So, when we did this in the winter, the rehearsal before our final open mic didn't go well. Regardless, we "brought it" at the open mic and it went really well. Rehearsal before the most recent open mic didn't go well either, however neither did the performance. Well, not quite that bad, but under more favorable circumstances, we could have done better.

It started with the 3rd guitar player showing up late by 20 minutes. Our vocalist also didn't have time to fully prepare and didn't know all of the song forms or lyrics. Our drummer dropped a stick at one point. I couldn't help but laugh at the irony of the lyric "...if you start me up I'll never stop..." in Start Me Up as we struggled to bring the song to an end! Let's call it Start Me Up, the extended version :-).

Regardless, we plowed through and did the best that we could. My new mantra is "perfect is boring!". Certainly I strive for perfection, but sometimes it's the adverse conditions that pop up that make it interesting...and you have to improvise!

I was happy that I pretty much nailed my solos and messed up one chord. It's hard to imagine that when we started this about 2 months ago that I was struggling with some of the solos. I feel like I can do them in my sleep at this point :-).

Video may surface over the weekend. If it does, I'll post a link here.

It's liberating that we are now going out on our own. It will be refreshing to start working on some new songs and building up our setlist while searching out what our next gig will be. At the very least, we'll be regulars at the local open mics that host bands!

I got to talking to a couple other performers at this open mic. It was really cool to socialize with fellow musicians and hear what they are up to. It feels like we are starting to become part of the local music scene.

And so closes a chapter...only for a new one to start! Upwards and onwards!