How did your gig go?

Pencil sketch by Chris Niosi.

So, you ask, how did the gig go?  This is what I have to say about that.

8 hours of workday work on 55th street. This means arise in the morn at 6:30 or so, rise, roust, get up, get it on and roll out of the sacred allnight bed and get a move on!  Shower, shave and all all the rest and get cookin'! Wake myself, wake the missus and book my sorry ass out of bed, out of the bedroom, off of the weather check and the email check and the internet and the living room and out of the house...out the door, down the hill, up the steps, onto the subway and into town. Now!!!

Do we live for work?  No.  Do we live for  paycheck?  Sort of.  Do we live for coordination of this day's project?  Absolutely not!  We live for music.

Music.

So, do this.  Get through the day.  This is imperative.  Get through, you get through, just like always.  Plow through, stagger through, blaze through, and at the end of it all...I'll be through!  Do it!  Do the thing!  Persevere! Maintain!  Get!  Through!  It!  Now!

The day: Scheduling. Managing. Fretting. Wheeling, dealing. Dealing. A lovely birthday party for Bob with salmon grill by Gloria, dropped into the middle of the day like an parachuted care package.  Better than not bad, very good, excellent! Then back to the work part.

Some hours pass, a blur, a race.  And at 5pm?  Pack it up!  Quick, cymbals in the case, guitar to the car, grab that amp, where is Randy?  Quick, grab a cab!  Get uptown.  It's just a few blocks!

Arrive at P&G Bar, I'm alone, meet with TJ, all is good.  Plug in the amp.  Plug in the guitar.  Strum, signal, yes! Alison shows up. Then Randy and Tom.  Set up guitar 2, set up drums, place mics, yes! CB strums the strings, Randy strums the strings, Tom taps on the skins, monitors, mains, audio!  People arrive, order drinks, they are there, off on the edge, over there but why we're here!

So, the playing, the show! 

I think Chris took this picture as well.

The gig, she was good. Fun and warm, covers up front, cb songs in the middle, a few covers at the tail.  High points: A little bit of Lyle Lovett - Since the  Last Time,  always dig me some Secret Agent Man, Randy and Tom jamming out on Back East, Michael D'Emidio dropped in to Zep out on This Magic Bone, and Eli requested Two Headed Boy from the back of the room. The best part was an unexpected feeling of rejuvenation as the set progressed, feeling more awake as it went along. I do like the singing and the playing, I do like it a lot.

Generally speaking, a happy groove of a night.

P&G Bar gig

Carmen Borgia's Treehouse at the P&G Bar.
It's at 78th and Columbus
Friday, May 7th, 6-8pm
No cover
They don't have food there, but you can send out.

I'll be playing songs from the cover book and some of my own.  I'll be joined by guitar genius Randy Hudson and Tom Wayland will display his fine and varied percussion talents.  Songs by Lyle Lovett, Johnny Rivers, Macy Gray, 10cc, Zappa, Cohen, Neutral Milk Hotel and, of course, Borgia.

Breathing

Sleeping more lately, re-disorganizing, napping...
Winter is waning, we'll see what's next.

Thursday shall rock once again.

Last Thursday for awhile!!!!

Come on down to the Dixon Place Lounge for a warm and toasty evening of tunes and hospitality.

It's been a fun run of my favorite tunes. Come down to catch the last one, it will be a toasty evening of music and hospitality. I'll be joined by the amazing Randy Hudson with some tuneful ebowness.

Last show for now!

Thursday, THURSDAY! Music starts at 7pm.

I'll be at:
The Lounge at Dixon Place
161 Chrystie Street
7 till 10, more or less
Thursday 2/25
No cover, no begging, no catch, naturally!

Post Blizzard Happy Hour!!!!

Come on down to the Dixon Place Lounge for a warm and toasty evening of tunes and hospitality.

Perhaps you were trapped at home for two days, you colored the book and played hide and seek with the children until you practically bled. Or maybe you're getting a touch of cabin fever with your mate or solo. Bring the family and Carm will rock out for the grownups and do Animal Fair for the kiddies. If need be we'll send out for pizza. Carmen plays until you can't stand it, just like always.

I'll be joined by the amazing Randy Hudson and Anthony Liberatore on guitars and singing. Three way? Or just a trio?

Don't miss out, don't despair, don't disappear! Only two more shows to go for now. Be there and be square! Be fair! Be aware! Whatever!

Thursday, THURSDAY! Happy hour 6-7. Music starts at 6:30.
Come early for drink specials.... Happy Hour 6-7pm: $1 off everything, plus $5 special cocktails!!!

I'll be at:
The Lounge at Dixon Place
161 Chrystie Street
6:30pm until 9:30, more or less
2 Thursdays left - 2/11 & 2/25
No cover, no begging, no catch, naturally!

