| Last night the trio version of School for the Dead played. That's Max on bass, Brian on drums, and me on Electric guitar. Our show was at The Sierra Grille in Northampton, Massachusetts.
A long time ago, the Sierra Grille used to be a different business called The Baystate. It was the hub on underground music in this town. I played there a kazillion times, I used to host the open mic there, I ran the sound system, and I attended countless shows. The room is quite different now. For one thing, it's clean. The air is breathable. The decor is up-to-date. There isn't an air conditioner hanging out of the window with a hand written sign saying, "Do not turn on". The tables don't wobble frighteningly. There is more than one outlet, so you don't have to run extension cords all over the place. It used to be low brow. Now, it is high brow.
But! Owner of the Sierra Grille, O'Brien, has fond memories of the Baystate scene and he's very excited about trying to bring some of that back. With the help of Mark, who's been organizing the shows, it seems like it might be possible to a degree. You can't bring back the mysterious Baystate rife with good badness, but another inspirational music series seems very likely. Every Thursday night they hope to bring in some local talent. Last night was the first night in the series. We were guinea pigs. Us, The Novels, and Lys Guillorn, that is.
We began the night with a nice complimentary meal. The food there is sooo good, as I know, since I eat there at least once a week anyway. Once we were full of Belgian fries and asparagus and whatever other comforting comestibles, we cleared the tables and started to set up.
unfortunately, the regular sound system provider was unable to appear this evening. So, Jason brought equipment of his own and we did our best to make-do. We were pretty successful. Lys guillorn sounded nice and clear, considering the set up, she and her guitarist/lap steel player, eased through a set of mellow, gently rolling songs.
School for the Dead took the stage and I was surprised to see a pretty nice little crowd all sitting around us. Some folks were on the carpet, others in chairs, some leaning here and there. I was playing electric guitar for this show, which is still sort of a novelty for me. I borrowed Jason's amp, which is permanently filled with reverb. It was a nice sound, a bit different then what I am used to for this band, but I enjoyed it. But for some crazy reason, my head became detached during our first song. I was completely removed from the situation. Unable to concentrate on the songs, incapable of drumming up any worthy in between song banter, I felt pretty amateurish and almost a little embarrassed. Then, my voice shrivelled up. I suddenly felt as though I had been breathing helium or something, as my throat seemed to shrink. Embarrassing honks and squeaks emanated from within me. Notes that I never intended to sing, were sung.
It was strange. I contemplated just stopping the show short a couple of times, but by the end of our set I had gotten a bit better. But, I still never felt at home on stage like I usually do and I was doubly saddened by this since the crowd was so nice and attentive. I was unable to give them a proper show.
When we were finished I was assured by many that we sounded good. That my singing was fine. That it was a "great" show. Huh.
After us, The Novels played. They kicked off their set with their huge hit "Haircut of the Future" and they just kept going from there. The room suited them. yes, the room suited them...why did it sound so familiar?..Ah yes, it sounded like the Baystate! It had that same smooth carpeted intimate sound of the Baystate. You could notice it mostly with the drums. They had that old familiar sound. I can't put it into words.
After their set Jason told me that he also had a really hard time playing. Maybe it has something to do with the new curved wooded wall to the side of the stage. Maybe there is some kind of frequency cancellation going on. Or maybe it is ghosts. Whatever it is, I'm sure that with a proper sound set-up, it'd be a pleasure to play there again. Or to see shows there for that matter.
When's the Figments concert?
A long time ago, the Sierra Grille used to be a different business called The Baystate. It was the hub on underground music in this town. I played there a kazillion times, I used to host the open mic there, I ran the sound system, and I attended countless shows. The room is quite different now. For one thing, it's clean. The air is breathable. The decor is up-to-date. There isn't an air conditioner hanging out of the window with a hand written sign saying, "Do not turn on". The tables don't wobble frighteningly. There is more than one outlet, so you don't have to run extension cords all over the place. It used to be low brow. Now, it is high brow.
But! Owner of the Sierra Grille, O'Brien, has fond memories of the Baystate scene and he's very excited about trying to bring some of that back. With the help of Mark, who's been organizing the shows, it seems like it might be possible to a degree. You can't bring back the mysterious Baystate rife with good badness, but another inspirational music series seems very likely. Every Thursday night they hope to bring in some local talent. Last night was the first night in the series. We were guinea pigs. Us, The Novels, and Lys Guillorn, that is.
We began the night with a nice complimentary meal. The food there is sooo good, as I know, since I eat there at least once a week anyway. Once we were full of Belgian fries and asparagus and whatever other comforting comestibles, we cleared the tables and started to set up.
unfortunately, the regular sound system provider was unable to appear this evening. So, Jason brought equipment of his own and we did our best to make-do. We were pretty successful. Lys guillorn sounded nice and clear, considering the set up, she and her guitarist/lap steel player, eased through a set of mellow, gently rolling songs.
School for the Dead took the stage and I was surprised to see a pretty nice little crowd all sitting around us. Some folks were on the carpet, others in chairs, some leaning here and there. I was playing electric guitar for this show, which is still sort of a novelty for me. I borrowed Jason's amp, which is permanently filled with reverb. It was a nice sound, a bit different then what I am used to for this band, but I enjoyed it. But for some crazy reason, my head became detached during our first song. I was completely removed from the situation. Unable to concentrate on the songs, incapable of drumming up any worthy in between song banter, I felt pretty amateurish and almost a little embarrassed. Then, my voice shrivelled up. I suddenly felt as though I had been breathing helium or something, as my throat seemed to shrink. Embarrassing honks and squeaks emanated from within me. Notes that I never intended to sing, were sung.
It was strange. I contemplated just stopping the show short a couple of times, but by the end of our set I had gotten a bit better. But, I still never felt at home on stage like I usually do and I was doubly saddened by this since the crowd was so nice and attentive. I was unable to give them a proper show.
When we were finished I was assured by many that we sounded good. That my singing was fine. That it was a "great" show. Huh.
After us, The Novels played. They kicked off their set with their huge hit "Haircut of the Future" and they just kept going from there. The room suited them. yes, the room suited them...why did it sound so familiar?..Ah yes, it sounded like the Baystate! It had that same smooth carpeted intimate sound of the Baystate. You could notice it mostly with the drums. They had that old familiar sound. I can't put it into words.
After their set Jason told me that he also had a really hard time playing. Maybe it has something to do with the new curved wooded wall to the side of the stage. Maybe there is some kind of frequency cancellation going on. Or maybe it is ghosts. Whatever it is, I'm sure that with a proper sound set-up, it'd be a pleasure to play there again. Or to see shows there for that matter.
When's the Figments concert?
1 comment:
Well, it was obvious that the room had some sort of negative feng shui or something! We had a hard time playing, to say the least. I think not having a stage makes it hard, and the lighting...more like a coffeeshop gig or something. It obviously didn't sound the same for the audience. Or people would've thrown frites at us.
be well,
lys
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