Folkin' Good Times @ San Francisco Bath House, July 23rd: The Gig Report

Back again with another FGT gig report!

I was pretty nervous about playing San Fran, mostly because bands that I quite like play there. Iron and Wine were there in March and The New Pornographers are coming along in October. I want tickets! After next payday I will buy tickets and tickets will be mine and I will go see The New Pornographers and I will try to figure out some non-offensive nickname for them in case Grandma asks what it is I'm going to see... but I digress. My health was playing up a lot (fun fainting spell at home pre-gig after a delicious meal of tofu, veges and noodles...) so that was an additional stress source. Also, my fun little game of "worst case scenario" kicked in when I got there and I started to get a little bit freaked out that I was going to put the heel of my (awesome) boots through the drum kit. (SPOILER ALERT: I didn't put my high heel through the drum kit.)

Anyway. San Francisco Bath House is pretty. It's pretty, it's comfy, the bathrooms are pretty awesome - tempting to steal the mirrors, yes, but obviously I did not give in to this temptation, as I would quite like to play this venue again. One of my friends did comment that it was lacking the white roses, fake cobwebs and angels wings on the ceiling from the last one of my gigs he came to (Attic Lounge, above SubNine... when I played there it was decked out for a goth party... which is obviously oh so appropriate for Folkin' Good Times... but it was pretty funny!) - I'm not sure if he was disappointed? I could have done without the dismembered dolls behind the sound desk at Attic Lounge, quite frankly. But once again, I am veering violently off course, so I will get back to my admiration of San Fran. I like the lamps. The seats are comfy. The bar staff are nice. And the lemon, lime and bitters has enough bitters in it. So all in all, thumbs up from me.

I was up first, after the Acoustic Lounge they run every Wednesday from 6-8. That's an open mic type thing and I would have liked to catch more of it but I managed to show up just as it was ending. Quelle tristesse. I did, however, run into Terry Shore, who runs a songwriters show on Access Radio. I recorded a radio show with him in April. It was lovely to see him again - he couldn't stay for Folkin' Good Times but it was nice to catch up, albeit briefly.

The weather sucked. It really did. I think we could have expected a better turn out had it not been for the weather. Ah, Wellington in winter. How doth I loathe thee. Nevertheless, the turnout was pretty good. People came and went, as people tend to do, but the cool thing about San Fran is that it's a venue that people will drop in at without knowing what's going on because it's got a good reputation. So there were a lot of random people dropping in, along with the usual suspects Folkin' Good Times tends to attract. Which I thought was pretty awesome.

My set went pretty well. Given that I hadn't been feeling well, I was a little concerned so I played a shorter set than I had originally planned but I was relatively happy with it anyway. San Fran is pretty magic to play, especially for an acoustic singer/songwriter. It's got a cool vibe. Once I'd got through my first two songs, I really started to relax and get into it - regardless of how nervous I get, there's something about getting up there and singing songs that I created that's really awesome. I had so much fun. I really did.

I played 2 new songs from 50/90 - "When The Fire" and "Song for Shane", along with some older pieces. I would have added more new ones - and I think I had actually intended to - but I figured that just doing 2 new ones would be a little safer, as I know my old ones pretty well by now but the new ones are still not quite cemented in my brain! I emailed Nancy Rost (co-writer of "When The Fire") and she was most excited to hear about her New Zealand debut. I thought it went over pretty well. Everyone can relate to the fact that it's really, really cold.

"Song for Shane" was hard and I'm glad I did it near the end of my set. The other songs gave me the time to really get into the performance groove and by the time it came to sing Shane's song, I could present it as a song that meant something without bursting into tears as I am prone to doing, given the subject matter. A mutual friend of ours was there and I'd really wanted to her to hear it live rather than send her a recording - the three of us were ridiculously close a few years ago and we're both coming to terms with Shane's death slowly. I hope the song helped - I think it did. My flatmate was sitting next to her and gave her a big hug after the song was over so I felt less bad about bringing up sad emotions when all she'd really signed up for was coming to watch me sing some songs! After the gig, she came up, gave me a hug and had a bit of a cry... I think sometimes you've just got to have a good cry. And a good laugh - there are plenty of things to remember and smile about when it comes to Shane.

Mushroom played after me and I thought they did an excellent job. They kicked off with "Folsom Prison Blues" which will always thoroughly entertain me - those boys have energy, let me tell you. The set consisted of mostly covers but I was pleasantly surprised to hear Mushroom play a Jimmy Stearn original, "If Women Were Books", which is hands down my favourite Jimmy song. I thought the band did a great job with it - the only criticism was that it was hard to hear the lyrics, which are incredibly witty. There were a few levels issues with the bands, especially in terms of vocals, which may be a personal preference issue from where I stand - I'm primarily a singer so I like to hear the lyrics. Still, a bit more vocals wouldn't have hurt at all, especially on that particular song. At any rate, it's always good to hear that one coming out at gigs - I thoroughly enjoy it. Mushroom are so much fun because they're obviously having fun themselves - I always like hearing them play.

I left briefly with my flatmate and her boyfriend to go grab a hot chocolate to up my sugar levels so I'd survive the rest of the night so I missed the beginning of Stormbird's set but I came in for the last few numbers. (There was hot chocolate and there was also a rather yummy cheesecake... mmm.... cheesecake...) Sadly, there were levels issues with Stormbird as well and the vocals were hard to hear - a couple of instances of feedback (fun screeching sounds) but all in all I really enjoyed what I heard of them. These girls (plus Phil, who isn't a girl) know what they're doing and make some really fun, pretty music. I had the pleasure of chatting to them after the gig and they're all just so nice. It would have been nice to hear the vocals a bit more, I have to say - as both Ana and Rochelle have truly lovely voices. I was lucky enough to come in just as they were about to play a song I'd heard and really liked on their MySpace page, "Sweet" - there was toe-tapping from me. I liked it. I will be keeping an eye out for Stormbird and going along to support them in future - I suggest you do the same.

When I was skiving off for hot beverage, I ran into Scott and Holly from Very Nice Treehouse (who were also skiving off for sustinance, so I felt less bad) and realised that I'd played with them before and didn't even realise it! What a funny, funny world. In May I played a few songs in Cuba Mall for the end of Fair Trade fortnight and Scott and Holly played before me. Granted I was not at all well that day and made it through 3 songs before being forceably removed from the stage by some very concerned friends (one of whom gave me a good telling off for having done the gig in the first place, despite having been the one who'd organised it for me) but I did remember Very Nice Treehouse being absolutely stellar. Last night they were just as good as I remember them. They are both excellent vocalists and excellent guitar players and they brought the evening down to an amazing chilled out finish. Their originals were beautifully crafted and they're both so incredibly in tune with one another, it's fantastic to watch. They did a couple of covers, too - the one that stuck out for me was a cover of "Jezebel" by Iron and Wine... pretty song, pretty cover, pretty awesome. I really enjoyed the last original they played, "Home", despite the mulitple false starts (which, IMO, just added to their charm...) Overall, they're just so, so good. You must check them out. I insist.

I'd say it was a pretty awesome night. I unfortunately may have overdone it a bit, as I passed out a couple of times at the end of the night but luckily Jimmy gave me a ride home (that boy is good value) so I got home with minimal damages. Sadly the health is a bit too touch and go for me to risk the Bob Dylan Extravaganza that is happening tonight at The Adelaide but it should be a great night so I hope it goes really well for everyone involved!

Signing off... and probably going back to bed!
Rose