Part two of my final FM tour this year was in my old home town of Madison, CT, on the green, under a big ole tree. There was a strong chance of thunder storms, but I figured to give it a chance (I need the money, too), play for an hour or so and pack it in when it rained. It turned out I had very nice warm fall weather for two and a half hours of the three scheduled.
The market was slow, and several familiar vendors weren’t there, but those near me were glad I showed up. Tips were few ($8) but several familiar folks stopped by.
There was Larry, the bagger at the local Stop and Shop who stops by every market Friday. He’s somewhat challenged but has found a very nice spot in this community. One mom who took in a large part of the afternoon with her two kids said, “There’s Larry!” to her kids. I knew Larry liked oldies, so I did My Girl. He immediately chimed in on the chorus (I let him take the first MG in the chorus) and added all the little asides and obscure vocal tags that really got my attention. Cool.
There were lots of small interactions with passersby folk as well as some very good ‘close up work’ (as they say in the magic world), the bag of instruments continues to intrigue kids and folks going by. There are some great moments when a kid takes a chance to approach the bag (it must look like a treasure chest), and then has to decide what to play. I get to see all these thought processes go on, then be able to play off of these moments. I also get to see how involved the parents and grandparents and siblings become. Thesis material.
I packed up around 5:30 as some dark clouds rolled in. I got fresh ginger root, a small pumpkin, and some interesting greens, gave away a couple of CD’s, collected a check (they like me here). As I rolled the ole Honda off the green, the skies really opened up. Perfect timing, from Bethlehem at 10:30 am, through Friday traffic in PA, NJ, NY and CT, 2.5 hours of acoustic music. Now off to Ron’s house for a pickin’ gatherin’.