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All I can contribute to this conversation is the following, lyrics from Steely Dan: "You gotta go back, Jack, Do it again …" Best, Dennis http://soundcloud.com/usrsbin http://audiozoloft.com http://usrslashsbin.angrek.com/ On Sun, Jan 8, 2012 at 11:37 AM, David Gans <david@trufun.com> wrote: > > > I have developed a practice of "no bad gigs": taking each performance on > its own terms and giving what is required. My attitude is that any time > I am being paid to play, or I have been invited to play, it is a good > thing and there is something to be gained form the experience: money, > applause, practice, what not to do next time, etc. I play lots of > different kinds of gigs. Some scenes are more song-oriented, e.g. a > house concert where my own compositions are the central focus; at the > Farmers' Market gigs (which I love), I play lots of familiar songs - old > favorites from my youth, etc. and I'm free to do a 20-minute loop piece > because no one is there specifically to hear me and I am just incidental > to the market experience. And so on. > > Next Saturday I have a gig at the Iron Springs Pub in Fairfax, > California. I played there the other night with Rubber Souldiers, a > "Beatles jam band" I do for fun (and money) with a couple of other guys. > We had a fine time, with a good crowd, and between the modest pay and a > full tip jar my share was $117. Saturday's gig will be different: the > 49ers' playoff game will be happening at the same time, in another part > of this one big room. The owner of the brewpub wants me to do it anyway, > and sort of apologized in advance for the weirdness I am likely to > experience. I have talked about my "no bad gigs" philosophy with him > before, and I said I'll be fine. My wife and I will have a nice meal, > I'll take home a few bucks, and I'll probably spend a good part of the > 2-hour gig doing loop improv, which I will record and (if all goes well) > develop into a new piece. The football fans will not pay attention to > me, and I will return the favor. There will be a few other people in the > room who are listening to me and not watching the Niners, and that will > be sufficient. > > I come from the Grateful Dead music culture, which has a long tradition > of recording everything, so I have a long-term practice of listening to > my performances to find out what worked and what didn't. These days the > technology makes it super easy to listen to last night's show on my way > to today's. I am pretty good at listening in a detached way, and I know > I hear a lot more flaws than the audience is likely to notice. As long > as my own standard is higher than the one I have to meet as a performer, > I will continue to improve. I am pretty much at the top of my game these > days, so I hardly ever hear anything cringe-worthy in these playbacks. > For me, the question has more to do with, Did I gig the gig what it > needed from me? > > > >