Highlights (for children)

Remember that magazine? Me neither.

Anyway, I've had an eventful week, full of...events, and I shall now endeavor to write about them:

MONDAY:

I went to The BAG (shocker!) and struck up a pleasant conversation with a charming young lass who, at the tender age of 23, had already amassed a wealth of interesting tales and recollections which to share with the bearded bourbon enthusiast at the end of the bar (that would be me). Nice gal. Hope to see her again sometime soon.

TUESDAY:

I began my new weekly gig with Big Al (well, he's the biggest Al I know) at Cabin Fever in NYC. Good times. Its an acoustic open mic thang, complete with a house P.A. and free drinks. Big Al drove, so I was in charge of Excessive Alcohol Consumption. I'm proud to say; I did my job well. I overheard some cats at the far end of the bar talking about Tom Waits, so I took it upon myself to perform four Tom tunes from differing albums, thereby earning their respect, and several rounds of drinks, both various and sundry. Tom Waits is The Shit. I also bonded with a "greaser" type of fellow, who had turned 30 at Midnight. We sat and drank, and played Junior Brown and Reverend Horton Heat songs on the Internet Jukebox. Cabin Fever may very well become a Solid Tuesday Night Gig, effectively destroying my Wednesday mornings. Time will tell.

WEDNESDAY:

The Side Door gig was actually decent. They have a new bartender, Sherri, who seems to be a friendly sort of gal. There was a good crowd, and we played well. No surprises, but no hassles, so I consider it a success.

THURSDAY:

Sheeit, Thursday was FUN. The BAG gig was a blast-plenty of guest musicians, including, but not limited to: Mr. Vic, Jaybird, members of The Breadbox Band, Warrior Ric, "Ten Feet From Murder," Young Tim, and others of a creative nature. Bob forced me to drink beyond my capacity, and I regret nothing.

FRIDAY:

Back to The BAG, to see a solid band (whose name escapes me at this moment), and murder even more brain cells. It was one of those nights where I had to call The Trout Doctor the next day to make sure all was well...

We drank a lot.

Oh yeah.

SATURDAY:

BAGged it again, to see Section Three, DeanO's band. More or less. The actualline-up was: DeanO on drums, Tony Torpedo on bass, Jake on guitar and vocals, and Keyboard Bob on...the vibraphone. Kidding. His name is "Keyboard Bob," fer Chrissakes, figure it out for yourselves.

Much fun ensued. Flan was there (Happy Birthday, cobnobbler), as was Eric (who probably doesn't remember even being there). Magic Phil and Kuddly Alan even made the scene, and many "All-Star Jams" were had. The night culminated in a rousing rendition of "Gimme Shelter" by The Stones, and it was brilliant. Seriously. It was one of those rare, magic moments that make me happy to be a musician. Everyone was "on stage," and the vibe was palpable. It was a gathering of like-minded individuals, who value the transcendent qualities of The Big Song, and it made the hair on my arms stand up. I'm probably reading too much into it, but it was truly the highlight of my week. If I wasn't so tired right now, I could probably wax poetic about how much it meant to me to be surrounded by my "musical peers," enjoying the simple pleasure of making music, but...

...I'm beat.

I can't even muster up enough energy to document the other, memorable events of Saturday night (one of which was drinking with The Haldy Gals-thanks for the Jagerbombs...), let alone blog about the party I played with Big Al and James this afternoon.

Ugh.

I'm winding down...must make sleep...

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