2011 Fall East Coast Tour - blog #9 (end of Tour + 11 days)
Alright... if you don't mind, I am going to attempt to recap the final week and a half in this one final post for the 2011 Fall Tour. I fear that it will not get recapped in its entirety, otherwise.
Okay, Thursday, October 13th. I have a good college friend who is from the Harrisburg (PA) area. I have stayed with his family numerous times during several tours, but had never played in Harrisburg. And I almost didn't play there on this scheduled date. For every Fall Tour that I do, I expect 1 or 2 shows to be cancelled. It's a big monkey on a park bench, but it happens. However, during the 2011 Fall Tour, not a single show was cancelled. Delightful.
I received a mysterious email two nights before this scheduled show in Harrisburg (notifications of cancellations never come with enough time to reschedule another show). This email informed me that the venue was in the middle of some sort of lease payment dispute, and that some shows were happening, while others were not. Thankfully, the powers that be kept this show on the schedule, though neither of the opening acts decided to show up. And apparently news of the dispute had been leaked in the local media. All of this did not help for attempting to get people out to the show. But there were still enough people to have a show, and a local singer/songwriter/guitarist was stopping by, and she ended up doing a short set between my two sets. I think the whole lease issue is just a misunderstanding, as I was still paid for the show, and was able to sell a few CDs. As with the previous night's show, I was invited back to do a (hopefully) better-attended/promoted/etcetera-ed show in the future.
We now come to what was the best weekend of the tour. I would do 4 shows over the next 3 days. 3 of them took place in Maryland. I had two House Concerts back-to-back on Friday and Saturday. House Concerts are my favorite shows. I've been mentioning this for a couple years now, but some people just don't seem to get it. It's just what it sounds like - a concert in a person's home. It's a great, intimate setting for concerts. Compared to bars or clubs where people either aren't paying attention or can't pay attention because of all of the distractions, I'd choose a house concert every time. If you haven't been to one, I strongly suggest it. Perhaps you could even host one. All it takes is a room and an audience.
And you can custom-order m&m's for the night, too, if you want too...
And bake some 15-inch calzones...
That's overachieving, but I certainly don't mind it. I was able to consume some genuine pierogies for dinner before the guests arrived, too. Here is a picture of just some of the attendees that night, from my vantage point:
I shared the night with a local guy named Bob Sima. It was a great night, as most House Concert nights are. A fan who had seen me play in DC during last year's tour came with his fiancee, and it was their first House Concert experience. Way to buck the system, guys!
On Saturday, I did another House Concert in MD, in a more rural setting, near Westminster. The house had a wide room that allowed me to set up a PA easily.
We had a bit of a smaller crowd, but I'd much rather play for a small group of people who are into the music, than to play to an entire bar of loud loudos, who could not care less about Jeff Miller standing in the corner playing his songs that they don't think they can sing along to. I had one of (if not THE) highest CDs sold to attendees ratios at this show, as 11 CDs were picked up for the listening at the end of the show.
On Sunday the 16th, I had another 2-show day. The first show was also in Maryland, in the historic town of Frederick. I have been doing shows there for maybe the past 2 1/2 years, and have only have one not-so-great show. This afternoon, though NFL football took away a good chunk of potential listeners, the show was still a good one. It was a fairly intimate group, but everyone who came out was into the music. There were even a few people who apparently didn't know that there would be live music, and they stuck around for the show.
I had a little bit of time to kill between shows, but eventually headed back to the DC area, to play the Feature Slot at an open mic in Arlington, VA. I played a short set, and headed to where I would be staying that evening, realizing that the tour was finally down to its final week. The final 4 Sundays of this tour were unusually busy ones, which was great. Sundays aren't always easy to book.
Monday was a big driving day, as I would head from the DC area to Blacksburg, VA, in the southwestern portion of the state. I always underestimate the time that this drive takes. It's a nasty drive, and I would have probably preferred to have had that day off. But I did an early evening Starbucks show. I started to get a headache midway through the drive, and it didn't go away until well after the show. Doing shows with a headache is tough. I at least sold a couple of CDs and made a little in tips to help with gas money, but I would have rather just taken the day off. I know; boo hoo....
