Day Five - Moncton
The drive to Moncton was filled with thoughts about the gig from the previous night. Things that worked, things that needed work, things the didn't work - the usual self-deprecating musician talk...(*chuckles).
We arrived in Moncton a little earlier than expected and hung out in a coffee shop (Jitter Bean Cafe). We needed some coffee and internet. Jitter Bean has great coffee and they are super nice people! I have been recording our gigs and rehearsals since I arrived. I've always found that it's a great tool to be able to listen back. After we have some time to digest the recordings, I'm sure that we'll post some online.
I was really excited to perform at the Plan b Lounge in Moncton. It was just nominated for venue of the year in the East Coast.
Musically, I thought that Amy and I got into the zone. The music felt great! Stretching out and pushing our musical boundaries. I think that we feel like a group now. We are able to anticipate each other - we are really starting to understand each other.
The one downside to the gig was that there were a few tables of very loud people. I guess you can't always win that game...
We grabbed dinner at a Vietnamese restaurant across the street with Amy's brother-in-law and his wife (who also attended our show) and headed back to Truro.
Our next stop - Tatamagouche!
Showing posts with label New Brunswick. Show all posts
Showing posts with label New Brunswick. Show all posts
Saturday, 26 November 2011
My Tour With Amy Brandon - Day Four
Day Four - Fredericton
On Thursday, we were heading to Fredericton. We were heading to our first gig!
We woke up that morning and hit what has become a routine - coffee and rehearsal. After we ran our tunes fairly quickly, we loaded up the car for the four hour drive to Fredericton.
We arrived at the James Joyce (our venue for the evening) and loaded our gear. We met with the manager. After a bite to eat and some running around to find a cell phone charger (I forgot mine). We hit the stage.
The Gig.
I was a little worried before we started playing, Amy warned me the the crowd could be sparse, and it seemed like it would be. We are fortunate on the tour, because Amy did a brilliant job booking each venue, and none of our shows have a cover charge, but it's still nice to play for a crowd. Just before we started playing, a nice crowd of people show up and the James Joyce comes alive!
Amy and I had worked out set lists beforehand, so there were no questions about the material. This was great, because we could focus on making the music. I'm not sure if it was because I was nervous, but I was counting off our tunes faster than we had rehearsed them. This wasn't a problem from a musical/technical perspective, but definitely a problem time-wise. We added some standards to each set, which was incredibly relaxing. Common material. It seemed like we were able to experiment more with these tunes. The interesting thing (at least to me) that happened with my playing was that I feel like I became more free within the original material that we each had brought to the duo.
After a few sets of music, some shop talk with a local saxophonist and some dinner, we headed back to the hostel to sleep.
The next day we played Moncton.
See you in the next post!
On Thursday, we were heading to Fredericton. We were heading to our first gig!
We woke up that morning and hit what has become a routine - coffee and rehearsal. After we ran our tunes fairly quickly, we loaded up the car for the four hour drive to Fredericton.
We arrived at the James Joyce (our venue for the evening) and loaded our gear. We met with the manager. After a bite to eat and some running around to find a cell phone charger (I forgot mine). We hit the stage.
The Gig.
I was a little worried before we started playing, Amy warned me the the crowd could be sparse, and it seemed like it would be. We are fortunate on the tour, because Amy did a brilliant job booking each venue, and none of our shows have a cover charge, but it's still nice to play for a crowd. Just before we started playing, a nice crowd of people show up and the James Joyce comes alive!
Amy and I had worked out set lists beforehand, so there were no questions about the material. This was great, because we could focus on making the music. I'm not sure if it was because I was nervous, but I was counting off our tunes faster than we had rehearsed them. This wasn't a problem from a musical/technical perspective, but definitely a problem time-wise. We added some standards to each set, which was incredibly relaxing. Common material. It seemed like we were able to experiment more with these tunes. The interesting thing (at least to me) that happened with my playing was that I feel like I became more free within the original material that we each had brought to the duo.
After a few sets of music, some shop talk with a local saxophonist and some dinner, we headed back to the hostel to sleep.
The next day we played Moncton.
See you in the next post!
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