This was going to be a long day on site, with Godfreys stuff happening, some emceeing, general schmoozing, sister and daughter entertaining and a set of music in the middle.
Andy, Dina, Moe, Kris and myself had a one hour set at 3 pm, and, with a short rehearsal earlier in the week, we pulled off a very nice set of music. I thought to start off strong with our encore song, Dixie Chicken, and it turned out to be a good move. We were all comfortable with the song, could play it strong, provide some jamming, too. It was the right thing to do. We followed with Gentle on My Mind, with Dina in the lead, myself on mandolin and, again, the song was done with authority, nice opportunities to share leads and a great tune anyway.
We did Stan’s Giant quite well and it’s becoming a strong song in the repertoire. Moe was challenged to do a druid bodhran solo and it came off well, unrehearsed. Again, some friends complimented me on the direction this new solo tune has taken wings. Always a touchstone for this new band. Lessons from Pete has also reached a comfort level after many months of play. I didn’t screw up the words. Same goes for Rosie is a Friend of Mine. It’s great when the new tunes reach maturity and can be played with power and authority.
Dixie Chicken (D)
Gentle on my Mind (A)
Round and Round (A)
Giant (G)
Pay Bo Diddley D
After the Goldrush (A)
Lessons from Pete (Am)
Across the Great Divide (A)
It’s All Right (A)
Rosie is a Friend of Mine (A)
So it went with the whole set, intelligent songs played well in front of a Godfreys crowd in this wonderful courtyard setting with superb sound. Dina and I got to swap songs, original and borrowed tunes, Kris, Moe, Andy and myself passed leads around effortlessly (the antennae were up…) We did some beautiful songs, some rockers, took some chances, and people liked the whole thing, gleaning some nice compliments from people whose opinion I value, including the folks in the band.
A very hot last day at Musikfest, an overall good representation of Godfrey Daniels, its music and its volunteer. Special thanks to Ramona and Mike Duck who managed the emceeing, accepting my tip about being conversational, and taking a big load off my workload for the day.
It was especially fine to have both my daughter and my sister in the audience for our set, and able to meet so many of the people who support me and Godfreys in this community. I left Musikfest drenched with several layers of sweat and pretty worn out. Janet, Rosalie and myself headed out of town to share some dinner with the Sloans, not missing the fireworks that ended the festival in my home town. How things have changed.