Keith at a Private Party -- Saturday, 06Sept2014

My brother got me a gig playing for his Lawyer Club party, so the pressure was on me not to make a fool out of him in front of his peer group. Not to mention that they weren't altogether sure about paying for a pig in a poke.

It was in the huge backyard of a judge, who introduced himself as "Charlie". HIs wife was the twin sister of the mom on "That 70's Show", and a real sweetie. The group turned out to be mostly people in the right age bracket to like my stuff, and it went quite well. Since it was basically a cocktail party, there was no applause, but fortunately, I'm not as sensitive to people not "actively listening" as I used to be. And people did give me a thumbs-up once in a while, and I take it as a compliment whenever someone comes up to request a song, though I suppose It could be them hoping to find something on the list that's better than the crap I've been playing so far...

After cocktails, there was dinner. I tried not to notice that all the tables filled up except the one closest to me. But after dinner, the spell broke somehow -- I guess they finally had nothing in their hands; drink nor fork -- and there started to be applause after the songs, starting, inexplicably, with the Everly Brothers song, "Dream". I guess it sounds pretty great with the harmony box singing the high part. I'll have to try to remember to bring that one out more often.

After everyone was gone and I was packing up, the judge and his wife came over to talk to me, and she must have used the word "perfect" a dozen times, about the songs, my singing and playing, the fit for the party, etc. She made me a grocery bag full of leftover food, tried to give me two bottles or wine, and slid me an additional $60 before I left. Sometimes it's a bit insulting for people to seem so surprised that I'm pretty good, but I'm sure they mean it as a compliment.

Several people came up to take business cards, including one guy who had hosted this apparently-annual party in years past, and presumed that he'd be doing so again. The judge's wife was sure that other people would be contacting me for future parties, so they must have been talking about me behind my back...

I’m just glad it worked out so well, or my brother'd never be able to live it down. And I imagine that whoever "fronted" the $200 won’t have any trouble getting reimbursed, now that everyone in the club has heard what they paid for.