Keith at MVCOC Party -- Thursday, 18Dec2014

The lady who books me for Santa's Workshop and the Farmers' Market gigs recommended me to the head of the Mission Viejo Chamber of Commerce to play their "Holiday Mixer". See, it really is "who you know".

I was expecting a(nother) dull party, but there were a couple hundred people, and they were ready to par-tay. There was an official photographer like at a senior prom, free food (provided by local member businesses), and "Casino Night". Everyone got some free "money" at the door, and at the end of the evening, their winnings (if any) converted into raffle tickets for prizes.

So everyone was busy talking, eating, and gambling while I played, but lots of people came over to say nice things. But oddly, the guy had also booked the "Mission Viejo High School Choir". When I got the signal, I took a break and in they came -- 5 kids and the director. That hardly qualifies as a "choir", but the crowd shushed down and could maybe hear the first few songs, but then they got bored and wanted to get back to their casino games, and it got noisier and completely drowned the poor kids out. As they left, I told the director about the senior home I'd played at that's within walking distance of the school, and would be a far better venue for the kids to sing at.

I played a little more, and then they stopped the games to do the raffle, which took forever. When that was done, most everyone took it as a signal that the party was over, but some people stayed so I played a few more songs, and some couples danced to "White Christmas", etc. That was fun.

While I was packing up, the guy who organized the party came up and told me that everyone loved the music, and it "made the party", etc. So hopefully he'll hire me again sometime.