I'll Have the Talapia
Friday, 20 May 2005
I played with Knucklehead at Mac & Mick’s in Granite City, IL. We had played there once before, and I wasn’t impressed with the turnout or the response we received. It wasn’t a fun load-in either. The place is a restaurant/sports bar, and is not set up for live bands. We have to clear away some tables in front of the big-screen TV for “stage” space. But, it’s a gig, so what the heck.
I got there around 20:00 (that’s 8pm for those of you in Rio Linda) and no one else was there yet. I started to wonder if we were playing that night, or if it was even Friday for that matter. I had a lot going on this week and the days were getting confused. I called Deron and got no answer. I called Dawna and got her machine. I felt alone in the wilderness. I decided that the best course of action at this point would be to go inside and have dinner. I ordered the talapia platter. Deron had called back in the interim and said he would be there shortly.
Just after I sat down and ordered, Scrappy rolled in and ordered a beer and the shrimp platter. We sat there and talked for awhile until Deron arrived. He ordered the talapia as well. We all three sat and enjoyed a fine pre-game meal. For bar food, this fish was outstanding. Scrappy seemed to enjoy the shrimp, too, as he apparently couldn’t get it the last time we were there.
We moved in the equipment and were set up by about 22:30 (I’ll go ahead and run the risks of letting those of you in Palm Beach County do the math on this one). Steve strolled in about 2 minutes before he thought we were starting...par for the course. I always hate finishing set-up and jumping right into the first set. I was hot and sweaty and hadn’t had the opportunity to settle myself before the big concert began (...ahem). But, as Deron would say, I was a professional and rose above it...pimentos be damned.
Deron launched directly into Cumbersome, the safe choice for a first song. The response was polite and somewhat generous. Then someone immediately shouted out for some Black Sabbath. The mood was now set. We did War Pigs, which we morph into Rush’s Working Man during the guitar solo, then back again for the last verse, only to switch yet again for the ending. Deron did this once about 11 years ago, and we determined that it fit so well and was so goofy that it just stuck. Besides, we seem to take pride in being able to turn just about anything into a Rush song. It met with great hoopla this time as well. More Sabbath was the call, so I diddled around with the beginning of NIB and we somehow ended up playing Faeries Wear Boots. I’m not sure, but I think this was the first time we’d ever played that song together. It came off quite well. I usually joke about us turning into BenWahBob whenever we venture into the danceable rock genre, but lately that band has been learning a bunch of Sabbath. It’s like a flip-flop universe for me lately.
We did eventually get back to the normal set list...well, as much as we usually do anyway. We seemed to be in a land far, far away throughout the middle of the night though. Even simple stuff was coming out in different keys. Vocal harmonies were not quite there. Scrappy and I, who usually click pretty tightly, were just slightly off most of the night. Deron wasn’t falling into his usual I-can-play-anything mode. Steve was missing queues, and sometimes entire verses. It was just an off night. I don’t know that anyone really noticed though. We seemed to be getting a pretty good response. The place was by no means packed, but the people who were there seemed to genuinely be enjoying the music. This made it all OK. After all, that’s why we were there.
At the end of the night, there seemed to be some confusion about how late we were suppose to be playing. The bar is now open until 03:00. Deron thought we were going until 02:30. One of the barmaids came up to the stage and asked him to announce last call just before 02:00. He expressed his confusion publicly, evidence of his aggravation at whatever was going on with the management of the establishment. A general statement was made, but no details were forthcoming, so I won’t speculate here. We stopped playing about 02:10.
After we had torn down our equipment, some of the bar staff even “helped” us carry stuff out to our vehicles. It seemed that they really wanted us out of there with a quickness. Strike two. I have yet to get a good feeling about this place. There were some other young ladies who had obviously been partaking liberally of the adult beverages. They had offered to help us with our load-out, too. Deron and Scrappy didn’t seem to mind the help. I, on the other hand, was more than a bit weary. After having seen one of them falling all over herself (not to mention the stage monitors), I didn’t think it wise to have them carrying heavy, expensive gear through the loose gravel out back. So I expressed my gratitude at their offer and politely declined. Who says I’m a horse’s derrière?
There were many familiar faces there that deserve recognition, as they seem to always find the time to come see us. Roy and Carol (from the attic) were there most of the night, and Roy didn’t even pass out this time! Carol, though, did manage to find a way to head-butt one of the PA cabinets somewhere near the end of the night. She survived it with no major blood loss, and danced on as usual. What a trooper! Bill Henke and Mark Bowles stayed with us all night, too. I saw Scott Speck there briefly, but didn’t have the chance to talk with him. I also ran into Connie Popmarkoff and some of her friends who remembered me (& Deron) from high school. They were all unnecessarily kind.
I played with Knucklehead at Mac & Mick’s in Granite City, IL. We had played there once before, and I wasn’t impressed with the turnout or the response we received. It wasn’t a fun load-in either. The place is a restaurant/sports bar, and is not set up for live bands. We have to clear away some tables in front of the big-screen TV for “stage” space. But, it’s a gig, so what the heck.
