First gig for the new band

My new band the Mud Falcons played its first gig on Saturday night, and the gig went really well. I'm really glad they did, as there are nights when I question why I still go out and play gigs. Saturday night was most certainly not one of those.

Don't get me wrong - I always love playing, and I plan to play music as long as I'm physically able. It's the other stuff that gets in the way, and my tolerance for the other stuff has dropped over the years. Sitting in bars for hours on end, crappy food, very little sleep, vans with bench seats that always cause a metal pole to lodge itself in a very uncomfortable place, the mystery band who was not on the website/e-mail from the promoter/newspaper ad but is somehow on the bill nevertheless, driving for 9-1/2 hours only to find the club has no electricity and your gas won't even be covered, being combined in very close quarters with the same people for days at a stretch, ridiculously hirsute male non-promoters in 70's mesh tank tops who can't even provide a functioning PA, bars who don't even give you a buck off their already overpriced drinks, unreasonable bands on the bill - it can all combine to wear you down - and I was most certainly worn down by the end of 2010. My social life was non-existent, my wallet was empty, and I was wondering just exactly what I had to show for it.

That's not to say I didn't have fun on the road - in fact, I usually did. I met a lot of great people that never would have figured into my life otherwise, and there is something exciting about taking your band somewhere where either (1) you're not a known quantity and you might just blow some minds or (2) going back to a town where people know you and are happy to see you. I did, however, reach the point where the cons outweighed the pros.

So, when we started the Mud Falcons, we decided not to tour at all for the first six months of gigging. We'd play locally, and at places that were a very short distance away, and possibly re-evaluate things down the road.

Tritone was the first gig, and while, sure, things were a bit sloppy, everything felt really good. All the things I was sick of handling weren't a factor. No inter-band drama, no 11-hour drive to the show, no payment in cold Tater Tots. We played great and the crowd really dug us. It also helped that we had that sweet middle slot on the bill, and that the other bands (Blessed Muthas and the Tulanes) are cool, down-to-earth folks.

So, we're off to a good start, and our next gig will be... a house party in West Philly? As Steve (Mud Falcons drummer) said, it must be 1985 again.

Group Doueh, Johnny Brenda's, July 3, 2011

Odd week... Three shows I wanted to see, all at Johnny Brenda's, which is conveniently located in my neighborhood.

Group Doueh are a guitar-driven band from the Western Sahara. I've been a fan of theirs for a few years now. I was pleasantly surprised to discover they would be playing at JB's on 4th of July weekend. I attended a BBQ in the Great Northeast, then hopped a ride over to the show.

Johnny Brenda's was packed to the gills. I can't say I expected that.

Group Doeuh put on a good show. The band was minimal - main guy on guitar, a keyboardist, and three women on percussion, one of whom doubled as their vocalist. M. Doueh had an immaculate sense of timing as a rhythm guitarist, and his leads stretched into Zappa/Hendrix territory, with a bit of Garcia randomness thrown in.

There were some chaotic moments, but once that band locked into a groove, they sure could ride it. (I'm told that their usual drummer, Doueh's son, could not make the tour as his high school graduation was impending.)

The crowd, on the other hand... Utterly bizarre...

There was such an extreme amount of reverence in the room. It reminded me of the crowds who went to see the dearly departed Grateful Dead in 1994 and 1995, in that what was going on onstage didn't matter so long as the performers were present ON the stage. There were, in fact, two separate occasions where Group Doueh tuned for 25-30 seconds, and at completion of said tuning, the crowd went nuts as if they had just played a great song.

I don't wish to diminish the good show that Group Doueh put on, but man, can we treat these folks like any other band? They've certainly got the chops and songs to stand up against anybody on the club circuit.

Next in the series: Khaira Arby...

Yes, I'm blogging now

The world needed more internet rantings, so I am now in on it. I'm not entirely sure why.

I'll write about music, and some other stuff. I will not give releases by musicians letter grades. I may write to say what certain musical releases mean to me. I will give my opinion on live shows. And I may just write about other stuff.

I will not write about my day job. It ain't gonna happen.