Field Report: Open Stage @ The Bayou

[bradm]

I went to the Bayou for their "open stage" night last night. I got there with my guitar, signed in/up (they have a sheet where you list your name, your instrument, whether you sing [i put "maybe..."], and whether you're an act in and of yourself, or just want to jam with whomever else is up), and sat down.

The have a band ("The Shakedown Blues Band"; the Bayou web page just calls them "Shakedown", and the addition [or removal] of "Blues Band" is significant) who warms up, then they take a break, and start calling people from the list. You don't know who you're going to play with, or what you're going to play.

For my playing, that can be fun when done to the hilt: few rules, few restrictions, just go for it and see what happens. Alas, the guys who were there last night were pretty much dedicated blues players. As a whitebread suburban Canadian guitar player, who grew up on Led Zeppelin, The Kinks, Cream, Jimi Hendrix, etc., I can play the blues; I even like playing the blues; what I don't like is being restricted to playing the blues.

When I got called up, the singing was done by a guy who (IIRC from what he said into the mic) runs his own blues jam; I turned down the intensity of the playing and just went along for the blues ride, taking one or two solos per song.

After he did three songs, it was changeup time. Luckily, there weren't enough people to fully restock the stage, so I got to stay up. They asked if I sang, and I said maybe... I suggested "Phone Booth" (a Robert Cray tune, from the "Bad Influence" album; it's bluesy, but has some nonstandard stuff in it), and, after we agreed on how to play it, I stepped up to the mic and we were off.

One thing I noticed was that I sang it differently from how I usually do, adding more inflexion and expression; maybe it was doing it in front of a crowd (well, more than two people, anyway), or because it was in different surroundings.

Then we hit the standard blues jam problem (and the main reason I don't like them): how to end the song... We hit a point after I had sung all the verses and I and the other guitar player had taken two solos each where I tried to funk it up a little bit and take it into an open jam. No dice; the other guys just weren't going for it. We eventually figured out how to stop*. The guy who was drumming during "Phone Booth" then stepped out from behind the drums and in front of the mic and improvised a blues ("Just play it in G..." said the other guitar player...argghhhh...). I called it quits after this song, more from having to connect with infrequent buses rather than frustration. I was enjoying myself, but I thought it could have been a lot better.

I talked to the guy who was sitting in on the drums, and he complimented me on my efforts, and said he would have gone along, but wasn't sure how loud/intensely he should play. I said he sounded great, and told him about the shows for the next three days (Nero, Nero, The Music Never Stopped), so maybe the evening wasn't a total loss.

Will I go back next week? Probably; it was fun, and I'd like to see if the pure-blues-ness was the norm. It'd also be fun to get some more Sanctuarians out and take the jamming Furthur Out...

Aloha,

BRAD (Blues Reaction: Abject Disappointment)

* John Coltrane told Miles Davis once, "Sometimes, when I start a solo, I don't know how to stop." Miles replied, "Take the horn out of your mouth."

[as is]

wednesday nights at the bayou are always blues open stage, but if you guys get a lot of people out, then i can talk to bruce about a slight change of pace. shakedown is a solid band, and we get a lot of good musicians in for it, but blues is the norm.

bruce is awesome at any instrument i've heard him play(which is a lot), and it's a really nice atmosphere for open stage. it would be great if we could get a bigger crowd out for it.....

[bradm]

There were a couple of other highlights I forgot to mention:

• Shakedown has a (pretty good) female drummer; I haven't seen that many women musicians around, and having her be a drummer to boot is even more remarkable
• Seeing the owner (Bruce?) play keyboards and guitar, and be pretty good on both (especialy guitar)
• The one-armed guitar player (he's missing his left arm about halfway between his shoulder and his elbow; he wears a "sock" [for lack of a better term] over his stump with a pick attached to it and does very well)
• Despite my misgivings about the music, the people who are there are friendly, open, (more than) competent, and accommodating, to accomplished musicians and beginners
  

Aloha,

Brad

[arcane]

quote:

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Originally posted by bradm:

One thing I noticed was that I sang it differently from how I usually do, adding more inflexion and expression; maybe it was doing it in front of a crowd (well, more than two people, anyway), or because it was in different surroundings.

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Maybe it's just practice. Or maybe it's that you weren't running the show, so some of the heat was off. Works for me.

I find that once the music and lyrics are ingrained, I can start taking liberties with the shape and feel of the sound. It makes a huge difference in the vocal quality--I need to get "into" a song before I can make it sound okay to my ears.

I'm not up to singing right now, but I've been told I have a blues voice. Maybe I'll check out the Wednesday sessions for future reference. At the very least, it's a place to get experience singing in front of an audience, and choking on stage is one of my biggest obstacles right now (vocally, anyway).

[bradm]

A couple of further bits I forgot: Shakedown hit the stage around 10pm, and the signees get called up around 11pm or so; I left about 11:45pm, and it was still going strong. Also, one of the nicest things about the night is that guitar players only need to bring their guitars: there are enough amps (with at least fuzzboxes) to go around.

I think I'll try it again next week. I just have to bone up on a few more blues tunes...

Aloha,

Brad