I thought it might be an interesting or fun little idea to start keeping a diary of sorts from my gigs as they come up just to share with you all some of the experiences and feelings of the night. Those of you that know me, know that I put alot into preparation for a show, from practicing up material, going to the gym to stay physically fit for performances and watching whatever footage I have afterwards to sort of critique myself on that night's performance and see what went well and what could use improvement. I consider music an evolving art form, and whether it's your own material or someone else's, there's always a way to convey your emotions in the songs you perform, and there's always room for improvement. That's my personal philosophy anyway.
So, Borgetti's! Man what a night last night! As a musician, on any given performance you can sometimes have a really good night, a really bad one, or just kinda “meh” depending on what kind of mood your in, but last night was definitely a really good night I thought musically. Everybody in the band was firing on all cylinders and I think it showed. We got a lot of compliments from people during and afterwards which always makes me feel good, as I'm sure it does my bandmates as well. We introduced 5 new songs into the set list last night, a personal best I think for this lineup so far. And I think they all came off really well! Some of the particular highlights for me was the Fleetwood Mac, especially “Gold Dust Woman”. I have some very strong emotional ties to that song, so it was and i think will continue to be a sort of “emotional exorcism" for me every time we play it. I also got a kick out of “The Chain” and getting to do that little bass fill part there before the ending. I'll be continuing to work on expanding that one!
Other new ones included “Free Ride” by Edgar Winter, “New Girl Now” by Hollywood Suite, and “Don't Change” by INXS. That one was also a special one for me. Lots of great energy in that song and positive lyrics that always inspire. I think that one will become a staple in the setlist in the future as well (wink). It certainly got some folks out on the dance floor for that one!
We had several sit ins last night too that were a blast! Melanie Leos sang “Your Love”, Jessica Rutledge came up and we did Pat Benatar's “Heartbreaker" and Steve Hall sang on “Lonely Is The Night” and “Hang On For Your Life”. We appreciated everyone that came up and rocked with us. It's always fun getting to include other local musicians in on the gig when your able to.
One of the things I've appreciated from the beginning with Rock Inc. was that they already had a pretty loyal following by the time I came on board, I could tell from that first show I did at Red's where a bunch of people showed up wearing Rock Inc. T-Shirts which I thought was awesome, and last night they were out in force once again! I just wanna say once again that I have so appreciated everyone's positive comments and feedback since joining the band, it definitely does not go unnoticed lemme tell ya!
Borgetti's is an awesome venue! Great size place with a very generous sized stage (gives me room to run lol). The staff was amazing and they also have some great food there. One of the gigs I definitely like getting to early so I can chow down! Even after the show was over people and the band were continuing to hang around and I know I probably could have kept going for awhile. In the end it was time to call it a night, though because of the post show adrenaline I didn't crash till about 5am this morning. I'm paying for it a little today but can't wait to do it again! Back to the routine tomorrow!