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December 29, 2006: The Mandolin Cafe - Tacoma, WA
SET LIST: Dead Leaves / The Final Blow / Dry Up Like A Dream / Rusty Blade / I’ll Never Get Out Of This World Alive (Hank Williams) / All You Shadows / The Reaper’s Son / Suicidal Revival / Sweat Through
The Mandolin Cafe was a cool place (with a very cool bathroom, too) and it was packed. The confounding part was that with so many people, so few of them seemed to be there to hear the music; many were there to check email or play cards. All in all, those who were there for a show seemed to really enjoy it. I had a great time and met a lot of cool folks.Thanks to Michael O’Neill for “the exposure”, as well as Keith, Robin, Steve, Cameron, Lyn, Greg & Co., Mindy, Allison, Lena, and Chris.
December 23, 2006: Guitar Center, Seattle, WA
SET LIST (courtesy of Sam Russell)
1.The Legend of Christopher Moon-Sam and Rachel w/CT
2.The Final Blow-Nathan w/CT
3.Freeze to Death-CT
4.Train Wreck-Sam and Rachel w/CT
5.All You Shadows-Nathan w/CT
6.And There it Goes?-CT
7. The Replicant-Sam and Rachel w/CT
8. Dead Leaves-Nathan w/CT
9. World Turns Around-CT
10. Abercrombie Girl-Sam, Rachel, and Nathan w/CT
11. The Reaper’s Son-Nathan w/CT
12. Buckeye-CT
13. Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)/Stand By Me-Sam Rachel w/CT
12. Little Drummer Boy/Dry Up Like a Dream-Nathan w/CT
14. Christmas Eve-CT
15. Buffalo Gals-all
15. Don’t Believe in Christmas-all
16. Go Tell it On the Mountain-all
A surprisingly enjoyable time given we were playing outdoors in 45 degree temperatures. Creeping Time had the worst of it since we played continuously for nearly two hours (and they never left our sidewalk stage). Frosten-bitten fingers and out-of-tune acoustic instruments aside, I would like to thank Bill, Clive, Van, and all the employees at Guitar Center for being so accommodating during the holiday rush, and thanks to all the folks who stopped to listen before and after their shopping spree.
December 16, 2006: Green Frog Acoustic Tavern, Bellingham,WA
SET ONE: Seen The Glory / No Stars Over Bethlehem / Look Out For My Love (Neil Young) / Rifle / The Sharpshooter / Light That Shines / Goin’ Out West (Tom Waits) / Long Black Lilies / The Final Blow / Big Black Sleep / Skoal Bandits
SET TWO: Dead Leaves / I’ll Never Get Out Of This World Alive (Hank Williams Sr.) / Season For The Crows / Dry Up Like A Dream / Whiskey Girl (Gillian Welch) / All You Shadows / The Reaper’s Son / Down At Silverdam / Suicidal Revival / Rusty Blade / Sweat Through
ENCORE: The Final Blow / Wish (Nine Inch Nails)
Second show of the day and what a fine time it was (just glad my voice held out)! The place was packed before I even started, and it stayed packed until the end of the night. And just when I thought it was all over, local music hero Robert Blake got the room chanting for more, so I did an encore–a career first, I think! A very positive experience made even better when I was informed the weekly paper ran a nice preview article on me that helped get folks out to the show. Thank you Carey Ross!!!
And speaking of thanks you’s: thanks to James for booking me, Kris and Matt (and their friends, whom I foolishly forgot to write their names down), Trent, Shanna, Trina, Steve, Jenny, Laura (for shaking the crowd down for tips), Robert and Ruby, Jeanne, and Della. There were dozens more that I met that night, but didn’t have my handy “Memory Book” on me at the time, so my apologies to all that I missed.
December 16, 2006: Zippy’s Java Lounge, Everett, WA
SET LIST: Seen The Glory / Season For The Crows / Long Black Lilies / I’ll Never Get Out of This World Alive (Hank Williams) / Light That Shines / Suicidal Revival / Dry Up Like A Dream / The Final Blow / Sweat Through
This was the first gig of the day and on my way to Bellingham. Thanks to Jason, Don, Marylin, and the Low Down Ramblers.
