Reflections on an amazing month of shows…
I love playing when the audience is filled with friends and family. But there is something exceptionally rewarding about stepping into a packed room and knowing no one. No one owes you anything, no one feels obliged to dance or clap… it’s a challenge that I love and it starts on beat one of song one. You don’t know if they are going to pay attention or cup their ears and stare back at you with the glare of a shiny empty dance floor lighting up their unimpressed faces. I’ve been in that situation many times over the years and tried to learn from it each time.
And then IT starts to happen. Smiling faces, you see some toes tapping, a few people start groovin’ in the wings not yet possessing the courage to take those 2 or 3 steps forward into the space where others can see them dancing, risking being judged on their moves, their style or their appearance. One more song and they say “what the hell, I’m having fun!” And a handful of trailblazers claim that space in front of the band and suddenly it’s OK for EVERYONE to let down their guard and let down their hair and just celebrate their lives and their friends and the songs they grew up with that they heard at a time in their life when music meant EVERYTHING to them.
Last night…
at Gallery 345 in Toronto was one of those nights. It was a birthday party for a lovely couple Stephen and Holly, both celebrating their 50th Birthday. We knew no one walking in and left feeling like we were amongst friends and family.
As this fantastic month of gigs comes to a close… a month that saw us play a brewery, an art gallery, a crammed west end restaurant and a beautiful backyard…outside…in February…in front of a massive 30ft TV screen, the honour and privilege of performing for people is heavy on my mind as I know it is for my band mates as well. Thank you for letting us be your time machine, one evening at a time.