On Tuesday, I did an early afternoon show at the same Starbucks (these shows were last-minute fillers). My headache was gone, and the response was a bit better for this show. I sold a couple more cds and made a little more in tips, and was in a much better mood.
Okay... Wednesday... yes. I played at a restaurant in Blacksburg on Wednesday that has become my Blacksburg go-to venue. Attendance was a bit disappointing, but I had to wait for some tables to clear, and didn't get to start on time. Attendance is usually on the underwhelming side at this venue, but the people there (including employees) always seem to be listening to the music. The employees even tell each other to hang out to listen. That's pretty cool. I sold a CD to a girl who was only able to catch 2 songs, and had a request to accept a credit card to pay for a CD. During this tour, I probably would have sold about 20 more cds had I been able to accept credit cards. And now, I am pleased to announce that I can accept them at live shows! Thanks to my Blacksburg hosts educating me, I now have an app for my iPod Touch that allows me to process credit card payments. And I just pay a tiny percent of each sale back to the company that supplies the app. I registered with them last Thursday, and have had two shows... and at each show, I've been asked if I accept credit cards. Now, I can! What an amazing time in which to exist. This development is revolutionary for me. Revolutionary.
Thursday - I returned to a venue in a town between Blacksburg and Charlottesville to do a show at a place. I played there in March, and it went decently, given that it was a Tuesday night. This time, we were expecting more. But, boy, we shouldn't have. The fliers I emailed out were printed out very tiny-ly. 3 were posted, but 2 of them had only one adhesion point, and were curling in on themselves, so that you would have to spread the paper out flat to read what was on it. The two employees behind the counter did not even know that there was going to be a show. There was a $5 suggested donation, but while the attendance was a little bit higher than the previous show (maybe 12-15 people were there for at least half of the night), not even a single audience member put in as much as one dollar. On eof the employees really dug the music and bought two CDs, but it was not a good night.
Oh boy, I have to get going again, to get ready for a show here in Nashville. We came soooo close to the end. Lest you be concerned that the Tour ended with a flicker rather than a bang, don't worry. Things got a little worse, then a little better, and then a LOT better to close out the Tour.
Maybe I'll recap the final three days; maybe I won't...?
Okay, Thursday, October 13th. I have a good college friend who is from the Harrisburg (PA) area. I have stayed with his family numerous times during several tours, but had never played in Harrisburg. And I almost didn't play there on this scheduled date. For every Fall Tour that I do, I expect 1 or 2 shows to be cancelled. It's a big monkey on a park bench, but it happens. However, during the 2011 Fall Tour, not a single show was cancelled. Delightful.
I received a mysterious email two nights before this scheduled show in Harrisburg (notifications of cancellations never come with enough time to reschedule another show). This email informed me that the venue was in the middle of some sort of lease payment dispute, and that some shows were happening, while others were not. Thankfully, the powers that be kept this show on the schedule, though neither of the opening acts decided to show up. And apparently news of the dispute had been leaked in the local media. All of this did not help for attempting to get people out to the show. But there were still enough people to have a show, and a local singer/songwriter/guitarist was stopping by, and she ended up doing a short set between my two sets. I think the whole lease issue is just a misunderstanding, as I was still paid for the show, and was able to sell a few CDs. As with the previous night's show, I was invited back to do a (hopefully) better-attended/promoted/etcetera-ed show in the future.
We now come to what was the best weekend of the tour. I would do 4 shows over the next 3 days. 3 of them took place in Maryland. I had two House Concerts back-to-back on Friday and Saturday. House Concerts are my favorite shows. I've been mentioning this for a couple years now, but some people just don't seem to get it. It's just what it sounds like - a concert in a person's home. It's a great, intimate setting for concerts. Compared to bars or clubs where people either aren't paying attention or can't pay attention because of all of the distractions, I'd choose a house concert every time. If you haven't been to one, I strongly suggest it. Perhaps you could even host one. All it takes is a room and an audience.
And you can custom-order m&m's for the night, too, if you want too...
And bake some 15-inch calzones...