December 13, 2006: Jules Maes Saloon, Seattle, WA
EXHAUSTIVE SET LIST (courtesy of Sam Russell):
1st full band set: The Final Blow (Nathan + CT) / Mt.Prospect (Sam + Ian + CT) / At The Airport (Scott + CT) / ? (CT) / Little Drummer Boy > Dry Up Like a Dream (Nathan + CT) / Abercrombie Girl (Sam + Ian + Clay + CT) / Gravel Road Requiem (Scott + CT) / Gary Minor (CT)Acoustic set: Barbarella (Scott Weiland cover, Clay solo) / Smackwater Jack (Carole King cover, Clay solo) /Christmas Card From a Hooker in Minneapolis (Tom Waits cover, Sam + Ian + Michael) / One More Cigarette (Sam + Ian + Rachel + Michael) / I Believe in Father Christmas (ELP cover, Scott) / ? (Scott) / Christmas Eve (Ken + Michael) / New Year’s Eve (Ken + Michael) / Sweat Through (Nathan)2nd full band set: The Reaper’s Son (Nathan + CT) / Christmas (Baby Please Come Home) > Train Wreck (Sam + Rachel + Ian + CT) / Brickyard Bend (Scott + CT) / Steel Tracks (CT) / I Don’t Believe in Christmas (Sonics cover, Sam + Nathan on lead, w/Scott on backing + CT) / Jingle Bells (Sam + CT, one awful verse only) / Buffalo Gals (Sam + Nathan + Scott on lead vocals + Ian + Rachel + Clay + CT) / Go Tell It On the Mountain (everyone, w/Ken on lead vocals)
This was a great time and a lot of fun for the folks fortunate enough to attend–I give you permission to kick your own ass if you missed this one. I played “in the round” with Sam Russell (The Harborrats), Scott Andrew, and Creeping Time, where we’d each play a song and then pass the mic to the next performer; Creeping Time was the only constant thread, acting as the house band when not laying down some of their own songs. The middle portion of the night was for acoustic solo & duo performances which featured variations on all the musicians in attendence and included Clayton Ballard of The wRight Brothers.
While Christmas music was alluded to throughout the night (with thanks to Michael and Kjell’s holiday interludes) we concluded with a final set featuring all nine+ of us on some obscure holiday sing-alongs. And then the real surprise of the night came after the show when the manager of the Seattle Guitar Center asked us all to perform the Saturday before Christmas in front of the store, I guess to spread our unorthodox brand of holiday cheer. So we said “you betcha” and prayed the weather would cooperate.
Thanks to Connie & Jay, Bill, Rachel, Ian, Country Mike, Clayton, Scott, Creeping Time, the rest of the staff at Jules Maes, and a Sam for setting the whole thing up. There were a whole group of folks that I didn’t get to meet, but thanks for playing along.
December 1, 2006: The Alley Upstairs, Seattle, WA
No set list for this one–though it was primarily songs chosen at whim. Thanks to Eric and Sean for setting up the gig, and big thanks to Jeremy, Ben, Ray, Matt, Rachel, Denae, and Michael, plus anyone who I didn’t get a chance to meet in person, before and after the show.
November 11, 2006: Seabold Hall, Bainbridge Island, WA
SET LIST: Season For The Crows / I’ll Never Get Out Of This World Alive (Hank Williams Sr.) / The Final Blow / Dry Up Like A Dream / All You Shadows / Suicidal Revival / Sweat Through
It was over a year ago that I played at Seabold Hall for this open mic (though, technically, there’s no mic) and decided that this would be a great location to record a CD. After recording a majority of ‘The Dead Leave Sing’ here, it was nice to come back and play–and I swear the place seemed bigger the last time. A great audience who listened closely for the whole set. Special thanks to: Georgia, Larry, Eddie, Kim, Tonia, Gary, Dwight, Gay, all the great performers at the open mic, plus all the folks who stuck around for the “later-than-usual” featured performance.
