Friday Night @ 303 Cafe, East Boston

what a day.

yesterday, as often happens when you have two kids, was exhausting...I got up early, went into school to tutor, came home to run some errands, make some dinner (which in all honestly was awful, and I never cook anything bad), and headed over to 303 Cafe in eastie.

Growing up in New York, I have never been to East Boston. In fact, I bet half of the people I know in Boston have never been to East Boston, except maybe to go through Logan Airport on their way somewhere. It was cute. And dilapidated. And trendy. And seemingly alive.

It reminded me of downtown Brooklyn a little - the Carroll Gardens area - where gentrification is slowly coming in, but there are enough stalwarts of the old school to keep it legit.

So, I get a spot directly in front of the place (i ALWAYS get a spot in front) and walk up. It's an awesome space, brick walls on either side, art collection hanging on the walls, huge open-air-to-the-street windows. The place had an excellent crowd, which was made even more excellent but friends new and old showing up to listen.


Now, due to a lack of communication (mostly on my part - never make assumptions! you only make an ass out of U and Umption. and poor Umption never did anything, did he?) it was a truly acoustic night, but you know, it was kinda cool that way. The intimateness of the venue allowed for the intimateness of an almost living-room performance, and I wonder if amplified music would have been almost intrusive to people's dinner conversations.

As Always, Casey Sullivan was great. Aaron Gage played a beautiful cello along with her. Casey's music is thoughtful, simple yet intricate, and mature beyond her years. (I feel a little bad saying that because I'm sure she hears that a lot, but she is AWEsome and a much better songwriter than people five or ten years older than she.) The only drawback to the quiet music and dinner-crowd-discussion was that she didn't feel able to play her quieter songs. Next time, we'll remember to bring the mics.

But, the intimateness allowed for a certain low-key casualness. After she played a set, I played a few songs and then Casey (and Aaron) came back up to sing a bunch of tunes with me. "When did you guys practice?" I was asked. Haha Casey is just THAT good. Overall, I tried to play the rockier songs to fill the room, but even the quieter songs were received well. And I think that when you have a bar/cafe in Eastie singing along with originals, you've done at least one thing right.

We had a great time and the food was awesome. Thank You, 303 Cafe. I can't wait to go back.

peace,
Dann

the set list:

Parking Lot Kings
Fortunes, Forecasts & Lucky Charms
Dreaming Without You
Waiting For The Dawn
Sigh No More (Mumford & Sons cover w/Casey)
Falling Slowly (The Swell Season cover w/ Casey & Aaron)
Nowhere Man (The Beatles cover w/ Casey & Aaron)
High & Dry (Radiohead cover w/ Casey & Aaron)
No Pain
Ruby Red Hair
Paris
Her Majesty Cry
Year
Don't Say That
It Seems Just Like A Dream (What a Day)

Week Two! (more or less)

ok, so in order to get my act together, here is week two.

It's the pitch week.

Anyone who has ever played wiffleball against me knows that I can hit a ton, but when it comes to pitching I'm just too nice. I like watching other people do well. I don't have the attack mode that a good pitcher needs. So I asked for help.

I put a list on my FB "band" page and asked people what they thought...I had a few ideas. And more questions than ideas. I came up against the "do you want to brand yourself using someone else's brand?" question. and I had the "who cares what you sound like if you can't tell people who you sound like" problem. And of course, the "Hey I sound exactly like Richie Havens." "Who?" problem.

but here are some thoughts that I wanted to share...some are a little more ridiculous than others...some are amazing...and some are "hey, what the hell? why not me?"

some goals I am setting for myself:

1. Play a show (open or headline) with a line outside the venue. before the end of summer 2012.

2. Have Bono or Eddie Vedder sing a verse of No Pain at a concert.

3. Induct someone into the Hall of Fame. (I'm thinking Dave Matthews or maybe Bon Jovi)

4. new CD by Christmas '10

5. open for someone who isn't a personal friend by next summer

6. run the 800 at the 2016 Olympics.

so, the pitch...

it's not wiffleball on 77th street, so I can't lead the league in doubles this time...

I can however, talk about

"All the power and emotion you can get from an acoustic guitar. I play fast and loud, I play quietly, I play with soul."

what do you think?