Our plan was to hang with the Colvins on Friday night and enjoy a bit of down time before our shows on Saturday and Sunday. I always like to stick to good local beers that I can’t get in Texas when I’m away and while Gary drives to Pennsylvania to pick up cases of Shiner Bock I wanted to hang with my old friend Genesee. You really can’t get anymore western New York State than that. So Gary makes a beer run and brings back the biggest beer I’ve ever seen! It was majestic.

We knew that our NY friends had planned a pre show dinner for us and a group of friends and fans on Saturday. To be honest, when they said we were going to a Barbecue place, I was not excited. I mean come on. I live in Texas! and I just spent time in Memphis! I figured I had my BBQ ground pretty well covered. Live and learn they say. As we approached the old train station building on the bridge over the rushing Genesee river that houses Dinosaur BBQ Brian and I noticed that if nothing else the place smelled right and man was it hoppin! Packed with people waiting up to an hour and a half for tables, we were lucky that Gary had made a reservation for our large group way in advance. Looking at the menu they used the word “Texas” to describe their BBQ. I was skeptical but very hungry, so I got a 1/4 rack of ribs and some brisket with Cajun corn and rice and gravy for sides. Wow. The brisket was better than many places I’ve got in Texas. Sacrilege I know, but it was perfect. Moist, Juicy, just enough fat. The ribs too were excellent. Smoky with a great caramelized crust on the outside and falling tenderness off the bone. The sides were the real thing and it’s not often that you can find mace choux and rice and gravy that will pass cajun muster. And since I’m traveling with a cajun…….

The only problem with my fantastic meal at Dinosaur BBQ is that I ate it all and was way too full to play a show! However, the show must go on. Brain and I managed to waddle our way through set up and I learned that a little whiskey helps in digestion. Our show at the Abilene Bar was was great fun. The crowd was fun and I’m looking forward to heading back that way this summer with the Mystiqueros.

We pretty much planned a drive-by gig in New York City. I’ve learned too many times what a logistical hassle it can be to play and stay in the big apple, so we got a room outside the city. Driving up from DC was easy and short of all the pushing and shoving of gear to unload the jeep into our Jersey hotel room it was an ok day. Of course you have to factor in the short sleep, slight hangover and not wanting to leave DC at all

We played a short set at Lakeside Lounge for free beer and 6 people and had a couple of friends show up right after we got done. I had a dear friend in town on business and we all trooped over to the west village to meet at one of my favorite places in the whole world, Bistro Les Ami at the corner of Spring and Thompson. Great meal, great friends, a bit of wine…. sorry no pictures or food descriptions this time. Suffice it to say that it was a fine night.

Brian and I ended the day in Ithaca, NY making our way to a number of the fine bars located near the square. We enjoyed a meal at the Blue Stone which I really dig for their bar and their stickers… notice the initials. It was a balmy 17 degrees as we hopped from bar to bar. We should have run from bar to bar, I might have been warmer.

After another day where the temperature never rose above 31 we’re camped out with laptops and coffee at The Shop. We’ll play a short set here in about an hour and a half and hopefully have a few people stop in to check it out. The we’ll get in the car and head up the road to Rochester and sleep before our radio appearance tomorrow. Suddenly it sounds funny to me to “appear” on the radio. Clearly I’ve been sitting here too long.

Onward…..

While on the road, we had the great pleasure of working with Music Fog to film some live performances. Below is the first one they released. The post Jessie wrote about me includes the line, “as in The Odyssey, the sirens (of New York) beckoned him at an early age, and like Odysseus he escaped to continue his journey.” I highly recommend you read the whole thing.

I’ll be posting more video from the shoot as we go along so check back again soon!

As show time approached I began to let go a bit. I’d been in the studio that day playing bass on a project that WW was producing and everything was lined up as far as I could see. But would anyone come? I knew a couple folks would be there, (like my girlfriend) but would it be full? I didn’t expect it to be as full as the MQ release show, though that would be cool, but would the club have a good night? Luckily, the show was booked at The Mean Eyed Cat and after a year or so of monthly Monday nights with Sam Baker back in 2007, I felt very comfortable there. I knew I had MQ sound sensei Mike Horn running the show and making sure everything was handled. But, I was still nervous enough to slam a couple of ice cold beers in the first 20 minutes of set up. ( so good)

Show time arrived as it always does and there was nothing for it but to stand up and sing. I managed to call the first tune in the wrong key and after a re-start we began to play the new record. I decided to just play the record in order start to finish. Some of the songs have been around for awhile and some are newer. Some I’ve played many times and others not so much, so I wanted to see what the flow would be like if I just stuck to the sequence of the record. Frankly, I just couldn’t bring myself to come up with another plan at that point. Even though I broke a string in the second measure of the title track, (we re-started that one too!) I was surprised by how much I enjoyed playing those songs. It was really fun. And what a band. Those guys were stellar!!

The crowd dug it. And yes there was a crowd. Even the folks who just came to the Cat for a drink, having no idea who I was, stayed and listened. The audience actually moved in closer as  the show went on. It was nerve wracking and exhilarating at the same time to have everyone paying close attention, but that’s what we do this for isn’t it? That nervous exhilaration. That rush of energy passing between you and the audience. That’s what live music is all about.

So where does all this lead me? I want to play with that band again! I can see that show as  a step in re-awakening a part of myself that’s been resting for a bit. As I performed that night I was once again, “Bill Small”. Not just El Guapo, bass player of the Mystiqueros, but also the old singer songwriter, the guitar slinger, the artist that I have been, as well as the artist that I am becoming. I felt it all bubbling up that night.

So next time I may be nervous again. Next time I may have a different band, a different crowd. Next time I may reach some transcendental state of live performance bliss or fall flat on my face. But there will indeed be a next time.

p.s. This is kind of what the show looked like to me:

p.s. To get your copy of “the next time” just click the picture above.