October 28, 2006: The O Lounge, Seattle, WA
SET LIST: Dead Leaves / Season For The Crows / Long Black Lilies / Down At Silverdam / I’ll Never Get Out Of This World Alive (Hank Williams Sr.) / Suicidal Revival / Rusty Blade / The Sharpshooter / All You Shadows / The Reaper’s Son / Dry Up Like A Dream / The Final Blow / Big Black Sleep / Look Out For My Love (Neil Young) / Goin’ Out West (Tom Waits) / Sweat Through / Weeds Grow Around
Lincoln had to pass on this show as well as Bishop’s and he was missed. Zach Hinkelman opened up the night (joined by Scott Concennity), followed by Steven Salisbury; both played great sets. I played over an hour of music and it felt great to have my voice back in full form! Surprised there weren’t more people in costume on this Halloweekend.
Thank you’s: Jodi (of course!), Anna, Lincoln (watching only), Pat, Donna, Mike M. and entourage, Karen & Steve, Joshua, Megan, and the cast of Austin Powers… seriously, I wasn’t hallucinating.
October 27, 2006: Bishop’s, Vashon Island, WA
SET ONE: Seen The Glory / Suicidal Revival / Season For The Crows / Sweat Through / Down At Silverdam
SET TWO: {with Creeping Time} The Final Blow / I’ll Never Get Out Of This World Alive (Hank Williams Sr.) / The Reaper’s Son / All You Shadows / Rusty Blade / Dead Leaves / Nobody’s Baby Now (Nick Cave) / Look Out For My Love (Neil Young) / Skoal Bandits / Dry Up Like A Dream
Not everything will go as planned; this night was a prime example. Lincoln couldn’t make the show after a fractured forearm took a turn for the worse, so it was just me and Creeping Time. The show posters I sent never arrived (a mystery to me, since the Post-Office tracking showed it was received). There were many sound issues, and the sound check lasted nearly 40 minutes, cutting my solo set extremely short. Did I mention I was nearly electrocuted by an ungrounded microphone? All in all, we met a lot of cool folks (and I alienated a few more by making a wise-crack about Vashon) and, after a rocky start, the full band set with CT went great.
Thank you’s: Glenn, Pete, Daniel (I know you were doing your best, man), Diana, Gabriel, Dave, Brett, Tim, Mike, Amy (for buying a CD), Kevin (for not throwing a beer bottle), Derek & Rachel, Kerry (also bought a CD), Pete (different one from across the street), and Donna & Michael.
October 14, 2006: Trabant Chai Lounge, Seattle WA
SET LIST: Seen The Glory / Season For The Crows / Long Black Lilies / No Stars Over Bethlehem [premier] / Rusty Blade / Suicidal Revival / Sweat Through / The Final Blow / Dry Up Like A Dream / Down At Silverdam [premier] / The Sharpshooter / The Reaper’s Son / All You Shadows / Big Black Sleep / Weeds Grow Around
A deer-in-the-headlights kind of night; a late start and stuck in traffic, I arrived 30 minutes later than anticpated. Jon Itkin helped me load my stuff in and put together the sound system while I found a place to park in the U-district on a Saturday night (yikes!). I came in, plugged in, and went for it. Didn’t do so well at the meeting and greeting afterwards, but big thanks to Jon and his sister Sarah, Susan & Tony, and Tatiana & Jeff at Trabant.
September 23, 2006: MidPoint Music Festival, Cincinnati OH
SET LIST: Dead Leaves / Season For The Crows / All You Shadows / The Final Blow / The Reaper’s Son / Dry Up Like A Dream / Sweat Through
So a respiratory infection wiped out my voice before the show and I ended up singing just about everything an octave lower than normal. It was a rough show, but I’m glad I did it. Thanks to: My Mom, Bill, Faddy (sp?), Walt & Jimmy (of The Libertines US), Kristen, Molly, Andrew, Mackenzie (Randomville reporter), and everyone at MPMF for giving me a showcase. Hopefully, the next time I’ll return full voice and really blow the roof off the place.
