Second US Tour of 2011 – blog #3 (Day 13)
Driving Stats:
Miles Driven - 2135 (approximate)
Average Speed - 53 mph
Miles Per Gallon - 33
We left off at the end of the 4th day of this tour. This past week was mostly spent in western NY, doing shows that my new booking assistant was magically able to set up. The first day of this week of shows (Saturday the 14th) was my first 2-show day of the tour. The first show was a private house party. I played a couple sets for this outdoor party - they were resourceful enough to set up a few tents, as this day was the first of the bad days of rain during this tour. I played a few sets, but then had to book it on out to Merge Restaurant in Buffalo. There was a band playing at the house party that asked me to join them for a song or two, but I unfortunately didn't make it back in time to join them.
The show at Merge went pretty well. They only paid 20 bucks and dinner, which is pretty lousy for a Saturday show, but there was a decent group of people there who were actually listening. I wasn't quite sure what to expect, as: 1) it is a restaurant, 2) they keep the music volume pretty low, and 3) I had never played there before. But it was a supportive audience, and I wound up selling 3 cds and making a little bit in tips. As I ate dinner afterward, the head server (who does the booking there) also bought 3 cds. I think I passed the audition. I got back to the house party as the band was packing up.
The next day would bring probably the craziest day of the tour. I drove from Buffalo to Slippery Rock, PA, to play at my favorite bar - North Country Brewing Company. I almost always get a warm reception here, and people come out to listen to live music. It's great, especially for a Sunday afternoon. I got there to set up and eat lunch around 11:45. I went on at 1, and played my first set. After the set, a man approached me about performing at his friend's bar. I was flattered, but no one gave me any contact info, so who knows what will happen.
During the second set, this same friend of his arrived at the bar (or maybe he was already there, but came closer to where I was playing... I don't know). He was someone who had heard me perform at North Country previously. I said hey to him between my second and third sets. I performed the third set, and as I was getting ready to finish the set (and the show there), he came up to me with a wad of money, offering me $100 to play one more set. I was rather tired (I hadn't slept well the night before), and had driven 3+ hours from Buffalo to get there, and was going to drive another 3+ hours back to Buffalo where I would be staying the next few nights. But I figured it would be silly to pass on the offer. I thanked him, and said I would do another set, and went up to the bar to make sure that this would be okay. They okayed it, and were pretty surprised that someone had offered me $100 to keep playing.
As I went up for the additional 4th set, the same man tried to give me another $100 to "attempt" to play a Pearl Jam song. I like some Pearl Jam stuff, but I don't know any of their songs. He was kind of insistent, but I told him to keep his money - he said to just try a song, but I made it clear that I didn't know any PJ tunes. But as I completed 4th set, he came up again, giving me another $100. I told him to at least take some cds before he left... What a crazy show. I have actually been tipped $100 a few times before, but never $200. Needless to say, it was a good Sunday.
My netbook battery is about to die. Gotta Go!
Miles Driven - 2135 (approximate)
Average Speed - 53 mph
Miles Per Gallon - 33
We left off at the end of the 4th day of this tour. This past week was mostly spent in western NY, doing shows that my new booking assistant was magically able to set up. The first day of this week of shows (Saturday the 14th) was my first 2-show day of the tour. The first show was a private house party. I played a couple sets for this outdoor party - they were resourceful enough to set up a few tents, as this day was the first of the bad days of rain during this tour. I played a few sets, but then had to book it on out to Merge Restaurant in Buffalo. There was a band playing at the house party that asked me to join them for a song or two, but I unfortunately didn't make it back in time to join them.
The show at Merge went pretty well. They only paid 20 bucks and dinner, which is pretty lousy for a Saturday show, but there was a decent group of people there who were actually listening. I wasn't quite sure what to expect, as: 1) it is a restaurant, 2) they keep the music volume pretty low, and 3) I had never played there before. But it was a supportive audience, and I wound up selling 3 cds and making a little bit in tips. As I ate dinner afterward, the head server (who does the booking there) also bought 3 cds. I think I passed the audition. I got back to the house party as the band was packing up.
The next day would bring probably the craziest day of the tour. I drove from Buffalo to Slippery Rock, PA, to play at my favorite bar - North Country Brewing Company. I almost always get a warm reception here, and people come out to listen to live music. It's great, especially for a Sunday afternoon. I got there to set up and eat lunch around 11:45. I went on at 1, and played my first set. After the set, a man approached me about performing at his friend's bar. I was flattered, but no one gave me any contact info, so who knows what will happen.
During the second set, this same friend of his arrived at the bar (or maybe he was already there, but came closer to where I was playing... I don't know). He was someone who had heard me perform at North Country previously. I said hey to him between my second and third sets. I performed the third set, and as I was getting ready to finish the set (and the show there), he came up to me with a wad of money, offering me $100 to play one more set. I was rather tired (I hadn't slept well the night before), and had driven 3+ hours from Buffalo to get there, and was going to drive another 3+ hours back to Buffalo where I would be staying the next few nights. But I figured it would be silly to pass on the offer. I thanked him, and said I would do another set, and went up to the bar to make sure that this would be okay. They okayed it, and were pretty surprised that someone had offered me $100 to keep playing.
As I went up for the additional 4th set, the same man tried to give me another $100 to "attempt" to play a Pearl Jam song. I like some Pearl Jam stuff, but I don't know any of their songs. He was kind of insistent, but I told him to keep his money - he said to just try a song, but I made it clear that I didn't know any PJ tunes. But as I completed 4th set, he came up again, giving me another $100. I told him to at least take some cds before he left... What a crazy show. I have actually been tipped $100 a few times before, but never $200. Needless to say, it was a good Sunday.
My netbook battery is about to die. Gotta Go!
posted by Jeff Miller at 11:38 PM
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