Gig Journal

Chai Restaurant. North Andover, MA. November 21, 2003

It was a quiet night at the Chai Restaurant, maybe because we're getting close to Thanksgiving. Most of the tables were filled, and the customers lingered, so I think they were enjoying the music. My friend Tony and his fiance Annie showed up, and it was nice to visit with them on breaks. Tony had recently returned from Hong Kong, then the two of them went to London, in February they plan to go to Egypt, and after that to France. They said that everywhere they go, they love to eat in restaurants. I had told Tony that I thought he's like Chai's food, and, judging from the way they cleared every last grain of rice from their plates, I guess I was right. Annie had some kind words to say about the music, which I appreciated.

For this gig, I went back to following set lists. The last time I'd played at Chai I had not, and I found myself not being able to think of tunes, while at the same time leaving out some of my favorites.

I noticed an interesting aspect of the acoustics. I could hear the affect of the ceramic tiles in the area where I was set up. When there was no one seated at the bar, and no waiters or waitresses walking past, the reverberation, though slight, was noticable. (See the photos from the previous Chai gig journal).

Another thing I noticed was that my left hand did not get nearly as tired as it had on the last gig. I attribute this to two things: 1) I limited my practicing the day before the gig and the day of the gig, and 2) the noise level of the audience was low and constant. We all know that more pressure from the hands does not produce more volume, but even after all these years of playing, I find that my hands get tighter as the volume gets higher. And in a busy restaurant, when the volume of the talking rises and falls erratically, my left gets tense. It's a mental thing that I have to work on.

Next Friday I'm back at Chai Restaurant. Being the Friday after Thanksgiving, I suspect that it will be pretty quiet. But I'm looking forward to it. Always a pleasant gig.

Last Update: 11/23/2003