Last night at the River Theater, we gathered some Thugz and associates together for a sit-down evening of acoustic "stool music." We didn't want to do the full Thugz experience since we're on tap to do a big show in the area tomorrow night - with Boris Garcia at the Forestville Club. The Boris Garcia band was in Berkeley at the Ashkenaz last night and will head this way today. So the first idea was to do a "Mike and Sylvia" duo at the River - and then Chris wanted to come - and then Drew wanted to play - and then Stephanie wanted to join in! Oh boy. We had fun pulling out tunes that worked for the acoustic venue. Mike knows a million of them, and both Drew and Stephanie have a love for Dead tunes that we don't hear that often. Stephanie is such a talented singer and can harmonize with anything. I could stick notes into the mix, and we had a nice blend going on some tunes. Drew did his finest Bob Weir vocal renditions - especially on "We Can Run" - and kept his rhythm guitar going too. The whole evening was casual, low key, and so much fun. I loved Drew's "Me and Bobbie McGee" and Stephanie's "Next Time You See Me," and my favorite was Mike's version of "Black Muddy River" with his chick singers doing back-ups. Mike's favorite for the evening was the acoustic jam we did early on - Mike, Chris and I, just enjoying listening and responding to each other, the "Nebulous Space Jam." When we bring back the band next Thursday, we want to rock the place and get it ready for lots of action in the summer season ahead. Take care. Love, Sylvia