Blisters On My Fingers

So the first full-on solo acoustic gig in almost a year went pretty well. Actually, it went extremely well, and I'm basing that solely on the fact that I got a parking spot right in front of the bar despite the fact that there was a Cubs game going on two blocks away at the time.

I'm always a little bit apprehensive about these gigs, because I steadfastly refuse to even learn the kinds of songs that most other "guy in the corner of the bar with a guitar" acts consider their bread-and-butter. I don't know a single Dave Matthews song. But early on, I had a guy come up to me who was effusive in his praise of my stunning rendition of "I Don't Care Anymore" from Phil Collins. And then you can usually counting on somebody singing the Sting part in "Money For Nothing." I even fielded one request ("Open Up" from Dispatch) and mostly pulled off a song I hadn't played in probably two years in the process. So, overall, I think the song selection went over well, although I might have lost them a bit with XTC and totally bit it on The Fixx. Again. Something about that song refuses to behave.

Three more of these before the Germany trip, so we'll see if I can build up some tougher skin on my fingers, which were pretty raw by the end of the night.

In other music news, my iPod really, really seems to like Tortoise's Standards record. This is the third time it's come up in the album shuffle in less than a week.