Well, I carried my box around for a couple of miles this week, but I didn't really get to play with anyone with it.... :(

Tuesday night Pete didn't come to SF, but I did get a session in mid-afternoon, which was nice. Tonight I walked down to the Plough for Jeannie & Chuck's session, but a Howard Dean rally was muggy and (as you'd expect) ran over time... I left when one of 'em said that we'd be playing for them. (Hell, man, I'm playing for myself and my friends... you won't even listen and look and think I'm playing for *you*? It's gotta work both ways, bubba.)

Another thing that showed me that the vibe tonight was wrong was the lack of listening, observation among musicians. Granted the noise was loud, but there was a fiddler with the typical "this is what i play" and a banjo player who was catching up on his practice... we had a few grooves starting but then abruptly stopped for no reason... I had really been looking forward to doing some Redd Stewart and Martin Bogan & Armstrong to honor their passing, but realized there was no chance that the group would be able to hear to pick up on it. With the noise and the rush in the Plough that night I realized there was no turning back, so I walked. Maybe next time.
posted by macromed5 at 10:15 PM

There's something interesting going on with the musette tunes this week... more authority, more meaning, more edge... eighth notes can differ more than ever before. I'm not sure if it's related to working with Quebec tunes and their rhythmic improvisation... seems more pronounced after a classical session. I had been noticing it with Flambee Montalbanaise over the last few weeks, but hadn't really recognized it until a good session with Ca Gaze, where I was able to say stuff even though the melody doesn't really say much. Not sure how to explain it, but the musette work is becoming more meaningful.
posted by macromed5 at 10:09 AM