K&W in Laguna Beach -- Saturday, 07Feb2015

Warren had theoretically negotiated with Tom that we'd trade off getting The Corner on Saturdays, and this was supposed to be our one. But when I got there, the Tommies were already there, and Tom said they'd just do one more 10 song set, which turned out to be 40 minutes long. He's not exactly cooperating...

Anyway, once we got started it was pretty fun. Lots of people to play for, and lots of requests to fill. Early on, a group of high school kids came by all dressed up for their Winter Formal. One of the girls said, "Hi Keith! I'm from Indian Princesses!" It was Megan, who I knew well when she was 8 or 10, but I'd'a never recognized this 17-year-old with the fancy dress, makeup, hair, and all.

Three young ladies from San Diego, but originally from Saudi Arabia, came by. They claimed to not know any of the songs on my list, but they'd been in the US long enough to know "I’m Yours" and "Hey Soul Sister". And then I played "Let It Be", which they knew, as I figured they would, which led to "Hey, Jude" and "I've Just Seen a Face". They weren't as ignorant of "western" music as they claimed to be.

Indeed, the bravest one came up and tried to sing along, though she didn't really know any of the songs well enough to actually do so.

Later on, a pair of high school girls came up and one of them told me that she was a terrible singer but could she sing a song? That was an interestingly honest sales pitch, so how could I refuse? She wanted to sing "Need You Now", which I happen to know, so I started it up, and sure enough, she *was* terrible, so I had to sing the whole thing on top of her since she never did find the right key. Fun anyway, I guess.

A dad came by with his little 7-year-old daughter, so I played "Twinkle Twinkle", and then "Do You Want to Build a Snowman?". Another guy asked for "City of New Orleans", so I did that one, and was amazed to see the little girl singing along on the choruses. Her dad then told me that she's a big Willie Nelson fan, and wanted me to play "On the Road Again". I don't know that one, but I fired up "Always On My Mind", which the little girl was thrilled by.

Around 11:00, the new assistant manager in the ice cream store came out and offered some to me and Warren. That was pretty nice of him, and quite welcome, considering I'm starting to feel a cold coming on and after 4 and a half hours my throat was getting pretty scratchy. Not to mention how hungry I get after playing for 4 or 5 hours...