CJ, 5/19/10 High Noon Saloon

Crackity Jones played its second gig last night at High Noon Saloon. We started playing together as a 4 piece on March 24th...had our first gig with 15 tunes on April 24th...and our second gig with 22 tunes on May 19th. I'd say that's the most dense ramp up I've ever been party to. Whenever possible, we've been practicing 2-3 times per week...though there have been several weeks where we've only managed one rehearsal...or only a rehearsal with a portion of the players.

I wasn't sure what to expect last night. Our opening act had been a pain to book...we couldn't find a band to do it. Kind of at the last minute The Sesters accepted the slot...only to have tragedy strike the day before the show and to have their drummer have to bail. Amazingly they found a sub and played as planned. They were really good too.

By the time they got done there were a couple of dozen people in the hall and I was resigning myself to that turnout when we took the stage. By night's end, though, I had heard that 47 or so people had paid the cover. In a venue that holds something like 400, this is not a ton of people, but it is a good turnout for a happy hour show. I was pleased with the turnout. We charge $4 cover and we took away $17 per person...or $136...after the door and sound guys had been paid.

The set went pretty well with no huge mistakes. I don't recall too much going wrong for me. The mic was really hot and the monitors were good, so I had very little problem singing harmony.

I ate lunch, but not dinner. Arrived for load in at 5pm. Had 2 PBRs before the show. Had a Jager during the show and 3 more beers AFTER the show. Ran the bass through my amp, but also DI'ed it via a DI box they provided. I thought the bass sounded good, but no idea how it sounded in the house. Ditto that for vocals. I wore a UCLA t-shirt like Deal wore at the 5/1/88 London Pixie's show, jeans, and my canvas Keen's. Also wore a black wig, which worked out ok but I probably won't do that again just cause it's cheesy. It was funny...but it won't be funny again for some time.

About half way through the show I looked out and had the feeling like the room was pretty full. People were standing up by the stage and dancing. During Chet's solo some dude was head banging up by the front of the stage. People cheered when Gigantic and Here Comes Your Man started. By the time we hit the last song, Where Is My Mind...people were actually fucking singing along. I've never had that happen before. It was bizarre. People were actually not just there because they were our friends and were trying to be nice. People were actually there to hear the music and they were going nuts over it. After the show I/we got lots of compliments. The gal that books Mickey's came to the show and talked to us about a gig in June. We couldn't do any of the dates she had, so she said she'd open an extra date just for us because it was THAT important to her that we play.

It really was a most remarkable experience. I understand now why people play popular songs in lame cover bands. That's what the people want. In our case at least we're working with a more refined musical demographic...but it is a similar situation. People love what they know. I worry, of course, that they just love the songs and not the way that we play them...but it was undeniable that people seemed pleased with our portrayal.

It's nice to be on a winning team. It happens so infrequently in my life.

Setlist:
Bone Machine
Break My Body
Brick Is Red
Broken Face
Cactus
Caribou
Ed Is Dead
Gigantic
Here Comes Your Man
Holiday Song
I'm Amazed
Isla De Encanta
I've Been Tired
Nimrod's Son
Oh My Golly!
River Euphrates
Something Against You
Tony's Theme
Vamos
Wave of Mutilation
Where Is My Mind?
Encore (by popular demand): Levitate Me

This entire show is now on YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=Crackity+Jones+High+Noon+Saloon&aq=f