Comic Books, Drag Race, & Life in New Zealand
by krisis
Acoustic Night was a trainwreck, as per usual. A Long Time Since, All That’s True, Never Say Goodbye, Punk, Under My Skin, Splinter, Other Plans (deviated from the setlist by adding Under My Skin and Other Plans, and deleting Burn and Over You). The organizer thanked me on the way out, and i replied “I can’t ever have too many experiences of playing to a room of people who wouldn’t like my music anyway.” And, he agreed. I might go back in two weeks.
by krisis
I am going to let you in on something i just found out tonight, in the hopes that you put the information to good use sometime in the future.
When you are invited to play an “acoustic night” at a college bar, you actually are not being asked to come and play acoustic music. The request is much nearer to: “Please come and provide a soundtrack for this crowd of drunk wanna-be frat guys and their not-quite pretty girl friends. Be advised that these men do not like the sound of an acoustic guitar unless it involves the sweet strains of Mr. Dave Matthews, and that they like listening to the songs of chick singers less than they like toothy blowjobs. Do not seek to entertain their girlfriends, as they will be too busy trying to look vaguely pretty and acting as though they are interested in talking to their increasingly intoxicated boyfriends. In light of these facts, we’re really asking you to come and play a half hour of cover songs that drunk guys know the approximate words to, and if you were planning to play originals they should be in the style of the esteemed Mr. Matthews or Bob Marley, may his soul rest in ganja-filled peace. And, no, they are not kidding when they yell ‘Freebird’ or ‘Stairway'”
“Splinter” and “No Second Chance” fell totally flat despite the fact that they are both very electric modern-rock affairs even when stripped down to one guitar. After half-hearted clapping for the latter song i deadpanned “don’t let me interupt your drinking experience; I am here to augment your drunkeness,” which didn’t even raise a chuckle from the audience but thankfully ended their patronizing clapping. In one last attempt to catch anyone’s attention i played “Under My Skin,” but at this point no one was vaguely listening to me with half an ear, so i decided to just have fun and ignore everyone for the rest of the set. “Up & Down” came out better than it has before despite messing with the timing a little, “Trouble With Poets” was nearly perfect,” “Lost” was nice to hear high up but definitely loses all of its viciousness, “Never Say Goodbye” came and went without much fanfare, and i was asked to play one more song while the next band got set up so i played a very very mean version of “Hold on Me” rather than what i was asked to play.
Yes, that means i subjected one poor unsuspecting audience to the terrible trio of breaking up (Spl, U&D, HoM), but i didn’t even mind. I can certainly keep playing “acoustic nights” to firm up my on-stage bravery in the face of tepid apathy, but if i want to get any kind of reaction at all i suppose i have to actually find some people who like folk music. Imagine that.
by krisis
As it turns out, “Splinter” was in charge of this whole new-songs conspiracy, because somehow of my 125+ song collection it benefited the most from my semester of voice lessons. The once breathy and lightweight vocals have turned into howls comparable to the ones in “Hold On Me,” and the big sustained D near the end has suddenly become a note i’m not scared of (after crescendoing on a tied whole-note D all semester in “Satin Doll” my songs suddenly aren’t as intimidating to sing). So, yes, “Splinter” was hoping to get my attention and as a reward it’s going to be played tonight. Otherwise i’m still a little undecided about my set, because it’s supposed to be a short set so i’m trying to balance new material with patentedly catchy songs so i don’t simply suck. Right now it’s looking like “No Second Chance,” “Splinter,” “tired of sex,” “Up & Down,” “the trouble with poets,” “Never Say Goodbye,” which means i’m definitely not repeating any material from my first appearance (as if anyone would notice). My hope is that if i can contrive show up four different time with four radically different sets of original material they’ll have no qualms about bringing me back even though i don’t really like to play covers.
I get the feeling “Under My Skin” is going to be very jealous… this is the first time it’s been intentionally left out, ever. Life goes on, i suppose.
by krisis
In two weeks i’ve played outside for Spring Jam, in my supervisor’s office at work, for a room full of “dykes,” and in a tiny bar adjoining a good place to get wings. Each performance had its own little quirks, but tonight’s was definitely my favourite in many ways. Firstly, i had the crowd stacked in my favor with mucho peeps from the Player’s House. Secondly, i was really well rehearsed and not at all nervous. And, finally, all of my songs sounded good – even to me (which is a rare thing).
