I headed out for a three hour trip to Trumbull, CT for a noon family show in a nice town park along a stream in Old Mine Park. I’ve played here several times but not in recent years. The lady who booked me in the past has retired but somehow my name came up for this one.
In the past I’ve used a sound system but gambled that there wouldn’t be a whole lot of folks and I could encourage them to sit close. I picked a nice, shady spot with what passed for grass. It the past, when I’ve played through a PA, I notice people set up blankets pretty far from me, and I wanted to discourage that today. It worked.
It was a good group of about 14 families, with kids, grandparents and parents gathered around, and I broke out the instruments early. The kids warmed up (though having a crying kid settle in up front tends to shift the energy somewhat), and we had a good set. One pain-in-the-ass kid delighted in bringing his shaker right up in front of me while I was singing to show me how good he was playing. Almost brought out the W.C. Fields in me. “Go away, kid. You’re botherin’ me!”. I restrained myself admirably. It was a good paying gig and folks were pleased.
Off to Louis Audette’s for some chat with my good friend in New Haven and Camp Happiness on Wednesday. Nice little tour.