Carriage Inn

This gig was at 10:30 this morning I wanted to not be in a rush setting up so I left the house at about 8:20. It kinda reminded me of getting up early to go fishing. Of course I did't get up quite that early but it had the expedition type feel like I was doing something.

This place is located not too far from where I live. It is a retirement Community and not an assisted living center. They residents have thier own apartments/condos but they do have a dining area and meals are provided. .

I played in the "living room" which is located adjacent to the dining area. They moved the furniture around and placed the couches so they faced me and brought in additional chairs. While I was setting up, the lady who hired me told me they never know what to expect and there could be anywhere from 2 to 20 people that might show up.

I was scheduled to play exactly one hour & I played about 1 hour and 8 minutes. They did do a good job advertising the show and there was a good turn out. All the seats were filled & some folks standing.

The challenge this gig presented is that I needed to entertain these folks for an hour straight. & unlike most gigs I have played, There was no drinking, eating, & not much conversation going on either. They basically all were there to watch and hear. If I bombed, I knew the room would soon be empty. It was a very honest but polite group. They laughed at some of my jokes but there were a couple that left the room silent. It is a hell of a thing to come to a part of the show where you are going for a chuckle and you look out into the room and everybody is looking straight back at you with either no expression or a look of confusion. It is a completely different type of silence. I am know alot of people think I am strange but I loved it.

I knew exactly where I was with these poeple and It was real. & that my friends is what live music and particularly the blues is about. Truth.

Not that that is a definition for the blues. In fact I don't there is a good defintion but I do think one of the basic ingredients is raw truth.

Later