prev daylog next daylogI just woke up. I should really stop waking up so bloody late. I have to wake up early to practice playing my bass. But then again, I have a good excuse. Then again, everyday I have an excuse.
I'd like to think that today's excuse actually warrants not waking up early to practice, as last night I had a jazz gig. It was at some unexciting cafe in Jaffa, in the old quarter. We played outside, and there was enough breeze to be pleasant, but not enough to overturn the pages of our Real Books. The gig itself was quite informal. It wasn't to a jazz-loving audience, but more of background music. This is negative in that:
a) Your playing is not as well appreciated.
b) You get less positive feedback on good solos, and at end of the show.
On the other hand, the positive sides are:
a) You can fuck around more. I took a solo on every number. That's hardly ever done.
b) There's no need to practice beforehand. I mean, I played with a drummer (who I think is going to be the greatest drummer in Israel in 3-4 years), with whom I play a lot, but with a guitarist whom I had never seen before. He wasn't too bad, but he did have a bit of a problem with up tempo tunes. Oh well. I a real show, that would never have taken.
It was quite fun. The drummer had about a liter of beer during the show, so he got progressively happier. I was feeling the beer a bit myself, but I only had about half a liter. It was either the beer or the laid-back atmosphere, but I allowed myself a wee bit too much freedom, I think. They wanted to play a song I didn't now, so I agreed, and read it prima vista (at first sight). A bit crazy. Also, I took the head of The Days of Wine and Roses, that I don't know so well, but isn't supposed to be too hard. However, we played it bloody fast, for some bizarre reason (and I counted us in!) Well, I had to sight-read the head really fast, and did it surprisingly well, but not perfect. It was so fast, that the guitarist (who knows the head well), told me to take the head out.
And it was 2 hours, which is far too long for a jazz gig. By the last two numbers, I had to go really bad. Okay, now I know why I played that song so fast. Anyway, the drummer went to the toilets twice. He just got up, told us to start without him, and then came back in the middle of the song and joined in. I guess I should have done the same. Oh well...
All that for $40. It sucks to be a musician.