I was asked to come up to this fine elder residency facility in Nazareth for an open house concert with the seniors and community kids and folks out on the town for a walking tour of Nazareth. As it turns out, no kids showed up, which was a disappointment. I’ve done several intergenerational gatherings like this and it’s a lot of fun, with the kids dancing and the old folks enjoying the energy. So it turned out to be me and a large room of folks.
It was enjoyable but it was hard work. I mixed in my less-than-traditional holiday songs (not always a good thing with good Christian folks) but my good nature, some bad jokes and personality seemed to win the folks over.
As I was setting up, one gent started ‘bumbuming’ Stars and Stripes Forever, so I joined in. The trouble was, he continued to brumpahbum with every tune I played, regardless of the song. I pretty much ignored the situation til finally one of the staff came over and asked him to stop and leave. Apparently, he was a pain for the others in the room, too. Later, the lady who booked me said that he occasionally ‘goes to another neighborhood’, which I thought was a nice way to put it.
During the show, I said that I don’t always get the words right to these carols, especially on the third and fourth verses, but I thought I did pretty well for the hour-long show. Several folks thanked me for the set, and I could see that most stayed engaged with my musical performance. One lady did stop and said that she enjoyed it, but I should really learn the words. As I said, tough crowd.
It was a good rebound from the night before, as I was hoping and expecting it to be. Too bad there weren’t any kids there to make it easier for me.
On to another opener at Touchstone tonight.