I am posting this from a McDonald’s in Cromwell CT. My hotel is right across the street and they advertised having internet access. They don’t. We have stayed at two Super 8 motels on this trip, and neither has had a consistently functioning internet connection, even though both have advertised that they did. I had a really bad Super 8 experience years ago when I was on the road with Buddy Morrow. I should have learned my lesson then. Oh well, I have learned my lesson now. No more Super 8’s.
The drive to Philly yesterday was ok. It rained most of the way, which was a drag, but the traffic wasn’t too bad. We had dinner at a cool Laotian restaurant with my publicist Matt Merewitz of Fully Altered Media. It was a nice hang. Matt did us right on the food suggestion, and it was nice to interact with him in person, instead of online.
Last night’s gig at Chris’ Jazz Cafe was a bit odd. Musically it went well, and the people that ran the club were nice and seemed to dig what we did. It wasn’t well attended, even though it got a Critics Pick in the Philadelphia Inquirer. Financially it was a bust. We made some money, but I was expecting that gig to carry more of the load. It ended up being less bread than the Hungry Brain, with no CD sales. I am learning that performing in your natural habitat is best, and I am not sure if “jazz clubs” should be our natural habitat. Open minded places that have music seem to work better. I’m not saying the folks at Chris’ weren’t open minded, they really were quite open minded, but that setting of the dark room with silver and glass ware and crisp white table cloths sets up all sorts of expectations for both the audience and the performers. I am finding that removing expectations is a good thing. It lets both the listener and the performer be relaxed and natural.
We are looking forward to tonight’s show at Boney’s Music Lounge in Middletown, CT. Some old and new friends will be there, and we’ll have a chance to get all New Orleans on them. It will be fun.
BTW, what’s up with all the toll booths up here? It cost $22 in tolls to drive from Philly to Cromwell. We have to run through all that again tomorrow on the way back south. This has turned into the Jersey Turnpike tour.
That’s kind of what I suspected. I’ve got some funny stories about a similar Philly gig … maybe later.
BTW the internet connection did eventually begin to work at the Super 8. That didn’t make the desk dude any less rude, but…
I totally hear you on the Chris’s thing. We did okay there when we played in 2007, but I think that was only because one of our singers is from Philly and was able to bring people out. And the vibe was so “exclusive” that one of the waiters actually *prevented one of my guys from eating some french fries that a patron had left behind*. They were going to be thrown away anyway. Huh?
This time out (October) we’re going to be playing an all-ages rock-oriented Philly space with room for dancing — we’ll see if that makes a difference.