Show notes

[jwgh]

Thanks to cpr94, cgoldfish, wazroth, katylady74, and christychristy for coming out (and howling). Did I forget anyone? I hope not.

My friends aside, the crowd wasn't that responsive, but I got through things OK, I think (although there were flubs of varying degrees of seriousness in most of the songs). I ended up playing: (1) Watching Killer Robots Eat Your Head (2) C-H-I-C-K-E-N (3) Little Red Riding Hood (4) I'm Sick Of This American Life (5) Avocados and Beer (6) You're Bad And You Won't Go Away (7) Hybrid Car. A few people came up to me over the course of the rest of the night to say they liked my stuff and one person asked if I had any other shows coming up, which was nice. When I was done with my set I was kind of soaked with sweat; CMonti said he could tell I was nervous but he wasn't sure how evident it was to the audience at large.

It was nice to see Chris Rosenquest, whose work I was not previously familiar with. He does a lot of looping stuff, where he does a percussive line and loops it, then plays a chord progression over that and loops that, then plays a melodic line and loops that, etc. -- he was very good at this and it was kind of mesmerizing. Chris Monti's new three-piece band rocked the house and managed to blow out the circuit breaker, but fortunately it was turned back on after no more than a minute or two. Very dramatic! The drummer was quite versatile and played in a number of different styles over the course of the set.

I think I might try to set up another West Side Arts show where I'll do all covers -- That'll Never Happen No More, Before You Accuse Me, Caldonia, etc. -- but this requires a little thought. I'll figure it out in the morning. (I will have to learn at least one new accordion tune if I want to bring it again, I think.)

The armory that the event was held in is kind of an amazing space. The doors to get in seemed like they were twice as big as ordinary doors, and there were painted portraits of military-type people on the walls, along with tons of red shields that denoted battles in World War II that, I guess, the armory was involved in in some way. I took one picture during the sound check which didn't come out great but may give you an idea.



Guess I should go to bed. Good night!

Comments

[jwgh]

Oh, sure. It's an old Mississippi John Hurt song.

/A       /D        A
 C is the way to begin
/D          /D*     D
 H: the next letter in
/A/A
 I am the third
/A         /D         A
 C: for two Cs in the bird
/D      /D*      /D
 K is to fill him in
/A       /A
 E: we're near the end
/A      /A   D /A                      /E     A
 C-H-I-C-K-E-N, that's the way to spell 'chicken'
/A                      /E     A
 That's the way to spell 'chicken'

'/' marks the beginning of a new measure, so the first line is four beats of A, then two beats of D, then two beats of A.

'D*' is a D chord with an A sharp in it:

E --3------
B --3------
G --2------
D --O------
A --X------
E --X------

[jwgh]

sorry, with a G in it, not an A#. Duh.

I guess that A string can be open too.

[katylady74.livejournal.com]

I thought it was "for to season the bird" also. I thought, hmm, I guess it is about chicken, the food, and not chicken, the animal. Because they are two completely different things, you know.

[jwgh]

Oh, and here's a recording of me singing it: http://jwgh.org/livejournal/ezratunes/chicken.mp3

[jwgh]

No, that file's been there for ages. I can get you the John Hurt version of the song if desired.

On Monday, February 27 at 4 pm I expect to be wishing it were two hours later so I can stop working for the day. The previous Monday (the 20th) is President's Day, though, right? I should have that off.

[jwgh]

In fact, here it is: http://s63.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=256B4MEIHBV2T1Y9NTETQ8DHRA

[cgoldfish.livejournal.com]

i had a great time! i could tell you were nervous, but you overcame nicely.

congrats!

[jwgh]

Thanks!

Hey, out of curiousity, what was everyone laughing about towards the end of 'Avocados and Beer'? I think it was right after I sang the line 'We're not like peas in a pod, we're like hotcakes and salt cod'.

[saucypunk.livejournal.com]

oh man, i missed "Avocados and Beer"??

[jwgh]

Yeah, I'll record it sometime, but I might wait a bit so that my accordion skills have a little more time to mature.

[saucypunk.livejournal.com]

i am excited. especially that it's an accordion song.

[jwgh]

It was 'strychnine and waffles', because it had to vaguely rhyme with 'caviar and kielbasa'.