Playing Out

The show at Mahoney’s last night was great fun.  The venue was extremely comfortable, everyone seemed to have a good time, and everyone sounded awesome. It was laid back and I got a chance to say hello to some people I hadn’t seen in a while.

For a first performance, Absinthe kicked ass. Sound check took forever due to some craziness with the sound board, but ultimately we got going, plowed through six songs, and got the show started. I feel like we accomplished everything we set out to do. With four practices, learning a new song on Monday, and overall not knowing what to expect, it turned out great.

Listen to Absinthe & The Dirty Floors

Beatnik Turtle was up next, and they are just a complete blast. Fun, friendly, funny! Songs about cereal, coffee, secret agents and beer… how can you go wrong. They brought some high energy and it’s always a pleasure to listen to them.

Listen to Beatnik Turtle

Last up was Silvergirl. This was my first time playing with the band, and it was their second ever live performance. It was really fun. Steve’s songs are really well crafted, and everyone definitely got into their roles. Steven Leaf added a lot to the Silvergirl sound with some banjo and slide guitar. It got a little hard to hear the rest of the band at this point, so a few times I felt a little lost, unable to hear my keyboard in the monitors. Overall the set was quite fun, and I’ve already got some notes for myself for the next practice.

Listen to Silvergirl

So, what’s next? More practice of course, and hopefully some more upcoming gigs. I know Silvergirl has another show in early July, but I’ll keep everyone posted.

Filed under: Events, Music, absinthe, beatnik, live, mahoneys, silvergirl, turtle

Live Performance(s) Tonight!

I’m very excited for this evening’s show at Mahoney’s.  I’ve still got an hour of practice I want to get in before everything gets set in motion, but I’m feeling confident.  

Luckily for me, the music we’re playing as Absinthe & The Dirty Floors is completely locked in.  I’m completely confident in what I’m doing as a member of The Dirty Floors.

Silvergirl’s songs have been a bit more complex for me to work with.  Some of the Absinthe songs did not have keyboard parts, so I created my own.  Of course I know those best!  Silvergirl’s on the other hand, I’m picking up from chord progressions and listening to the recordings with the previous piano player.  This is a bit more nerve-wracking, but I’ve played everything enough to feel 95% confident.  

Whatever happens, this will be FUN.

Filed under: Events, Music, Promotion, absinthe, dirty floors, live, performance, practice, silvergirl

Closer To Late Night

It’s rare that I’ll intentionally brave the more hipstery or obnoxious parts of Chicago on a weekend evening, but it was too nice for e and I to stay in.  The goal was to check out Steven Leaf at Uncommon Ground, but 11:00 is (sadly) a bit late for us.

We did manage to check a new opening from Gabe Lanza at A. Okay Official, get dinner at a tapas place (Twist), and brave the gauntlet of fratties and skanks that go to the Wrigley-adjacent bars to have espresso at Uncommon Ground before wimping out at about 10:30 and heading home. We tried, but it’s going to take some practice to be the kind of people who can deal with the later outings.

Truth is, I’m a morning person. I get up around 6:30 every morning and am often working at full steam by 7:00. I get more done in the first five hours of wakefulness than I do in the latter thirteen. I am definitely going to need to strengthen my late-nite muscles.

Even though we missed our primary target this evening, we still had a good time.

Filed under: Events, a okay official, gabe lanza, late nights, steven leaf