Last night Deanne took us out to an open mic she’d been frequenting (she’s really been picking up guitar – singing and playing since we last saw her) at the Reel Cafe. Now, we can hear this place from the end of the block – open air, loud bar. Straining through the Wilmington air, a familiar yet strangely changed tune – our friends who were running Katy’s open mic last time we were in town head up a band called L Shaped Lot, and we finally get to encounter the L Shaped Lot itself: a four + piece act (not quite sure, I think some of the members were just pick-up) doing a bizarrely beautiful countrified version of that “We Don’t Need No Education” tune from Pink Floyd’s the Wall. It was awesome – held down with an excitingly bouncy bass line and rounded out by some tripped out pedal steel guitar running through a huge pedal board. Unfortunately, I didn’t hold such high hopes for the actual open mic.
I worry that we have a habit of sizing places up far too quickly. I comfort myself with the fact that whenever we’re thinking “oh God, we’re not going to get ANYONE’s attention” we almost invariably surprise ourselves.
The audience began turning around with Deanne’s set, responding pretty well – but I wasn’t at ALL prepared for their response to us. This was arguably louder than any of our home crowds. Perhaps helped by a higher alcohol content, but in all honesty, we worked hard for the recognition. I think that with all the technical difficulties at the festival the night before, and then the excitement of seeing Deanne again really inspired us. For the first time since being merely a bass player, I actually managed to get myself off the ground, and airborne, only hit a couple of wrong notes here and there. I like to leap.
I was probably still inspired by the toad pee. Either that or the shockingly attractive collection of people sitting and standing (and then dancing) at the table to my right. Not that I would compare the two in any other way.