September 15, 2006: Charlie’s Coffee Bar, Richmond, IN
SET LIST: Long Black Lilies (a capella) / Seen The Glory / I’ll Never Get Out Of This World Alive (Hank Williams) / Dead Leaves / Dry Up Like A Dream / Season For The Crows / Goin’ Out West (Tom Waits) / Suicidal Revival / Rusty Blade / All You Shadows / The Final Blow / Sweat Through
Thanks to the many friends and family who finally got a chance to see what I’ve been up to lately, including: my mom (Darla), aunt & uncle (Linda & David), my dad (Mel), my uncle Ron, friends of my mom (Theresa, Don, Kim, Eric); Doug, Aimee, Erin, and Josh; Linda, Carmen, Beth; Jason; The David Butler Dance Orchestra (David, Sam, Dillon, Will); Andrew, Kat, Nick, Jess, Devin; the folks at Charlies; a whole lotta Earlham students that I didn’t get to meet; and a huge thanks to Joe for helping set the gig up in the first place and keeping the lines of communication open–this was no small task!
To boot, the whole show was immortalized on tape…there may be some performance footage one of these days.
September 9, 2006: Wired and Unplugged, Snohomish, WA
Well, to be honest, I can’t find the set list for this show…not that it mattered, since I basically played songs at whim. Finally feeling comforable enough to go with the mood of the room, swapping songs around or dropping them if it just didn’t feel right. Along with my usual chestnuts, I did manage to add two covers (”Whiskey Girl” by Gillian Welch and “Look Out for My Love” by Neil Young), premier a new tune (”Weeds Grow Around”), and dusted off one I haven’t played since my very first gig at the Kirkland Performance Center (”Safe Down in Here”).
A small crowd, but they were there to listen! Thanks to: Rick & Kathy, Tom, Ariana, Mia, Michael, Rae, Paul, Sarah, Diane, Susan, Sarah (different one), and Becky. I had a great time here and look forward to making it up to Snohomish again.
September 2, 2006: Tumbleweed Music Festival, Richland, WA
SET LIST: Long Black Lilies (a capella) / Seen The Glory / Season For The Crows / Suicidal Revival / Dry Up Like A Dream / The Reaper’s Son / All You Shadows / Sweat Through / and because I was told I still had time for one more…Rusty Blade
Special thanks to Micki, Ginger, Derek, Dave, and Alexandra for buying a CD! Thanks also to the giant geese that wandered around beside the stage. I was fairly intimidated (we’re talkin’ biiiiggg geese here, people!).
August 26, 2006: Bishops Pub & Grill, Vashon, WA
SET LIST: Seen The Glory / All You Shadows / The Reaper’s Son / The Final Blow / Dead Leaves / Long Black Lilies / Goin’ Out West (Tom Waits) / Season For The Crows / Dry Up Like A Dream / Suicidal Revival / Rusty Blade / Sweat Through
Special Thanks to the Bishop’s Crew: Daisy, Patti, Steve, Stan, and Daniel. Also big thanks to the audience, including: Bob, Delilah, Ross, Mike, Mitch, Michelle, Diane, Jeroni & Brecht, and Dennis. I’m getting better about meeting folks at shows, and there were a lot more to meet this time!
August 24, 2006: Caffè Bella, Seattle, WA
SET LIST: Long Black Lilies (a capella) / Seen The Glory / Suicidal Revival / Sweat Through / [w/Ken Nottingham] Rusty Blade / The Final Blow / The Reaper’s Son / All You Shadows / Dry Up Like A Dream / Skoal Bandits
Special thanks to Ali, Anna, Jenny, Freddy & Darby of Sneaky Thieves, and everybody in Or, The Whale.
August 12, 2006: Green Frog Acoustic Tavern, Bellingham, WA
SET ONE: Seen The Glory / The Final Blow / I’ll Never Get Out of This World Alive (Hank Williams Sr.) / Season For The Crows / Rifle / Suicidal Revival / The Sharpshooter / Wish (Nine Inch Nails) / Sweat Through
SET TWO: {w/Lincoln Barr} Long Black Lilies / Dead Leaves / Rusty Blade / The Reaper’s Son / All You Shadows / Big Black Sleep / Nobody’s Baby Now (Nick Cave) / Light That Shines / Goin’ Out West (Tom Waits) / Dry Up Like A Dream / Skoal Bandits
August 6, 2006: 2006 Island Earthfair, Vashon, WA
SET LIST: Seen The Glory / Season For The Crows / Long Black Lilies / Dead Leaves / Dry Up Like A Dream / The Reaper’s Son / Suicidal Revival / Rusty Blade / Sweat Through
Played the 10th Annual Island Earthfair Celebration. Good times in a real tent (and a solar powered sound system!).
