Ionrock Dot Org

Well, last night Lauren and I went to a bar to see some friends play. They are somewhat of a cover band but I didn't recognize many songs. They are an "alt country" band that would fall in the vein of artists like Johnny Cash... and... others. They are trying to get a regular gig at the bar and while I traditionally keep the term gig off the tip of my tongue, in their case it is pleasantly fitting. They did a great job and from what I saw, the bar did pretty well so hopefully things will work out. The one negative was that they made them stop a little early in order for the next band to start right at 10:00pm. Being a touring musician, I can understand the importance of keeping a schedule but when 10:45 rolled around and we were still without the next band, I thought it was a pretty rude gesture to my friends, who played for 3 hours.

The second act was a guy playing covers on his acoustic and surprisingly, I have seen him before. In fact, I have seen him play about 6 times. Why would I be such a fan of this soloist? The truth is I am not really a fan at all. He actually plays a different bar in town each night and often times I happen to go to the bar on the night he plays. He does a good job and while I am not a fan of the covers really, I still become totally engrossed in how he performs. I see him play his songs in front of tons of college kids who are talking too loud to enjoy the music and singing along to a few words in the chorus when it is popular to do so and wonder why he does it. It is clear that no one was breaking down the door to watch this guy play. It is not as if it is easy to learn thousands of these cover songs and remember them all, much less to remember the lyrics and chords while drunk college kids screem out requests for their favorite Pearl Jam song. It takes real grit to play in that kind of enviornment. I know I couldn't do it.

What really fascinates me about it is that I really think he loves what he is doing. Admist the obvious critisms some people might hurl towards someone who scrapes by playing covers in jock bars, he seems to really love what he does. I suppose it could be the challenge of keeping someone interested even though you cannot play the song they want. It could be fun knowing when to throw out crowd pleasers after doing a request from the yours truly that no one really likes. Whatever it is, this guy seems to really love it and I have to say, I happen to like watching him because of it. He does a great job and while I obviously don't understand everything that happens, I do see that it is more than simply playing an acoustic guitar and singing "Don't Call Me Daughter" every day of the week. It is more personal.