Thursday is the new Friday

Work is a workweek work is a blind slide that startsonmondaystopsonfriday if i'm lucky, life is a workweek, life is life, life is a big fast car flying down a one lane blacktop, flying, swooshing, sighing by like a thing you did but don't clearly recall, like a memory you haven't had yet, just yet, life is the car, destiny is the road, work is the engine, money is the fuel

At night not every night, some evening, not every evening there is a thing, a pause, a RECALIBRATION a stutter, a skip in time, a break a THEFT...

The email is abandoned, the duty lost, the phone as if ripped from the socket on the wall in a horror film, the life, the way, the assumed thing is torn from existence

A nylon bag, black, obscure, ignored in the corner of the day.

A box, vinyl clad, dusty, harsh in its promise.

The box plugged in, the bag unzipped, a stand, an instrument, a guitar!

Plugged in, placed in the stand, stand, the last. Stand.

And then:

Music, possibly. Tentative, shy, people are leaving the building, I pick up, I hold, I pick, the pick...

Open the book, flip pages back, forward, deliberating, act of choosing and then...music, really.

The hand searches, the hand strums, with pick or sans pick. A familiar scale, an intimate riff, the warm up, the approach. And then a little voice. Shy, tentative, air crawling gently over chords, vocals, voice ashamed of itself, voice and then voice with guitar. Song. Songs! Familiar songs from the place, the home, the nest, the book. Singing more rightfully now with the guitar, a song, another song, another and another and now let's play the harmonica too. Simple and there.

Music filling up, life making way, music coming in, music occurring. It's Tuesday, let's work it, it's Wednesday, let's practice it, it's 10pm, we can stop now. It's ok, we can stop, its midnight, we can pause. I can stop today, even though its not today anymore.

Pack it up now. Carefully, each harmonica in it's little case, the rack folded and stowed, the picks and capo in the little knit bag, the tuner and the bag and the rack and the encased harmonicas in the zipper bag on the outside of the case, the guitar in the case, the cable in the other zipper bag, the amp turned off, the guitar in the bag in the office, the light's turned off, the door closed, the brain turned off, the subway ride home, alone, reading to distract, distract productively, without my guitar and without my amp, they are parked and undeployed in my office, ready for any thing, ready for tomorrow.

Tomorrow is Thursday.

I'll be at:

The Lounge at Dixon Place
With Randy Hudson joining me on guitar.

161 Chrystie Street

7pm until 10, more or less

Three more Thursdays - 2/4, 2/11, 2/25

No hat, but I may pass the cover

Thursdays

Three gigs so far at Dixon Place, three completely different nights.

Night one: Ellie and some old friends popped in, true Dixon Placers from way back. I came in ready for covers and they requested my own songs, a pleasant surprise. Bill and Hil came and Alison as well. It was a perfect starter evening, the downstairs show was lightly attended and the night felt personal and special. I love playing for friends.

Night two: The last weekend for the show playing downstairs, and they had a great crowd. By 7pm the lobby already filling up, I dug into it on the electric. I left a copy of the book out and got two requests, Mister Green Genes, Zappa, and something else. I kind of chewed up Green Genes, first time playing it in public, but got a positive nod from the requester. Ramped up the song energy as the crowd gathered and then the room emptied out for the downstairs show leaving three older gentlemen at the bar. I took a brief break then came back with the baritone uke, which they liked. By 8:30 all wrapped up. Decided to play some house music from the ipod for the crowd exit, which matched the main show and was cool.

Night three: Packed house downstairs, which means packed in the lounge. The first set was fun and efficient. Jim Takacs came by, a really pleasant surprise, as well as 3 film students from Montreal I'd met earlier that day at work. When the crowd thinned out I got to chat with everybody. The downstairs show was short, or the time went fast, but suddenly the crowd let out and hit the bar. Really loud, energized crowd. I grabbed my uke and hit a few of my more high energy tunes, and then switched up to electric and just sang into the crowd, they were like a great fresh wave. They were not about me but I felt with them. Loud, drinky, good. I got to crank up the Princeton a bit for the first time and leaned into the mic. Lately I've been fearful for my hearing, conservative. It was a great relief to be in a loud room, grinding out some stupid and fun songs. Secret Agent Man. Coconut. And some cooler stuff as well, Sunny Side Of The Street. Really good night.

This Thursday I suspect I'll be joined by Randy Hudson, really great guitarist, has played with Bongwater, Zorn, founding member of New York Ebow Quartet. Should be fun.

I'll be at:

The Lounge at Dixon Place

161 Chrystie Street

7pm until 10, more or less

Every Thursday

No hat, but I may pass the cover