I got there around 20:00 (that’s 8pm for those of you in Rio Linda) and no one else was there yet. I started to wonder if we were playing that night, or if it was even Friday for that matter. I had a lot going on this week and the days were getting confused. I called Deron and got no answer. I called Dawna and got her machine. I felt alone in the wilderness. I decided that the best course of action at this point would be to go inside and have dinner. I ordered the talapia platter. Deron had called back in the interim and said he would be there shortly.
Just after I sat down and ordered, Scrappy rolled in and ordered a beer and the shrimp platter. We sat there and talked for awhile until Deron arrived. He ordered the talapia as well. We all three sat and enjoyed a fine pre-game meal. For bar food, this fish was outstanding. Scrappy seemed to enjoy the shrimp, too, as he apparently couldn’t get it the last time we were there.
We moved in the equipment and were set up by about 22:30 (I’ll go ahead and run the risks of letting those of you in Palm Beach County do the math on this one). Steve strolled in about 2 minutes before he thought we were starting...par for the course. I always hate finishing set-up and jumping right into the first set. I was hot and sweaty and hadn’t had the opportunity to settle myself before the big concert began (...ahem). But, as Deron would say, I was a professional and rose above it...pimentos be damned.
Deron launched directly into Cumbersome, the safe choice for a first song. The response was polite and somewhat generous. Then someone immediately shouted out for some Black Sabbath. The mood was now set. We did War Pigs, which we morph into Rush’s Working Man during the guitar solo, then back again for the last verse, only to switch yet again for the ending. Deron did this once about 11 years ago, and we determined that it fit so well and was so goofy that it just stuck. Besides, we seem to take pride in being able to turn just about anything into a Rush song. It met with great hoopla this time as well. More Sabbath was the call, so I diddled around with the beginning of NIB and we somehow ended up playing Faeries Wear Boots. I’m not sure, but I think this was the first time we’d ever played that song together. It came off quite well. I usually joke about us turning into BenWahBob whenever we venture into the danceable rock genre, but lately that band has been learning a bunch of Sabbath. It’s like a flip-flop universe for me lately.
We did eventually get back to the normal set list...well, as much as we usually do anyway. We seemed to be in a land far, far away throughout the middle of the night though. Even simple stuff was coming out in different keys. Vocal harmonies were not quite there. Scrappy and I, who usually click pretty tightly, were just slightly off most of the night. Deron wasn’t falling into his usual I-can-play-anything mode. Steve was missing queues, and sometimes entire verses. It was just an off night. I don’t know that anyone really noticed though. We seemed to be getting a pretty good response. The place was by no means packed, but the people who were there seemed to genuinely be enjoying the music. This made it all OK. After all, that’s why we were there.
At the end of the night, there seemed to be some confusion about how late we were suppose to be playing. The bar is now open until 03:00. Deron thought we were going until 02:30. One of the barmaids came up to the stage and asked him to announce last call just before 02:00. He expressed his confusion publicly, evidence of his aggravation at whatever was going on with the management of the establishment. A general statement was made, but no details were forthcoming, so I won’t speculate here. We stopped playing about 02:10.
After we had torn down our equipment, some of the bar staff even “helped” us carry stuff out to our vehicles. It seemed that they really wanted us out of there with a quickness. Strike two. I have yet to get a good feeling about this place. There were some other young ladies who had obviously been partaking liberally of the adult beverages. They had offered to help us with our load-out, too. Deron and Scrappy didn’t seem to mind the help. I, on the other hand, was more than a bit weary. After having seen one of them falling all over herself (not to mention the stage monitors), I didn’t think it wise to have them carrying heavy, expensive gear through the loose gravel out back. So I expressed my gratitude at their offer and politely declined. Who says I’m a horse’s derrière?
There were many familiar faces there that deserve recognition, as they seem to always find the time to come see us. Roy and Carol (from the attic) were there most of the night, and Roy didn’t even pass out this time! Carol, though, did manage to find a way to head-butt one of the PA cabinets somewhere near the end of the night. She survived it with no major blood loss, and danced on as usual. What a trooper! Bill Henke and Mark Bowles stayed with us all night, too. I saw Scott Speck there briefly, but didn’t have the chance to talk with him. I also ran into Connie Popmarkoff and some of her friends who remembered me (& Deron) from high school. They were all unnecessarily kind.
Next weekend is the big Memorial Day float trip on the Black River at Lesterville, MO with BenWahBob. We play on the giant stage Saturday night, and then float on Sunday...weather permitting, of course. This will be my third year there and I haven’t been able to do the float yet. It’s a great time, though, as there are usually about 1500 or more people there every year. If you don’t already have a reservation (they always sell out), be sure to read all about it here next week. It’s sure to be entertaining at the very least.
posted by Paul J. Smith | 00:11
1 Comments:
So I came on your website when I was looking for some info on Talapia. I have never fished for or consumed that type of fish and was looking into a fishing trip and I was just curious to see what they looked like, believe it or not. Hhahahaa! I have to admit I was wondering when you were going to add Talapia onto your end of the night type deal with food poisoning or something to that effect, but I guess not. You stated it was pretty good huh. That is what I want to know. Yeh or Neh! I really enjoyed reading about your band and having grown up with boyfriends in bands doing small gigs like that I can relate. Take it easy and Rock On!!!
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