Third Time's a Charm.
I played again last night at the coffee shop and it was fun. Tina and Craig were in the audience to protect me from freaky weirdos. And believe you me, there are plenty, like the long haired fiddle hobo for example. I was the second act of the night, playing after a guitar and piano jazz duo. Then I was followed by some piano guy who thought he rocked it, when in reality, all he did was make us feel very uncomfortable in a please-stop-singing-you're-making-me-feel-weird kind of way. He was completely overly dramatic, and when he broke into the bridge:
"You moved my furniturrrrre...
You moved my fur-ni-turrrrrrrreeee....
Furrrrrr-niiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii-turrrrrrrrrrrreeeee..."
I think I snorted some of Craig's root beer out of my nose and started giggling uncontrollably. He then completely butchered the next song which everyone could recognize, but not after the first 8 measures.
I think my next schtick is going to be a musical comedy routine with a disrepectful Adam Sandler flavor making fun of the quality acts of the evening. Absorbing more open mics will be good comic material, except for one small detail: these pour-your-heart-out venues are supposed to be supportive.
The next thing you know, I'm walking up to the piano aware that there are eyes on me, but the lights make it hard to see into the audience. I start the set with Never Seen Blue partly to warm up, but mostly so Craig can have a clean copy. He has the most beautiful blue eyes. (In case you didn't know, Never Seen Blue is a Tori b-side that I adore.) Then, I hesitated for a while before easing into Mad World. I liked the Gary Jules interpretation of the Tears for Fears original, but I had to girlify it and add my own twist. That one went over really well, and I even heard a girl say, "I think I'm going to cry.." (in a good way, I hope) as I was singing it. I got real applause and it was exhilarating. I'm glad Craig and Tina were there for last night's set.
After I settled back into my seat, some weird scruffy old guy taps me on the shoulder and I could tell immediately that he was going to be annoying and crotchety. He prefaces his comment by stating that he isn't a real music critic and tells me that my piano virtuosity is excellent, but my singing isn't, and it takes away, so I should just make a CD with piano. So I thanked him for his advice with my mental middle finger and really started thinking about how ballsy and annoying people can be when they try to put you down to make themselves feel better.
At this point, it's important to note that I was exhausted because earlier that morning, I completed a sprint triathlon at the community center. (Read: I was cranky by 8pm last night.)
When I get the videos, I'll put them up, and you can judge for yourself!
posted by v @ 10:09 AM
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