…wow. Last night I did some stuff I never thought I’d do.
Sunswick 3535 is a draught house smack dab in between Astoria and Long Island City, which owes some of its vibe (including its Steelers gear) to its first manager’s admiration of Pittsburgh’s own Fat Head’s tap house (there is even a Fat Head’s bobble behind the bar). I started playing there about three years ago, and get there roughly every 5 weeks when we’re on top of it. I brought the iPad with me because I had enjoyed it so much at the Red Lion — I figured on taking it out during the third set and opening up the floor.
I ended up taking it out in the second.
The first set was a tour de force — I was doing really well on my own, and even better once I responded to a birthday notice with my medley of “Lean On Me/Happy Birthday,” which tends to go over super-well — so I figured I’d open it up to the audience in the second set, and see where it could go once I made the show fully interactive.
The results were mixed:
Tonic’s “If You Could Only See”: it was attacked with vigor and the moment was won — I have no good answer for why I’ve never done this song before.
The Verve Pipe’s “The Freshman”: This one, either. Why didn’t I learn this song all the way through ages ago?
Righteous Brothers’ “Unchained Melody”: I brought the key down to B-flat and knocked it out of the park!
Queen/David Bowie’s “Under Pressure”: I just tried to stay afloat and of course was fine until that one fucking note. The crowd was pleasantly responsive, though, and we had a goodhearted singalong.
Extreme’s “More Than Words”: I remembered playing this song when I first started out, but enjoyed using the opportunity to do my bit about how gross that song actually is. I was met with cocked heads until I got halfway through the song, and everyone at once went, “….Oh.”
Gotye’s “Somebody That I Used To Know”: I should have said no to this one.
Coldplay’s “Yellow”: fun to play once, but I doubt I’ll be pulling it in all that often.
All in all, I had a good time, and hope to be invited back — although maybe next time I’ll save the iPad for the third set, so the gimmick doesn’t get tiresome for both me and the audience.
Next show is at Spike Hill on Tuesday — can’t wait!