Back at It: Playing a Private Party

I had the good fortune this past weekend to play a good friend's private party on a spur-of-the-moment request. All I needed was a few plates and my sticks, so why not?

Joe's house is a beautiful place in Victor with a nice inground pool and a lovely natural stage in the side of the property. We setup under the trees - I could have used a slightly more level place to setup, but I'm hardly a virgin when it comes to uncomfortable setups. Until you've tried setting up a tribut to RUSH on a 10x10 L-shaped stage, you've not really learned how to adapt.

The band played a selection of jam style songs, from Marshall Tucker Band to The Meters to The Dead. I knew about half of it, faked the rest. One beautiful thing about folk music is that you never really need to know every note: just be willing to hang out and keep your eye on the other musicians. Everybody will get to the end in once peice.

And we did. We got through a bunch of tunes, to the general satisfaction, it seemed to me, of those in attendance. The neighbor in the lot behind his house likewise sat on her porch and enjoyed the show. It was the kind of small community event that music engenders: when people play, others listen.

This has been a rough year for me, economically. I've been out of work for over a year. Luxuries like getting out to an open jam just fell by the wayside in favour of more rational options. But moments like these make me realize that perhaps I'm giving up too much. This wasn't a big show, it wasn't an electric performance, it wasn't even particularly public. But what I do with music these days lacks the most important second half, which is sharing.