We got booked for two gigs on the same weekend. What’s more is that this was the first time we did 3-hour sets. It’s a lot of work to play 180 minutes of music, so the fact that we did this for the first time and then did it two nights in a row is a kind of milestone for us. Also, we had a great time, and we had music to spare.
But more than this is what can’t be measured and what others can’t possibly know. We keep adding new stuff that’s rehearsed, and we also keep adding new twists that even the band doesn’t get to hear until we’re there in front of a live and lively audience. Like when Caryn turns to us before I Want You Back and says, “oh, just so you know, I am going to change the timing and I didn’t want you to worry that I was messing it up,” and it was brilliant and probably the best rendition of the song that we’ve done, especially with Tim’s bass line. Tim keeps riffing on a solo for Message in a Bottle that I love to take in, especially on his new amp. Ian has completely re-created Sucker with percussive licks that I truly do not understand — so I just let them happen and try not to get in the way. And then just for kicks I added a little baroque interlude on one line of Come Together that cracked Caryn up so that she stopped singing. It was only unfortunate because she had nailed all of the words to that song up until that point, which is no small feat.
Also, people were singing along to our covers of both Katy Perry and Sesame Street at a bar on 25th Street. Given all that, I feel like we’ve left a mark, at least for us as a band. And, even though I’m not sure Caryn noticed, there was a graphic mark left on the stage of one of our gigs, right in front of her, and right in front of every other band that shows up in the future.
We play music that we like and invent it as we go along. People — old friends and new — sometimes dance, or sing along, or simply nod their heads, but more than anything they get to see us having fun and trying out new things. For this, we’ll happily stay out late two night in a row.
Standards & Substandards 