So, I’m in Galveston, Texas visiting Sara, seeing the sights, avoiding the temperature. Last night we went out and hit the open mic at the Old Quarter Acoustic Cafe. Didn’t have any idea what to expect, though I kind of expected a little bit more, but ended up being very satisfied with what I encountered. Wrecks, the owner, was kicking off a set with him and a couple of friends when we walked in – he was lamenting that his humour had to be curtailed because there were kids in his bar tonight. He skated the edges for a little while and kept a straight face as his humour drove from politics to music to religion and back again… it was very cute… I caught the little blonde girl, who was clearly the kid who was causing Wrecks his humouristic angst, turn to her parents at one point during the night and mouth the words “I’m SO SORRY!!!”
Her brothers were there to perform, singing and playing together. Sometimes I think about what it would’ve been like if my brother and I had grown up playing guitar together, but I think it would’ve driven one or the other of us to quit and never touch it again.
It’s just the way we were…
In any case, Walker and his brother performed really well and on second thought, I should’ve asked them about other open mics in the area. They were really welcoming after my set (a lot of people were), the sound system treated my voice really well (I’m using that term a lot, sorry, just woke up) and I Love the sound through it – and even though I was playing my Yamaha beater, and had to sit down and huddle up to a mic to amplify it, my playing came through loud and clear. One of the other guys there had been busily soldering together an acoustic pick up, but didn’t finish until the moment I was done with my set. I think I’ll go back again tonight though, see if it’s still working. And find a shoelace or something to tie my strap on. Ploo.
