Weekly recap.
Quinns Rocks Sports club Friday November 29, 2024. 6:30pm.
Load in was a breeze with a back door access to the room. I’ve played here a number of times and it’s a good little gig with a large entertainment room booked through my agent Leslie Hinton entertainment. I left home allowing plenty of time to get to the gig. It’s an hour and 20 minutes if the traffic is good but from home you can ad 15 minutes to the journey.
I did the gig and enjoyed playing originals and popular covers. Wichita Lineman by Glen Cambell was a new addition to the set. It’s a beautiful song and had some nice challenging chords and flows beautifully. This song will remain in my permanent set. The trip home on the freeway was going great until traffic came to a standstill through the city. A crash on the freeway closed two of the three lanes. I offered prayers for those involved as I made my way through the pile up. I arrived home just before midnight desperate for sleep and found myself crashing out soon after.
Dawesville Markets Saturday November 30, 2024 8am. It was an early rise at 6am Saturday November 30 to head the Dawesville markets and set up with my mobile Bose S1 daisy chained to my Roland CUBE powered by 9 x AA batteries. It’s a great little portable combo that does a good job. The batteries will give you about 10 hours constant playing time. That’s about 2 and half busking gigs. Not bad really. I get my batteries from ALDI
I played my mini maton for something different. I like the mini because it’s light and doesn’t hurt your shoulder after playing for hours on end. With a fresh set of new strings 11-46 gauge away I went. Started off well then I began to have tuning issues. I tried stretching the new strings thinking this would help but constantly had issues. I enjoy the market’s although it’s taxing on the body due to the will to keep the customers and stall holders entertained. If your not playing then your not earning. I rely on tips to see me through these tough economic times.
Jarrahdale Tavern Saturday November 30, 2024 6pm. That evening was the first open mic night at the Jarrahdale in over 12 months. After lending a hand to set up at 4pm I elected to go first and kick off the evening at 6pm playing a Delta Blues set on my Beltona Resonator. In open D tuning I mashed my way through over half a dozen songs the likes of Muddy Waters, Big Bill Broonzey and Robert Johnson. It was a fun time and the crowd applauded after each song and I felt a positive buzz when I left the stage. I hung around after enjoying the other acts but had to leave before the night ended to get an ok nights rest.
Up early again to set up for the Madora Bay morning markets Sunday December 1. Persisting with the Mini Maton I played the gig but still had issues with the tuning. When it’s not in tune it’s hard to get in the zone.
I’ll go back to using my trusty Martin D-28 for future gigs. There were some great moments when things were going good. A little girl picked me a fresh flower from the park and presented it to me between songs. I stuck it in my hat and felt amazing. An unexpected sprinkle of rain caused a mad rush to fetch my gazebo that I travel with. With a helping hand from my friend Brian who has the massage therapy pop up stall and a Good Samaritan nearby we managed to cover my equipment in under two minutes whilst the rain sprinkled. The show went on. The sun shone once again with looming storm clouds far out to sea.
Exchange Hotel Pinjarra. Sunday December 1, 2024 6pm. The markets finished at 12pm. I stuffed the gazebo into the van and everything else was roughly packed up. My next gig started at 2pm at the Exchange Hotel in Pinjarra again through Leslie Hinton organised by Ari Davis. I made it to the venue with an hour to spare which is plenty of time to casually trolley in the equipment to the outdoor area. The brand new pub is absolutely top notch but they forgot to provide an undercover area for the live acts. Halfway through the gig the heavens opened up again. This time it was easier for the crowd to lend a hand and move the equipment into the bar inside. This was a challenging time and a buzz killing moment but once I set up inside it was back on and time to fulfil the contract. The remaining crowd followed me inside and I wound up the gig with some low level laid-back acoustic songs and after I was relieved to pack up and head for home.
I was a spent man by the time I slipped into a Radox bath for a soak and listening to the sound of silence in a darkening bathroom.
The calluses on my left-hand fingertips are getting very thick and tough. Hopefully, one day I’ll have a less hectic schedule and get to participate in some major events. Thanks for reading my blog.