The show at Rockwood was definitely a success. It was my first gig with this group AND my first electric gig with the
In Light and Shadow material. All things considered, it went so smoothly.
The Set:
Look Deep Inside
Numb to Me
Requiem (solo)
Changes
Handgun
Abby, I Know
Anchor
Rockwood Music Hall is a great venue. The sound is fantastic. A lot of NYC clubs have stock gear because it's hard for musicians to get around the city with equipment, Rockwood takes this responsibility seriously. I played the show through their Bogner Shiva guitar amp... for those of you who aren't gear nerds, this things sells for around $3,000. The Peavey Classic 30 that I would've brought from home sells for about $550. Bogner = Serious Tone.
Joe Pramik and Corey Dozier... damn those guys are good!!! Even after a couple of good rehearsals, I would say we were just barely comfortable with the material on stage. There was a lot of eye-contact cues and such. But, I would confidently say that nobody felt a bit of our hesitation, especially towards the end of the set. In Handgun, Joe got wayyyyyy into it. I looked over at him and his eyes were closed and he was bashing the snare, it was badass. Corey is a force. Everybody there (including the sound-guy) commented on how well he played.
I am sooo comfortable in a rock-trio. All my best ventures in performance have been trios. Pilgrimage, Tumultuous Load, The Fantastic Frasco Fiasco ... all guitar, bass, drums. There's no net, tons of space, and infinite improvisational possibilities. I feel like it's a surprisingly uncommon format nowadays. Most bands I see have 5 members or more, which is awesome for sound layering and visual appeal, but there's just something about a huge sound emanating from only 3 people that I dig.
I have to find a middle ground in my performance persona ... as weird as that sounds. In the past, I've been really animated and crazy at electric shows. But even when playing electric, singer/songwriter material doesn't call for antics. I have to find the line between animated and introspective. I felt like I was a little too shy with my body language last night. Meanwhile, Corey was rocking outtttttt!!!
I sent press kits to venues all around NYC, so there should be more shows booked very soon!! Stay tuned....
Frasco