Hunky-Dory II (in case there is another)

If you look up the definition of hunky-dory, that is, if you ever find you need to, it says,
"fine, all right, satisfactory."
So if you're kind of a low-key person that description might indicate a strain of giddyness or something more akin to maybe a wow.
The night before Thanksgiving last at the Eastern Avenue Hall, I had what I thought was a hunky-dory night behind the kit (drummer speak for, well, drums). And if history serves me, and it doesn't always, I'd be willing to bet at least the bass player, Mitchell Wood, and maybe even Jacques, the guitar player/singer with a hat, were feeling the same.
As a potentially muscular, rhythmic nucleus who've played together on and off for over 20 years, hunky-dory we should be at the very least. Then you throw Dennie and Pete in the mix that night and you get what ever the word is that is a step or two above hunky-dory. Let's chew on that for a moment shall we?
More importantly I want to thank everybody who came out and stayed at least till I started playing bass. Seriously, it was a very genuine and appreciative crowd. I know it takes dynamite sometimes to get my wife and I out of the house for something more closely related to drudgery than anything special.
I think special is like, maybe, two notches above hunky-dory actually. And yes, Honey, I'm cleaning my office as I write this.

Nehmen Sie Das Van

Rendezvoused with Greg, Mitch and Jack at the lake last Saturday. Stowed the guitars and a few amps and finally us into the van and headed south toward the Indiana border.
Sir Gerg and I sat side by side in back knockin' knee caps while semi-sandwiched between the gear.

Early afternoon and it was sweaty hot with the only air conditioning (er breeze) coming from the open driver and passenger side windows which did the trick actually until Jack lit that turd of a cigar.

It's been about 15 years or so that this particular configuration assembled together in one vehicle. And while maybe just a touch awkward for me at first only because the options for conversation were so numerous that it was difficult to know where to start. So I did what anyone might do and started leafing through the New York Times.

We unloaded and carried everything up a short flight of stairs to the side of the stage, giddy to lookout among the crowd, while another band was wrapping up their set.
Standing to the side we ogled and attempted to size up the folks to try an determine if our brand of guitar shtick would make a dent.
You can look all you want but you never really get a good impression until you get out there and rock 'em for all it's worth.

We did this two weeks ago to a very receptive crowd which was cool but the stage mix was, well, not so great. We feared if it sounded like this on stage what does sound like out front. But you don't know if you're not carrying a trusting soul to man the board during your set so you just forge ahead and hope for the best. This gig was the opposite. Kind of a luke warm reception with a few random, sweaty dancers doing their best to kick their shorts up in the heat while the sound on stage was mucho gusto! Adapt and Conquer I always sometimes say.

Sweaty, hot mid-afternoons on stage take their toll so we didn't waste much time packing up and listening to a few from the evening's headliner, ? And The Mysterians minus the ?.
We jumped in the van and prepared to do what any four guys with 2 and 1/2 hours to ride would do, settle in, crank open the windows and listen to the Lions kick some Patriot butt.


Photo: clydekeller.com