Music wise, I have had a lot going on. Even with Kathy’s art exhibit, I managed to keep going to several open mics. I had a few gigs and went to a few concerts too. My regular design work schedule was also very busy.
October 1, opening for Tom Paxton: One of the big highlights I guess had to be opening for one of my music heroes, Tom Paxton on October 1 in Plymouth MA. My gig at Luthier’s a few days before hadn’t been a startling success so I was looking forward to this night. Kathy and I lived in Plymouth from 1976 to 1978 when we were first married. I think we both regretted moving away from there, but we came to the fork in the road and moved. I wasn’t sure how it would be going back for the first time after Kathy’s death.
The Spire Center for the Performing Arts where I was performing is in a converted synagogue practically across the street from our second apartment on South Russell Street. It was a rainy drizzling day. We are still in a drought so it was hard to complain about it. But since I decided to bring Marty, the car had a ripe wet hound odor for the day.
Marty and I arrived in Plymouth in the afternoon and I visited my friend Ed Nute, a wonderful photographer I have known since we lived there. We were all members of the South Shore Folk Music Club back then. I wrote and designed The Hurdy Gurdy, their newsletter. And I got my feet wet as a performer at their open mics which were called “coffeehouses.” It was good to talk to him in person. Facebook friendships aren’t quite the same.
I went by our first apartment on Leyden Street, up the hill from the Plymouth Rock and the boat (Mayflower II). It was a third floor walk-up in an antique building. There were two elderly women, Mrs. Holmes and Mrs. Bonnie who lived in different apartments there that we really liked. I joked that they probably came over on the Mayflower. One of them was indeed a Mayflower descendant. Our apartment had a funny layout with a walk-through bathroom. You could enter it from the bedroom or the living room. And you had to walk through the bedroom to get to the tiny kitchen. It was a really cute place. I could practically fall out of bed and go around the corner to the newspaper I worked at, The Old Colony Memorial on the next street. Actually, with the schedule I worked there, it was more likely that I fell into bed in the middle of the night. But that is a different story.
Sound-check: I got to the Spire in time for my sound check at 5:30. It took a while before I found a place to park, but I got right up on stage. There were two people doing sound. The main engineer went to the back of the hall to run the main board. Another sound person was on stage sitting on a stool. I couldn’t figure out why she was up there until I noticed an iPad in her hands. On the screen was virtual mixing panel to mix the stage monitors. I was kind of amazed because at my level I am lucky if there are monitors at all let alone someone to adjust them. (To the non-musicians, monitors are the smaller speakers that you will see on stage facing the musicians. Bands really need them to hear what they are doing.) I played parts of a few different songs first on guitar; then just vocals; then together. There is a certain irony to all this preparation but I’ll explain that later. Once they were happy and I was happy, I brought all of my stuff downstairs to the green room.
The Spire has a very nice area for performers to get ready and rest: a small kitchen and a dressing room with a shower for performers to get ready. Tom Paxton was already there with his guitarist, Geoff Bartley, a wonderful guitarist I opened for back in my early days. They were both very welcoming and friendly. We talked about our music, the music business, recording and the election. They practiced a little. And I had some snacks. They had ordered some take-out food, I think it was Thai. I was just as happy not to eat a lot before performing. Lloyd, the production manager who had booked me, came down to introduce himself. I would play for 30 minutes and there would be a short break before Tom performed. They decided Tom and Geoff would do one long set, rather than two sets with a break to keep the night from getting too long. I asked Lloyd if there would be a signal when my time was up. Tom pointed to “that thing on your wrist” and said, “When the big hand is on the six….”
Showtime: I climbed the narrow staircase up to the back of the stage. Lloyd announced me off stage and I started singing. I sang a quick introduction I had written just for the night:
My name is Peter Lehndorff, I have a basset hound
I used to live in Plymouth. America’s hometown.
We lived on Leyden Street. Up the hill from THE BOAT.
I’m opening for Tom Paxton! I know you’re saying Whoa!.
I wouldn’t write the songs I write, if it hadn’t been for Tom.
But, I’m just here to warm you up. Feel free to sing along.
I tell stories with my songs. About the stuff I see
Most of it is made-up crap. Some is about me.
Some songs are funny. Some songs are sad.
Songs about the way it is. And the life I’ve had.
Then I sang my song Marriage of Convenience. People seemed to enjoy it and sang along. And then the sound man crawled up to the stage and whispered:
“Psst! Peter!
Did you know your guitar isn’t plugged in?”
Oops. Well so much for the sound check. I was able to turn it into a joke. The rest of the show went fine. The audience sang along to Don’t Be Discouraged and East Longmeadow. I did a few serious songs and that gave me a chance to talk about Kathy, Huntington’s Disease and living in Plymouth. When I got back to the kitchen I found out that Tom and Geoff had gone up to listen to the first few songs and heard my sound snafu. They both thought I had done a great job. Tom commented that the guitar sounded fine without being plugged in. “And they could hear the lyrics better.” Once you were plugged in the guitar was the same volume as your voice. So, lemons to lemonade, they say. After that, I got to relax and listen to Tom play. These are some photos that Ed Nute took of my set.
The songs of Tom Paxton are really a treasure. There are just so many great lyrics, stories, and melodies that sometimes it is hard to pick favorites. Some of his songs were the first ones I learned on the guitar when I was a kid: Ramblin’ Boy, Can’t Help But Wonder Where I’m Bound, What Did You Learn In School Today. His song, The Last Thing on My Mind was one of Kathy’s favorites. He sang a song about knowing Mississippi John Hurt (another of my favorites) back in the 60s. And he told hold John was going to record his song Bottle of Wine on his next record, but he passed away before that happened. Tom also sang many newer songs. His voice and guitar picking are still great.
These are a few photos I took of his show:
After the show was over I went up and mingled for a while. I gave Tom a cd of some songs and had him sign a CD of his music. I talked to a few folks about Huntington’s and Plymouth. Tom and I took a selfie, I said my thanks, gathered my things and headed home with Marty. Fortunately, after a night like that, the adrenaline keeps me alert for the drive. That and walking Marty in the rain.
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