Have a great day!

With Kathy’s reception and Life Celebration completed, I had my first gig at Luthier’s coming up. Luthier’s (Easthampton, MA) is my musical home away from home. Many of the videos I post are from the open mic there. The community of friends I have there was the bedrock of my support while Kathy was sick with Huntington’s and the funeral fiasco that followed. But, I was still a little nervous about it: I had everything ready. I was bringing my laptop, webcam and a good microphone to stream it on Concert Window. I felt I had practiced enough. My friends Charlie and Mike were going to sing harmony on a few songs. Would there be a turnout? Would I remember the lyrics to my own songs?

At 11 that morning, the doorbell rang.  It was a special delivery package: Kathy’s cremated remains. I was expecting this delivery anyway, so it was not a surprise. Harvard Medical School called the week before. They were finished with Kathy and she had been cremated. Her remains would be mailed to my house in the next few days by special delivery and I would need to sign for the package. My plans were to either scatter them in Plymouth when I was there for an upcoming concert or in this area on the anniversary of her passing, October 14th.

I was handed a cardboard box clearly labeled
“Human Cremated Remains.”

Then the mailman said,
“Have a great day.”

I think I said, “Ah, thanks?”
Sometimes I find humor in odd places.

We got to Luthier’s a little bit later than I would have liked. Since I would be going on at 7:00pm we were able to do a sound check. My open mic friends are very enthusiastic about singing along to the performers. As an experiment I had little song sheets printed out at Staples and put one on each seat.

Streaming. I tried to set up the laptop to do the live streaming but had trouble finding a good safe spot for the equipment. Luthier’s is very long and narrow with a small stage loaded with equipment. I found a corner on the stage but once we started performing one of the other mike stands blocked the view. I couldn’t monitor it while I was performing, so I broadcast a picture of a mic stand for 45 minutes. Live and learn. (The “i” is long in Live, I guess.)

And the band rolled on. I guess I was still hoping more people would show up but there was a New England Patriots game on TV, and it was a Thursday night. As soon as I started performing. The eight-piece band that was going to perform later in the evening arrived. They started rolling all their amps and equipment by the stage, acting like I wasn’t there. Pointing at spots on the stage. Discussing where to put their equipment.

Hello? I’m trying to sing a love song up here.

Their friends and extended family arrived at the same time. It was like a big homecoming with me supplying background music. I did the first few songs solo. Then Charlie and Mike came up to join me for Old Yellow Datsun, Don’t Be Discouraged and Someone Who Cares. I thought those songs went over pretty well because of the harmony and Mike’s percussion. Then I finished my set with a few more songs. There was really nobody else in the audience I recognized (outside of the bartender), so I sang to Charlie and Mike and the chairs. There were a few people that tried to sit in front and listen for a while through the noise so I sang to them. When my set was done at 7:45 I moved my equipment off the stage to make room for the second act.

Shawna Caspi is a great guitarist and songwriter from Toronto. I had sent her an email to welcome her to Luthier’s Co-op. In my head, I thought I would be supplying her an audience. Luckily, by the time she started singing, the band had finished moving their equipment in, their friends had started drinking, and they were quiet for her set. There was one guy at the bar that was getting a little too drunk, and maybe a little too friendly.

Every concert or open mic is a learning opportunity for me and I knew I had a great gig coming up in a week–opening for Tom Paxton. So I had no regrets. I still had a good time and enjoyed being able to play a longer set of music. I felt like I was having fun up there. Yes, I remembered my own lyrics. And I didn’t screw up too bad.

Note to self: When I find myself in another noisy situation like that I need to have a plan B. Maybe I should do covers of songs by others. People need something they can identify and relate to.