Don’s Gig Journal

Wednesday, July 22 2009
Red Light Cafe
Atlanta, GA
(open mic performance)

Walking into the Red Light Cafe last night was a real mindfuck to me. The best way to describe it is this. Have you ever seen one of those documentaries where some old musician is standing in front of a building or bar and saying “This is where I played my first gig 30 something years ago”? Well, that’s how it felt to me. Only instead of it being gone or having been turned into a resturaunt or something, it’s still there and not only is it still there but it looks as if it were sealed in an airtight compartment to never be touched like time. It was like Dick Clark, eternally youthful. Nothing had changed a bit and I even took “my seat” against the wall looking at the stage as I did so many times 10-12 years ago.

I just had a great feeling about the night in general. There were about 30-40 people there and the energy was extremely positive. I had a really great chat w/ the host (damnit, slipped my mind what his name was) about John Madden and the old days which was really nice. He got up on stage and played a two song set during which he did a beautiful acoustic rendition of Bruce Springsteen’s “Born To Run”. Right away made me think of Anita and Chris and it put a small tear in my eye as I thought of them. Then not long after his set I met a guy by the name of Randy who looked like what my buddy James might look like in 30 years or so. He was into the same type of music and on top of that, he had the stage mannerism of my old friend from Red Light days past Dennis Chew. Just when the night couldn’t get any more surreal for me, this young man stepped up on the stage looking like a younger version of Bert Wray and he played and sang just like Bob Dylan which had me floored and again, feeling a tear in my eye as I thought about my dear friend. I felt as if some of my all time favorite people were somehow present through all these people to just kinda watch over me and let me know that I wasn’t alone even thought the miles were between us all. It was a very powerful feeling for me and I was so ready and inspired to just get up there and play my heart out.

After a really warm and kind introduction by the host, I walked up on stage and opened with “Rest Stop For The Lonely”. The place was so silent I could hear the air conditioner humming as I made my way through the song. I was surprisingly calm and feeling full of life. I told a few short stories (hard for me to keep it short!) and managed to make everyone laugh a little bit. It was a great audience and since they were so quiet and attentive, I decided to try something new by doing a finger picking version of “Lying In Our Bed” and it made me remember that this was how this song was originally written. It had such a fragile mood to it and it seemed to really capture everyone’s attention. I closed the set out with “Ghost Town” which once again had the place so quite I could still hear the A/C. Once again, I felt a certain vibe from that song that I hadn’t felt since the day I wrote it. The response after my set was very positive and warming. I had quite a few people come up to me afterwards to tell me that they really enjoyed the songs and one young lady stopped me to tell me just how much she loved “the waffle house song” (Rest Stop For The Lonely). I was so excited to hear her positive feedback that I gave her a copy of my CD. I watched her take it back to her friends and they all gathered around to look at it. That’s what it’s all about. What a great way to “come back”.

I found that playing these songs solo for the first time in a LONG time (if ever) was a really gratifying and exciting experience. As much as I enjoyed playing in a band and playing some awesome shows, I can’t help but feel that most of the time there was a disconnection between me and the songs. I think I spent so much time concentrating on the audience, the other band members, the PA etc that I didn’t really feel that I was 100% connected to these songs. Playing these songs solo last night made me feel so connected to them. It was like I was getting reacquainted with a few old friends and instead of meeting them in a noisy bar, got to have a nice mellow conversation in a quiet coffeehouse. I found that I really like these songs more so than I ever thought I did. I even found a closer bond with them that I don’t think I ever really felt. I know that I’ll eventually join another band or even put one together but for now, I’m enjoying getting to know these songs better. I feel I’m getting to spend quality time with them and falling in love with them all over again. Truly a beautiful feeling indeed.