Two Gigs and Lots of Jigs!

I am tired but it has been a blast. We played back to back gigs in celebration of St. Patrick's Day. Friday night's crowd was a lot older than I had anticipated and there were small kids eating their corned beef and cabbage on long shared tables. Everyone seemed very happy though, as the night wore on, some were VERY happy, if you know what I mean.

The room was hard, musically. It needed amplification which made our Irish music not as pure sounding, in my opinion. We were separated as there was a tiny stage where half of us stood while the violins were at least three feet lower than us in front of the stage. It didn't allow for a lot of interaction, which is such a part of our performances.

Mom and I had a large lunch earlier so I thought that would do it. I had to be at the venue at 4PM and we began to play at 5PM. By the end of our two-hour gig, I had a screaming headache from dehydration and I was weak with hunger. Stupid.

Saturday, I tried to sleep in a bit but was awake at my usual time. I was really feeling the night before. But, I needed to cut the grass and do other things around the house and never got a nap into the schedule. I even made a killer dinner to eat before our 6:30PM gig at the Wine and Cheese shop. I loved the venue as it had wooden floors and no microphones, except for the singer. My string bass just vibrated with happiness and rang throughout the space. We had lots of people then not so many then lots of people. It was a fun gig.

By the end, I was totally spent. Tied. Exhausted. My picking finger had a lovely blood blister from playing two days in a row. No recovery time!

This morning, I feel like I slept well but I will probably need a nap after we go over the pass for groceries. It was so satisfying to play in front of such large crowds, especially on Saturday night, and we still are facing yet another gig this Tuesday at the brewery just north of us.

I laughed as I was getting ready to play. Other people worry about their outfits and hair but I deal with this: eye drops had to be adjusted for time, inhalers taken to help breath the next few hours, nose spray to stop any drippy nose, evening pills taken a bit early. I am just so grateful that I can still play, without supplemental oxygen at this point. I need oxygen to haul everything in and to get set up but as long as I just stand and play, I am okay. But, I know one day soon, I will need oxygen just to play as the disease progresses. Grateful that I am even able to still play.