I got a feva...

A week or so ago I couldn't even look at my guitars. I thought I might just hang it all up for a while. We played a lack luster show down in Silver Spring, and it was all starting to feel like too much work... the booking and the promotion and - the whole thing just seemed like a drag.

Well, I woke up last Friday morning foaming at the mouth to play. Who knows why, but I was amped. I could only think about that night's show. All day I sat at my desk, boiling on the inside, just waiting to rock.

So I get to the gig and the band from the early show isn't loaded out yet. We've played this Friday gig for something like three years now, and we've never had the early show run so late. Parking was horrendous as usual, so I dumped my gear so I could circle like a vulture to get a decent parking spot. One of the guys from the early band started giving me a bunch of shit about how much easier it would be to load out if my gear wasn't there. I bit my lip (though I wanted to completely pummel this little fuck in front of all of his slow-moving bandmates just to prove my point), and stated my case. Fuming, I hopped back into the car and found a place to park. On the walk back to the club, the seed of doubt started to sprout in my head. "See, you were right, it's all become a huge pain in the ass."

We got her going and things were weird. The crowd was pretty thin and uninterested for the first few songs. Aw man, was I right about all this?

Well, the bad tide washed out and a big full high tide of listeners and ass-shakers rolled in and lifted us on their backs. By the end of the first set, the place was going ape and they were crying out for more. We took a quick break to regroup and rehydrate, then lit into a blistering second set. The band was playing some inspired stuff. Ebbing and flowing... we could go anywhere we wanted. We were tighter than a bull's ass in fly season and the crowd was into it, fully invested. We took one last, quick, break and they all hung with us. We pounded down a round of bourbon together and fired into what would be the last set of the night. The whole thing ended with an explosion of sweat and sound. The whole joint was screaming and clapping as we closed out the last song. What a night!

While we were packing up and folks were on their way out, we were showered with kind words and promises to do it all again. We sold some disks and loaded out. The whole band felt great. We were all grinning from ear to ear, feeling great about what just happened. They are an awesome bunch of talented guys, all in it together. I left the night feeling lucky to be a part of such a good thing, and have the guys so onboard and supportive of the songs.

I can't wait for the next show.