We just had a faaaaaaaaaaantastic Friday night at
The New Deal Cafe, the slickest spot in Greenbelt.
The evening started out with the masterful musical stylings of
John Guernsey, accomplished pianist and artist who charmed us all with a hip jazz set.
After an eloquent introduction by Rebecca, we dove into slightly-more-relaxed-than-usual electric set to a kind and appreciative crowd. We were feeling easy and loose, in the perfect mood to throw in a few new songs, including the non-rehearsed Craziest Man in the Room- we're definitely keeping that one in the set!
We also covered
R. Crumb's River Blues, a sweet, sultry tune suggested by our buddy Rob- thanks for that one!
The Greenbelt audience has a well-won reputation of enthusiasm and generosity. They clapped at all the solos (that doesn't happen everywhere!), took lots of demo CDs and even bought a few shirts, which I'm still smiling about. Tom sported his T all night at the bar- thank you again, if you're reading this!
We did find ourselves sadly short on sizes so to those of you that couldn't get one this go-round, we'll make sure to have them for you next time!
We got to talk to a heap of really nice people after we played. Thanks to Andy and Barbara for the name suggestions on the bottle caps!
Andy's name: The Shimmy Shin Shakers
Barbara's: The Shin Jinglers
Both spectacular- make 'em stick, folks!
And MUCH to my surprise and joy, we got a special request for a Sailing recording! That's an odd number that came out of nowhere... I think I was gazing out a window at work when it popped into my head. Willie and Brian have always stood behind it (they rock it until it bleeds! Seriously cool- the 2nd half is always my favorite!), even Mary Kate was won over early on. Still, it never quite seemed to fit with the rest of our stuff. But by golly, somebody out there likes it! They even complimented the lyrics, which thrilled me to pieces (here I admit to you few readers, I've never been sailing! But Willie talks about it a lot so it's been the subject of frequent daydreaming). So we're recording it a.s.a.p. and it goes out to you, Peter and Katie!!! Katie also
very kindly compared me to
Mary Prankster, an big compliment I had not expected and am extremely grateful for :)
Fun fact from Peter:
the Sargasso Sea (which is one of The Galt Line's favorite Nice Trys songs!) is a real place in the Atlantic ocean- it's where elvers (baby eels!) come from! Wild!
We also met the drummer/vocalist of
The Fabulous Hubcaps last night. They're a dynamite rock'n'roll band- you should definitely give a listen.
The Nice Trys, soon to be The Big Howdy, went on next. If you haven't heard them yet, you are missing out! Stellar songwriting combined with killer stage presence and musicianship, all slathered in creativity- still just doesn't quite do justice. They're awesome. You have to see them!
In fact, they're playing NEXT SUNDAY 4/11 at New Deal, so go check them out!
You might even catch their heckling stalker, a curmudgeonly tag-along that says rude things to the world and is a show in and of himself.
The Nice Trys had a bunch of new songs last night that are still playing through my head and they've posted new recordings
HERE.
Thank you Connie for pouring some mighty fine beers that kept us company through their set! Everyone go try the Milk Stout! It's amazing!
And thank you, Frank, for running sound! You were extremely helpful!
So all in all, a spectacular night. Can't wait to do it again. If you haven't been to
The New Deal Cafe, you should definitely go.
Cheers,
Blythe
