I wonder if many folks out there have super-eventful Thursday nights - or do they sit at home, contemplating the weekend, or whatever. I have no idea, but I do know that a loyal bunch of music-loving dancers shows up at Northwood each "Thugzday" and makes my week. Last night we had many new fans come around, and it was great to see new faces, smiling, swaying, asking for special tunes. Our manager, Craig, was sick and couldn't be there to make contact and find out everyone's story - but I bet many will return another night. Musically we had a great night. Mike decided to blast away with originals for the first set, and he threw in songs we had never played before - so we were on our toes right away. We tried an old Kinks tune, "Last of the Steam Powered Trains"and One of Steve Millers's hits "before he went cheesy" - "Space Cowboy."The set ended with "Touch of Grey" and "Bird Song" - filled with some super-duper jams. I think Mike was giving us all his best efforts last night - both on guitar and trumpet. There are times when I'd love to stop and just listen to the interplay between Mike and Ian. They bonded musically way back when Ian was his student at Tomales High School, and the collaboration gets more interesting every time we play. I'm also really lucky to be on Chris's side of the stage now that we're a 4 piece. His bass lines move and drive the whole thing. If I sit there sometimes with a silly grin, it's usually because I've heard something that has blown me away - a "wow" experience. We did several Grateful Dead tunes during the second set, and the momentum just kept building. It was hard to stop - but we had to remember it was Thursday, and Friday morning has its demands. We won't get together again until after Thanksgiving, but I'm feeling jazzed, inspired, and truly grateful for Thursday nights.
Take care. Love, Sylvia