July 28, 2006: Hotwire Online Coffeehouse, Shoreline WA
SET ONE: Season For The Crows / Suicidal Revival / The Sharpshooter / Seen The Glory / Sweat Through
SET TWO: {w/Lincoln Barr} Dead Leaves / Rusty Blade / The Reaper’s Son / Big Black Sleep / All You Shadows / Long Black Lilies / Light That Shines / Nobody’s Baby Now (Nick Cave) / Dry Up Like A Dream / Skoal Bandits
Continuing on with the current trend of well-played gigs to small audiences, this one was still a lot of fun. Lincoln played a short set of new songs for his upcoming Red Jacket Mine CD and I immediately jumped up with a short set of my own. We then activated our powers like the Wonder Twins and did a fiery 10 song set (with a lame Nick Cave cover, no thanks to me), including our first attempts at witty stage banter and a lot of talk about pie (as in dessert); this either amused or irritated the audience, I’m not sure which. Special thanks to Anya, Tracey, David, Eric, and Seri.
July 22, 2006: Dearborn House, Seattle WA
Cancelled by the host with little notice.
July 19, 2006: Tower Records/Queen Anne, Seattle WA
SET LIST: Seen The Glory / Suicidal Revival / Sweat Through; {with Creeping Time & Lincoln Barr} All You Shadows / The Reaper’s Son / The Final Blow / Dead Leaves / Dry Up Like A Dream / Skoal Bandits
Playing in the middle of the Tower Records sales floor was a little off-putting at first, but after the general “deer in the headlights” feeling wore off, I managed to have fun. Even better, it was great to hear both Creeping Time and Lincoln’s electric guitar all in the same band–we had never rehearsed with all of us toghether before, and yet it sounded amazingly tight. “Skoal Bandits” and “Dead Leaves” were hightlights for me, but it was “The Reaper’s Son” that really floored me–the accompaniment was alternately powerful and understated, and it really made me push my performance to new heights. A decent crowd, some there intentionally and some there to shop. Huge thanks to Travis for organizing the show AND playing sound man, Jodi S. for consignment and support, and to Dave & Rachel & Maia, Ross, Don & Deb, plus everyone that checked out the show but left before we could meet. Also big thanks to Michael, Ken, Dave, Kjell, Lincoln, and Jodi.
July 1, 2006: Conor Byrne, Seattle, WA
SET LIST: [solo] Seen The Glory/Season For The Crows/Sweat Through; [with Creeping Time] All You Shadows/Rusty Blade/Dead Leaves/The Reaper’s Son/The Final Blow/Skoal Bandits/Dry Up Like A Dream/Goin’ Over
A great show and a great crowd! Aside from a few technical difficulties (my stage tuner died right at the end of “Dead Leaves”, as did my signal), a few lyrical flubs, and Michael being sick as a dog, Creeping Time & I sounded like we’d been playing together for years. Thanks to Conor Byrne for having us and Sam Russell (The Harborrats) for inviting me to join the bill. Sam & Co. were sounding great as well, and I was invited to come sing on some tunes with them. Sold some CDs and made some new friends–and then I got paid for playing!! A combination of the above has been nearly non-existent lately. Thanks to Erin & Erin, Jibran, Bob, Travis, Andrea, Nicole, Kimberly & Jordan, Tom, John E., John F. & Donna, Freddy & Kyle, and a whole lot of folks I’m either forgetting (sorry!) or didn’t get to meet. I really appreciate your support!
