stayed for a long time (and left $20 in the jar, more apology), but even without him we had a constant stream of people come by for music and/or ice cream. Indeed, I wanted to try out a new song, but didn't have a "nobody's here" moment to do so until around 9:00.

The new song is "Sukiyaki", which was a big hit in the US in 1963, but I'm learning it to play for the many Japanese tourists that come by, now that it's summer. It has a beautiful melody, though the words have nothing to do with food. The actual title (and first line) translates as "I look up as I walk", and the rest of the first verse is "So that the tears won't fall; remembering the spring days; but I'm all alone tonight". The British record company that brought the song out of Japan decided to rename it to something easier for English speakers to pronounce and associate with Japan. A Newsweek columnist likened it to releasing "Moon River" in Japan, but calling it "Beef Stew".

Anyway, I'm learning it all phonetically since I don't speak Japanese, but I know roughly what words mean what, and I've heard a *lot* of spoken Japanese so I hope my accent won't be *too* bad. Of course, the other trick is recognizing when some Asian tourists are Japanese as opposed to Chinese, or Korean, etc. But though I don't speak them, I can tell the languages apart, so if I hear them talking...

When I did finally try out a few verses, it turned out that somebody *was* listening, 'cuz a lady came up a few songs later and asked "Was that 'Sukiyaki' you played a while ago? My dad had that 45!", and put some money in the jar. I guess it's a hit already!

We had lots of people stay around, and although it was a work night, the new batteries I bought let us play until 9:45. I sold out of the 4 CDs I brought (I know, I know, bring more!), and we made $84 in tips, a new record, I think. There was one couple who listened for a long time, and finally got up to leave, only to come on back across the crosswalk and sit back down when I fired up "Homeward Bound". Sometimes it's like a superpower...