That's overachieving, but I certainly don't mind it. I was able to consume some genuine pierogies for dinner before the guests arrived, too. Here is a picture of just some of the attendees that night, from my vantage point:
I shared the night with a local guy named Bob Sima. It was a great night, as most House Concert nights are. A fan who had seen me play in DC during last year's tour came with his fiancee, and it was their first House Concert experience. Way to buck the system, guys!
On Saturday, I did another House Concert in MD, in a more rural setting, near Westminster. The house had a wide room that allowed me to set up a PA easily.
We had a bit of a smaller crowd, but I'd much rather play for a small group of people who are into the music, than to play to an entire bar of loud loudos, who could not care less about Jeff Miller standing in the corner playing his songs that they don't think they can sing along to. I had one of (if not THE) highest CDs sold to attendees ratios at this show, as 11 CDs were picked up for the listening at the end of the show.
On Sunday the 16th, I had another 2-show day. The first show was also in Maryland, in the historic town of Frederick. I have been doing shows there for maybe the past 2 1/2 years, and have only have one not-so-great show. This afternoon, though NFL football took away a good chunk of potential listeners, the show was still a good one. It was a fairly intimate group, but everyone who came out was into the music. There were even a few people who apparently didn't know that there would be live music, and they stuck around for the show.
I had a little bit of time to kill between shows, but eventually headed back to the DC area, to play the Feature Slot at an open mic in Arlington, VA. I played a short set, and headed to where I would be staying that evening, realizing that the tour was finally down to its final week. The final 4 Sundays of this tour were unusually busy ones, which was great. Sundays aren't always easy to book.
Monday was a big driving day, as I would head from the DC area to Blacksburg, VA, in the southwestern portion of the state. I always underestimate the time that this drive takes. It's a nasty drive, and I would have probably preferred to have had that day off. But I did an early evening Starbucks show. I started to get a headache midway through the drive, and it didn't go away until well after the show. Doing shows with a headache is tough. I at least sold a couple of CDs and made a little in tips to help with gas money, but I would have rather just taken the day off. I know; boo hoo....
On Tuesday, I did an early afternoon show at the same Starbucks (these shows were last-minute fillers). My headache was gone, and the response was a bit better for this show. I sold a couple more cds and made a little more in tips, and was in a much better mood.
Okay... Wednesday... yes. I played at a restaurant in Blacksburg on Wednesday that has become my Blacksburg go-to venue. Attendance was a bit disappointing, but I had to wait for some tables to clear, and didn't get to start on time. Attendance is usually on the underwhelming side at this venue, but the people there (including employees) always seem to be listening to the music. The employees even tell each other to hang out to listen. That's pretty cool. I sold a CD to a girl who was only able to catch 2 songs, and had a request to accept a credit card to pay for a CD. During this tour, I probably would have sold about 20 more cds had I been able to accept credit cards. And now, I am pleased to announce that I can accept them at live shows! Thanks to my Blacksburg hosts educating me, I now have an app for my iPod Touch that allows me to process credit card payments. And I just pay a tiny percent of each sale back to the company that supplies the app. I registered with them last Thursday, and have had two shows... and at each show, I've been asked if I accept credit cards. Now, I can! What an amazing time in which to exist. This development is revolutionary for me. Revolutionary.
Thursday - I returned to a venue in a town between Blacksburg and Charlottesville to do a show at a place. I played there in March, and it went decently, given that it was a Tuesday night. This time, we were expecting more. But, boy, we shouldn't have. The fliers I emailed out were printed out very tiny-ly. 3 were posted, but 2 of them had only one adhesion point, and were curling in on themselves, so that you would have to spread the paper out flat to read what was on it. The two employees behind the counter did not even know that there was going to be a show. There was a $5 suggested donation, but while the attendance was a little bit higher than the previous show (maybe 12-15 people were there for at least half of the night), not even a single audience member put in as much as one dollar. On eof the employees really dug the music and bought two CDs, but it was not a good night.
Oh boy, I have to get going again, to get ready for a show here in Nashville. We came soooo close to the end. Lest you be concerned that the Tour ended with a flicker rather than a bang, don't worry. Things got a little worse, then a little better, and then a LOT better to close out the Tour.
Maybe I'll recap the final three days; maybe I won't...?
posted by Jeff Miller at 5:47 PM
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