June 24, 2006: Wayward Coffeehouse, Seattle, WA
SET LIST: Dead Leaves/Suicidal Revival/Big Black Sleep (premier)/ {w/Lincoln Barr for rest of set} All You Shadows/Long Black Lilies/Rusty Blade/Light That Shines {featuring R.B. Reed}/The Reaper’s Son/Dry Up Like A Dream/Skoal Bandits
Hopefully eveyone is saving themselves for the Conor Byrne show, because “sparsley attended” doesn’t really begin to describe this gig. Big thanks to Rachel and Brian, though, for attending! Hopefully we didn’t disrupt anyone else’s card games or net surfing while we played. Two good things: seeing R.B. Reed do his thing, and feeling comfortable as a guitar duo with Lincoln. Better gigs will come…
May 28, 2006: Northwest Folklife Festival, Seattle, WA
SET LIST: Seen The Glory/Season For The Crows/Long Black Lilies/Dead Leaves/Dry Up Like A Dream/Suicidal Revival/The Reaper’s Son/Sweat Through
It was an honor to play Folklife, it’s just a shame the weather wasn’t more Spring-like for all those who came out to see the show. Luckily the rain held off on Sunday night, though a heavy (and cold) wind came in to take it’s place. The tent I played under threatened to blow away at least a couple of times and it was odd to look out over an audience dressed for Fall just weeks away from Summer. My dad was also in the audience, up from Las Vegas, and went home believing the sun never shines in Seattle. Honestly, it does! Sometimes. Thanks to everyone who braved the elements (and the crowds!) to come see me play. Next time, how about a nice INDOOR gig?
April 15, 2006: Wayward Coffeehouse, Seattle, WA
SET ONE: Seen The Glory / Light That Shines (premier) / Season For The Crows / The Sharpshooter / Rifle (premier) /Suicidal Revival / Scrapyard Lullaby(C.Whitley) / Sweat Through
SET TWO: Wished I Was In Heaven (Trad.) / Dead Leaves [+Michael/violin] / The Final Blow [+M/mandolin] / Long Black Lilies [+Lincoln/guitar] / Goin’ Out West (T. Waits) [+L/M for rest of set] / Nobody’s Baby Now (N. Cave) / Rusty Blade (premier) / All You Shadows (premier) / Morricone Suite for Saw, Gtr., & Violin / Skoal Bandits / The Reaper’s Son / Dry Up Like A Dream
A good show with many new faces in the audience. I felt a little underprepared for such a long night of music, but carried on; had Michael and Lincoln join me for second set as a semi-electric trio, which worked out really well; also played lap steel and saw onstage for the first time in a long time. Broke my A string near the end of “Skoal Bandits” and switched to the National electric guitar. Always bring a back-up acoustic!!! The last two songs of the set were rocky as I was playing on the “wrong” guitars. Will definitely bring spare acoustic to Folklife Show!
February 3, 2006: The O Lounge, Seattle, WA
w/Lincoln Barr & Patrick Porter; the beginning of my long and sordid association with these two ne’er-do-wells at a great (and, sadly, defunct) little club on Queen Anne.
November 19, 2005: Conor Byrne Pub
w/Creeping Time and Sam Russell (soon to create The Harborrats); Ken (CT’s bassist/vocalist) lost his voice, so Sam and I were called the day of the show to help Creeping Time fill out a full night at Conor Byrne. Nerve-wracking fun; Sam and I have been friends ever since and Conor Byrne is still my home-base for playing music in Seattle.
August 12, 2005: Green Bean Coffee House, Seattle, WA
w/Julia Francis; Julia and I both escaped from theatre at nearly the same time to pursue music (we were also in ‘Vera Wilde’ together at The Empty Space).
July 6, 2005: Kirkland Performance Center, Kirkland, WA
w/Scott Katz; my first real gig in the Northwest and a whole hour to play…weepin’ Jesus!
May 14, 2005: Seabold Second Saturday, Bainbridge Island, WA
Two songs @ the SSS open “mic” @ Seabold Hall. [NOTE: I liked the hall so much that I would eventually record The Dead Leaves Sing there the following October.]
May 8-9, 2005: 12 Minutes Max/On The Boards, Seattle, WA
First solo performance ever (aside from a couple of open mics)! 2 songs as part of a program