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You better stop and look around

Playing two shows in one weekend is way more than I normally play. On top of that, both shows consisted of totally different sets and band members. So this is why I'm running a little slow today (yesterday's muddy kickball game also has something to do with this).

As previewed in my previous post, I was a part of the Hoot Night at Club Dada on Friday. Covering a handful of Rolling Stones songs ("Paint It, Black," "Mother's Little Helper," "Ruby Tuesday," "Heart of Stone," "Angie," "Let's Spend the Night Together," "Get Off Of My Cloud" and "Honky Tonk Women"), our little makeshift band got the crowd hopping. I had never played to a dancing audience before, but it was fun. I give a lot of thanks to Ryan for getting this ball rolling for us.

What was peculiar about the other acts was how they reworked Rolling Stones songs and how certain people in the audience treated them. The Naptime Shake (aka, Noah Bailey) played first armed with only two acoustic guitars and a kazoo. Doing a few originals along with a few Stones songs, I really liked what I heard. However, it was during this set that a mystical figure appeared towards the stage: Beyond-Gone Drunk Guy Who Thinks He's Funny and Invincible. Complete with a hat straight out of the J. Peterman catalog, this forty-something sang brutally off-key along with Noah. Noah held his own and even thanked the guy for singing along.

BGDGWTHFI made an appearance during our set and his hat made its way to the stage. Joshua played a song with it on, as did Fred and Amanda. I think the guy liked our songs since we played the songs closer to their originally recorded versions. That said, a part of me wished the guy would just float out of there with his female companion. My wish was granted in the middle of Sean Kirkpatrick's set.

Sean tackled a number of Stones classics, including "Gimme Shelter," "Jigsaw Puzzle" and "Mother's Little Helper." As usual, he was unaccompanied with only his voice and piano. I can understand certain people decreeing Sean's approach to the Stones as sacrilegious, but that's not the view I took with what I heard. I'm a fan of Sean's work with the pAper chAse and solo, so I really enjoyed his interpretations of these songs. He isn't afraid of playing ugly notes and he's not afraid of playing pretty notes. However, for BGDGWTHFI, this was something to mock.

Making lewd gestures towards certain patrons, the guy was asked politely to leave the venue. As he's leaving, he walks right up to Sean and says, "You're a sad excuse for the Rolling Stones." Sean, with a big smile on his face and a gleam in his eyes, responds, "Thank you. I'm a sad excuse for the Rolling Stones." That must have been the highlight of my night. Sean treated us to few originals and that was a nice way to end the night.

Saturday night was a marathon. We played with the Happy Bullets in Shreveport, a solid three hours away from us. Riding together in a rented van, we got there in time despite the fact it rained the whole way there. Paired with local act the Peekers, we had an alright show with a good crowd. The Peekers were fun even though they were down a member due to stomach flu and had technical problems (including an overheated PA). We played OK, but it wasn't until the middle of the set that I got into the groove of playing our songs. My whole week was devoted to Stones songs, so it took me a few songs to get out of that headspace. The Bullets were fun as usual and I even played second snare drum on "A Proper Rifle Assembly."

After the show, we decided to head on back to Dallas. Regina was up for driving while we all slept (or tried to sleep). About an hour into it, I woke up to find us driving in pure fog. It was like Silent Hill sans the creepy monsters. Luckily, the white lines on the highway were visible for twenty yards, so we got home soundly and on time.

So here I am today. One day before scheduled unclehood. Stay tuned.

Comments

nerver said…
it was a great show all-around. you said some people decreed Sean's versions as sacreligious. it's just a suggestion, but those people should probably go see a Stones cover band, not attend a hoot night.

again, i gotta say, i can't believe you guys only had two practices. your set was really so much fun.

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