The set (a whopping hour long) follows, with minimal comments. A trio sneak-peek should be up sometime this weekend.
Other Plans (great opener, still love it),
Punk (crowds seem to pay attention to this; a shame it’s only 2 minutes long),
Deadweight (surprisingly coherent),
Ziggy Stardust (Bowie: random fun),
Relief (doesn’t seem to do much live),
Buildings and Bridges (Ani: by request!),
Under My Skin (wow, a crowd that didn’t know all the words…),
Bridge (“this is as close as i get to playing a solo”)
Dilate (Ani: huge and fun),
Give (hard to do live, but satisfying. thnx rabi.),
Crashing (broke a string; steve of The Conditions filled in while i got this ready),
Lost (quick and painless),
Like A Prayer (Madonna: not the best closer for a bar full of drunk men when you don’t know all the words, but all of the girls helped out by singing along).
My set was between a Drexel gal doing mostly covers and a massive two-hour (still going as i write) set by Justin (of dead susan fame) and Geoff. I think the owner invited me back for next week, but i’m sorta drunk on starvation so i don’t have a very clear memory of it. If i am playing next week, i need to learn some more cover songs. God help us all… g’nite.
by krisis
The sky is so very grey that i feel like it’s drowning out all the reds and oranges in my personality and just leaving me calm with layers of blue and purple with maybe just a peak of yellow underneath. Or, maybe i just didn’t get quite enough sleep last night and am looking for an excuse to be low-key. Life is moving by very quickly as of late and i’m just trying to put in an appearance in every day and hour so i can at least say i was in on it even though it will be a blur in my memory.
I seem to be performing in a bar on campus tonight for an hour but i couldn’t explain to you how that happened if you were to ask me so you probably shouldn’t. I’ll get a weekly invite if i do well with the patrons this week and next, so if you have id (that’s identification, not the thing that hides underneath the ego and the superego and makes you all primal and stuff) you should come (Buffalo Bill’s, 35th and Lancaster, $5 cover, i’m on near 11pm). Also, my beloved Treble Makers are singing at the Drexel a capella show Saturday @ 4pm in Mandell Theatre, and they’re much cooler than i am even after you allow for the fact that there’s 10 of them and just the 1 of me. But, enough advertisement.
If one thinks ahead (i know, it’s frightening) to me actually being asked to show up with my guitar on a weekly basis, one would realize i’ll eventually have to get up off my ass and learn some new cover songs to play. In the last 24 hours i happen to have learned three, but that’s mostly because i just got an Ani DiFranco guitar book in my teeny metal mailbox and so now i am in study to eventually have an entire set just of Ani DiFranco songs (as if anyone can really tell the difference). I’ll definitely be Trioing my new covers this weekend, so keep an ear out for them. Should be interesting.
In a tangent tangentially related to my slow but sure musical growth and exploration, Gina seems to be moving into the apartment directly above mine for the summer (after which point i’m probably moving out). The ramifications of having Gina and I stacked one on top of the other with all of our various guitars and cds and things are rather exciting (probably more like terrifying to our neighbors), and life should definitely get more interesting. Or maybe just louder. We shall see. But, speaking of vertical neighbors, my downstairs neighbor randomly showed up at my door last night while my mother was fussing over my newly installed air conditioner, and a strange and uneasy conversation ensued. I have never been one to have guests over, especially on zero notice, so my entire third of the conversation seemed to be geared at getting one or more of us to exit the apartment. It’s not that i’m unfriendly, i’m just not really used to people being in my space. But, downstairs neighbor is very sweet and she likes to listen to me through the ceiling, so i won’t begrudge her some time standing on my threshold talking about where to get good 2for1 deals on whole frozen chickens with my mother.
Wow, that post got much more literal as it went along.
Even the music i brought with me to work today is sorta greyish sounding, and it’s all new so it’s just flying past my ears as i try to absorb some little pieces of it. But, i think i come here to actually work, as odd as that might sound, so i’m off for now, into the grey. Wish me luck.