Last week I played an awesome show at a bar which was formerly very smoky. The bar changed their policies and are banning smoking, about 8 months before a new law here goes into effect. That made playing much better as I wasn’t breathing smoke and I didn’t smell like smoke when I got home.
The other great part about this show was that my former bass player of 20+ years was in town and played the gig. The new girl bass player watched from the audience as we rocked very hard and fast. I was so pumped I never fatigued at all, despite not playing for close to 5-6 months. Even though I had blisters on my thumbs I didn’t care.
Not gigging
That being said, I’ve concluded that I do not wish to gig again unless the following happens:
1. My old bass player is there, not the girl.
2. There is no smoke.
So as it sits, I’m taking a sabbatical. I was in one anyway. My bass player may come back into town some day and at that point I’ll consider playing again. But until then, I can’t stand gigging with this girl. She’s nice, but she’s only learned about 1/6th of the song list and only half-assed at that. Plus, she just doesn’t “rock.” I know that sounds funny but it is the only way I can put it into words. If I can’t rock at a rock & roll show, I might as well stay home.