About an Eight of the Way There—Part Two

Who's ready for Milwaukee!!!! Ok, but before we kicking off a rollicking two-show February mini-tour of Milwaukee (yes, it warrants a "mini-tour" classification because more than one show occurred, so there!), I should mention briefly Gig 27, at good ol' Burrito Rojo in Turners Falls, MA. Somehow there's a rule that the farther I have to drive for a gig, the more fiercely the obligatory ice storm rages. But I arrived there, and returned home, alive. So I could go to . . .

Gig 28: MILWAUKEE. My first-ever Milwaukee, Wisconsin, show was at Bremen Cafe in the Riverwest area. For all of you who are anticipating a dramatic Francie-almost-got-electrocuted story after the last post's cliffhanger, it's kind of up to you to decide whether I made false promises of excitement. I arrived at the venue nice and early, and was glad to find an actual stage, next to an actual bar, with actual local brews—and I was happy to meet my opener for the evening, the lovely and highly talented Lisa Ridgely (that's her in the photo that's not of me; wow, that sounded narcissistic somehow). What I was less pleased about, however, was the realization not only that there was no equipment set up (being on tour [okay, mini-tour], I had confirmed in advance that I could avail myself of a house PA) but also that no one there had any suggestions about how the system worked or should be set up.
And here's where the electrocution comes in—when I say the equipment wasn't set up, I mean that whoever played there last just left everything in a dusty, haphazard pile. I have never had to shift through so many janky wires, while perching on a rickety stage, hauling equipment from an angle that I'm pretty sure all doctors would agree is the least good for my back. When I was plugging in equipment I was sure I was a goner (sometimes I closed my eyes when plugging stuff in—it seemed the impending electrical shock would be less painful if I couldn't actually see my bones through my skin [as everyone knows can happen, based on Saturday morning cartoons]). But we all survived. Lisa played a great set, and my set turned out OK, after I was informed that I had the bass up too high. (I'm sorry, it's hard to sound check yourself from the stage without a monitor, and frankly even if I could have found one in the pile of wires and dust I wasn't about to tempt fate by plugging in an extra piece of equipment.) Don't get me wrong, though, I had a lot of fun at this show, and it was a confidence booster to know that I can set up a random system from scratch in relatively little time, albeit with multiple technical difficulties. (By the way, all the photos here are courtesy of John O'Hara, who donated his time to making us feel like rock stars by taking photos at Bremen.)

Gig 29: Just when I thought my Wisconsin trip would be a one-gig stop, Lisa invited me to be a part of the exciting "Dark Show" at Linneman's, also in Milwaukee's Riverwest. This concept show, organized by Jason Fields, involved a rapid succession of songwriters, plus a display from local fine artists, all with no spotlights (hence the show's title; I actually didn't get why this was the "Dark Show" at the outset, but gradually caught on when I realized I could actually see the audience from the stage). I have to say, Milwaukee has a very cool arts scene, and I'm always impressed when a few people get together to make a show—and a scene—happen (this includes the owner of the venue, who contributed stellar sound engineering skills). So that's my tour. What's next? I'll be in Western Massachusetts for a couple of months at least, but I hear my West Coast roots calling—will I return to the San Francisco Bay Area this summer? Will I mosey down to check out the Los Angeles scene (I spent a lot of my childhood in Southern California, it still feels just a tiny bit like home)? These are questions that time, and my ability to self-motivate, surely will answer.

Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!

Grumble! I don't want to go into it now, but I once played a horrible, horrible gig (in the room shown to the right). Despite the organizer's claim that the show would have musicians from lots of genres, it turns out it was a classical music concert in which, by some cruel joke, I was expected to perform. And because the program (What shows have programs? Classical shows. It should have been a tip-off.) listed my set, I couldn't cut it short or choose songs that would not appall the dressed up, overwhelmingly smug audience.

Having done a good job repressing this memory for almost a year, I had it dredged up again at gig #18 at the Rendezvous in Turners Falls, MA. I was under the impression that I was opening for a group of very talented folk/roots musicians, who were going to play a technically accomplished, folk jam session. I found out only a few days before that they thought we were all just going to play round-robin style, myself included. I dropped hints that I'd thought I was the opening act, and that I certainly don't jam (I just don't; every time I play with a bunch of guys I feel railroaded [I say "guys" because I feel like jamming is more of a guy thing, maybe that's sexism]; and when people jam on my songs without practicing first, the songs get messed up.) Long story short, I sat with my hands folded on stage for 3/4 of the time while the other musicians played and jammed on their songs and I felt like a failure, and then for 1/4 of the time I played incongruous music that was completely out of keeping with the show's roots music theme.

People told me afterward that I didn't seem incompetent or look upset, but I wanted to throw up the whole time. Lesson learned--I'm going to communicate my needs before getting into shows from now on. I don't mind playing with other people, I just like to practice first. On a lighter note, I have a website now, www.franciejones.com. It's homegrown, and definitely needs more work over time (it would help if I had something other than paint to edit my pictures). But seriously, thanks for sharing in this little rant with me. I feel a little better now. Sniffle.

Gig Six . . . There Was Literally Candy

My sister Lillian and I just played at Dick and Jane's general store (www.dickandjanesgeneralstore.com) in Walpole, MA (April 24th, 2010). I will say at the outset, it's probably not the best gig sitch when there's a carnival (and a pretty sweet looking one, too) set up about a block away. Foot traffic was way down from what would normally have been a hopping Saturday afternoon.



That being said, we had a blast for the following reasons:
1. We tested out our little sound system for the first time ever, and it was AWESOME.
2. The promoter, Andy, not only had designed a fun poster for us (making use of some of my art on Myspace) but also stayed for the whole gig. Dedication to the arts = win.
3. We got free, storemade fudge = double win.

Also, my demo CDs are for sale in the store now. My empire is expanding.

Gig total: 6 down, 94 to go before stardom.

More shows posted here.

And then there were 5: Burrito Rojo

Gig five was at a new Mexican (or "Mixican," as the owner, JD, put it) place in Turners Falls, MA, called Burrito Rojo (www.myspace.com/burritorojo). I had the "Rojo" for red part down, but I just assumed it meant "Red Burrito" until I had it explained to me that actually "Burrito" is a little burro, i.e. "Little Red Donkey." Aww! I'm a sucker for cute animals.

Anyway . . .

The crowd was small but nice (although I got scared because I (voluntarily but semi-coerced!) had to lead a chorus of "Happy Birthday" for a sweet young lady in the audience. I'm sorry, but singing a cappella "Happy Birthday" on a mic with the poor audience trying to sing along is just bound to be awkward. No one can hear anyone in that situation. In everyone else's defence, I'm the only musician on the planet (anyone else with me? anyone?) who doesn't know the song on the guitar. Fail.

My dad, a.k.a T. Fredric Jones will be playing at Burrito Rojo on May 6th (he's really good--I cover his songs all the time), and I'll be playing there again on May 14th. It's not just because I got a free avocado taco out of the deal last time. I swear.

Next installment should be GIG SIX: At Dick and Jane's General Store (http://stores.dickandjanesgeneralstore.com) in Walpole, MA, on Saturday, April 24th, 1 pm. How could it NOT be awesome? Check out other shows at www.myspace.com/franciejones.