K&W in Laguna Beach -- Tuesday, 24Sept2013

The weeknights are definitely getting slow down on The Corner. We had a couple of nice ladies sit and listen and request a bunch of songs right at first, but once they left, it was pretty lonely.

Until Silly Patty and Mikey the Greeter showed up, but they've both heard all our stuff, so they mostly just chatted to each other, ignoring us, but keeping other people from being able to sit down. And as it got later, more and more drunk homeless guys came by, effectively shutting out anyone else.

Except for an elderly couple from Switzerland who were either really brave or immune to crazy behavior. They asked for several songs from the list, but the guy kept asking for "Simon & Garfunkel, 'Bright Eyes'". I'd never heard of such a song, nor could I think of a song of a different title that might have those words in it, so I had to keep declining and offering alternatives.

All of which they liked, but I was curious about this "Bright Eyes" song he was clearly so fond of, so I looked it up the next morning. Turns out it was written for the movie "Watership Down" (the bunny war book), was sung by Art Garfunkel (credited right there on the poster), and the words refer to somebody's "bright eyes" turning pale. It's about the death of the main bunny character.

Now, sometimes I go home and learn songs that someone suggested at a gig. This one was the number one selling single of 1979 in the UK, while in the US, it barely cracked the Billboard 200. Apparently, we don't like songs about dead bunnies here in the States. And I'm pretty sure I don't need one in my act...

One suggested song I *did* learn is "Pure Imagination" from the first "Willy Wonka" movie. It sounds strange and unplayable, but I found some chords that weren't too wrong and fixed 'em up into a version that sounds pretty good. I tried it out in public for the first time, and it seems to work. Patty and Mikey really liked it, anyway...

It was getting pretty late and I was thinking of calling it a night when It's-All-About-Me-Gaby came by again, but when I wouldn't let her shanghai the act, she left in a huff. Again.

This blog post. Let me read you it.