I arrived at MockingBird around 6:45pm. I setup and soundchecked to a boomy empty room. I was feeling a little freaked out by the echo and the fact that Chris Enright and I hadn't rehearsed at all. I was collecting my thoughts "backstage," when Tamara DeLuzio (one of the owners of MockingBird) came back and asked me if I needed a beer. I think that moment was the key to my performance. Instead of having the pre-show panic attack that I detailed in my previous post, I hung out and talked with her. She's been a faithful friend, fan, and reader throughout this whole process. She really made me feel appreciated as an artist. All of a sudden, it was time. I walked on stage without a care in the world.
The Set:
... Baby One More Time (Britney cover)
Numb to Me
Love on Long Island
Requiem
15 Days Single
Abby, I Know
A Song for Jennifer Aniston
Handgun
TurnOut
Lunatic (Margot cover)
Pills
New Years Crush
Changes
Anchor
Look Deep Inside
Encore:
Dancing Days (Zeppelin cover)
It was really important to me that the audience was at ease. Even though it was a big night for me, I didn't want people to feel like I was taking the show too seriously... or taking myself too seriously. I was there to have fun, celebrate, and entertain. So, I decided the night before to open with a Britney Spears cover. It seemed like a great way to set the mood. It went over just as I had hoped. A few people knew it from the first line... others didn't catch on until the chorus hit, but by the end of the first chorus we were all giggling. Perfect!
By the end of "Numb to Me" I was really in a comfortable spot. My hands were nice and warmed up, my voice was projecting, I was completely at home. From there it was so effortless. I was just having fun playing songs and telling stories. One of my favorite parts was the silence after I said, "If you ever want to produce your own CD, the first thing you'll need is a really sharp knife." The entire audience was just in horror of what I might say next.... thankfully I had thought of a punchline before I opened my mouth: "you'll need it to slice up your pride, ego, and everything you thought you loved about your musicianship right before you throw it all into a blender." And it's true! You spend so much time listening to recordings of yourself making mistakes... you gain tons of perspective and humility THE HARD WAY.
The intro to "Abby, I Know" was really deep (until a cell phone went off)... I'm not sure how it went over with the audience, but I think it fit the song. I talked about how elusive true beauty is, and how quickly it gets away.
Chris Enright joined me for "Handgun" and "Anchor"... and I'm so glad he did. His playing added a larger dimension to the performance, just like it does on the CD. He has such a huge musical presence. When you watch him play, you can tell he's not thinking or trying at all. It's straight from the heart, and a sound like that couldn't come from anywhere else. INCREDIBLE.
The sad songs seemed to be really well received. It's a weird position to be in as a performer, because the last thing you want to do is make your audience sad! You want them to be happy and excited and glad to be there watching you. But, sadness is such an important part of any art. We wouldn't understand or appreciate happiness if we weren't faced with sadness. The sad songs from In Light and Shadow are my favorites. I think that sad songs give the writer a bigger opportunity to expose their emotions than happy songs.
My voice was so warmed up and elastic by the end of the set. "Changes," "Anchor," and "Look Deep Inside" were soooo much fun. It was especially important to me to give a good performance of "Anchor" after getting such amazing feedback on it from the blog. I can't even describe how I felt as Chris and I went into the bridge, I felt the weight of every single syllable as I sang "She says it's always been dark on the inside of her mind." It was probably my favorite moment of the performance itself.
The audience at the end. My God. What can I even say? As I finished up "Look Deep Inside," I used the outro to share a few final thoughts about the CD, the process, and how glad I was to release it at MockingBird. I'm not sure I've ever heard such an intimate gathering get that loud. It was really something special, especially because it wasn't just an applause for the end of a song... it was applause for the end of the journey. A journey that everybody there had taken with me. I'm sure I have hundreds of shows left to play in my career, but that was a once in a lifetime feeling.
Thank you all soooooo much!!!
Chris Frasco
P.S. If anyone has photos or videos from the show, please send them to me at Frasco157@gmail.com. YouSendIt is a great way to send larger files like video.
