It has been nearly a year since my last Gig Report, that of 02-10-07.   In the months since that last report I have played fourteen shows in eight towns across two states.   Following is a list of the shows I played in that time, with one or two recollections from each show.

Saturday, February 17th, 2007:     Cool Beans Coffee & Tea   in   Bellefonte PA         My Bellefonte-based friend Jim Colbert opened this show, and my South Jersey friend Rob Whitekettle closed this show, with my own performance sandwiched between those of these two fine gentlemen.   Johnny Elliott also performed a bit, within Kettle's time slot.   The main story of this event was the weather:   On our trip out on Friday, as many as three major highways were closed due to ice, and to add insult to injury a truck crash closed down the Pennsylvania Turnpike as well, forcing all central PA traffic onto local roads.   As a result of this calamitous combination of events, our trip out took us about eleven and a half hours, versus the normal four and a half to five.   Perhaps partly as a result of the weather -- it snowed Saturday night, as if the ice sheets on the roads did not provide sufficient hazard -- attendance at this gig was light, with the audience size peaking perhaps at ten people.   Still, despite the hardship of the trip out, and the light attendance at the show, I recall having fun on the trip overall, thanks to the cameraderie with travelling companions Johnny Elliott, Kettle, and Maria.   I do however recall deciding, after this show, to never again plan a central Pennsylvania show during the middle of winter.

Saturday, March 10th, 2007:     Crescent Moon Coffee & Tea   in   Mullica Hill NJ         This show featured an hour-long solo set from Steven Paul, then an hour-long solo set from me, before closing out with a half-hour joint set by the two of us.   I recall that Steven sang exceptionally well during his solo set, such that I found it very challenging to follow him.   I also recall that our joint set went very well, showing the potential of our budding musical partnership together.   This show was marked also by my meeting Mich Simoni of Coffee House Players; Mich came out with a group including Steve Albus, one of my co-workers from my non-music job.

Thursday, April 12th, 2007:     Coffee Works Roastery & Cafe   in   Voorhees NJ         As I recall, this show featured solo sets by myself, Johnny Elliott, and Rob Whitekettle.   I think this was the show where Kettle unveiled his cover of my original tune "Fear the Silence," reinterpreting the song as a country song.   I was thrilled to hear Kettle cover one of my tunes, and doubly thrilled to hear my song sound so good in a different style.

Thursday, June 14th, 2007:     Coffee Works Roastery & Cafe   in   Voorhees NJ         This show featured a triple bill, with Yearlongday (John T Marlowe) opening, Johnny Elliott closing, and myself and Steven Paul filling in the middle slot as a duo act.   I think this was the first live show where Steven Paul and I performed under the name "Crossfire."   I seem to recall that our set went pretty well, with some positive audience feedback coming afterwards, despite the technical difficulty of Steven being unable to sufficiently hear one or both guitars, forcing him to watch my hands to know when to make changes.   Crossfire's takeaway from the experience was positive:   If people thought that our two guitars worked well together in that situation, wait until Steven is able to actually hear the guitars, and tell us how THAT combination sounds.

Wednesday, July 25th, 2007:     Stir It Up   in   Mullica Hill NJ         My first show at Stir It Up featured a triple bill with mary i and Bill Begley.   I was invited into the show by mary, who brought me onboard at the suggestion of Russ Edwards.   I am pretty sure that this show was the first time I met Bill Begley, who struck me as a genuinely nice guy, and who eventually struck me as someone I might like to work with as regards future gigs.

Saturday, August 18th, 2007:     West Kish Coffee House   in   Belleville PA         This gig will likely stay with me in my mind as one of my best gig experiences ever.   I performed third in a three-act lineup, following a male piano wizard (whose name, sadly, I do not recall) and a four-woman Celtic group called Daughters of Anne.   The piano player was fantastic, covering both classical pieces and what I might call boogie-woogie or roadhouse piano with equal ability and gusto.   The Celtic group -- which included my friend Holly Foy, and my soon-to-be friend Kerrin Kampa -- was not only musically talented but quite physically beautiful as well (smile).   Needless to say I was a bit nervous following these two acts, but apparently I rose to the occasion and delivered one of my most well received performances to date, given the respectful and complimentary audience response both during and after my set.   I do believe that the success of this gig helped me to weather the pain and doubt associated with my next few gigs and their fallout, and may even have saved me from giving up on music performance entirely.

Saturday, August 25th, 2007:     Mary's Panhead Pub   in   Gibbstown NJ         This gig was a Steven Paul gig, with me playing rhythm guitar for Steven for his two-hour slot, and with Johnny Elliott playing solo for the first hour of the three-hour show.   Johnny Elliott started off the show well enough, but unfortunately things went downhill once Steven and I took the stage (ouch).   Perhaps the most embarrassing problem was a technical glitch with Steven's pre-recorded drum and bass tracks, wherein say during one of every four to five songs the backing tracks seemed to skip or cut out from under us, causing us to lose our places in those songs, and generally making us look like and sound like clowns (ouch).   Kettle, in the audience that night, agreed with Steven and I that the backing tracks sounded really good... when they worked.   But one glitch is arguably one glitch too many, and sadly we suffered quite a few more than one.   To make matters worse, Steven arguably did not have his best night vocally, and his lead guitar playing -- while exceptional, in my opinion and in the opinion of several others there that night -- did not seem to strike the audience as sufficient compensation for our shortcomings, real and/or perceived.   Mary, the owner of the biker bar, did pay us that night, but told Steven later that he would not be coming back.   This was a blow to Steven and to myself.   And, sadly, it was not to be the last blow...

Thursday, September 13th, 2007:     Coffee Works Roastery & Cafe   in   Voorhees NJ         This show had a double bill, with Dana Celeste playing the first half of the show, and Crossfire playing the second half of the show.   Dana was accompanied during her set by Krissy Burns, as well as by some overhead / piped-in music which the venue staff were unable to turn off until nearly the last song or two of Dana's set (ouch).   Crossfire soldiered through its set, although Steven was not thrilled with his vocals, and both Steven and myself were disappointed that neither Dana nor Krissy stayed through the duration of our set.   I think this show left Steven feeling disappointed, and myself feeling underwhelmed at best.

Saturday, October 6th, 2007:     Cool Beans Coffee & Tea   in   Bellefonte PA         This show featured a quadruple bill, with sets by myself, Steve Schofield, Johnny Elliott, and Rob Whitekettle.   Overall I think that the show went very well, although frankly I felt down about my own set.   Playing first, I played to probably the smallest audience of the evening, with the audience growing as the show went on.   If I remember right, I was also disappointed by my continuing failure to sing my newest original song "Channel" with proper pitch delivery.   The overall show seemed to be a success, however, and I tried, I think, to mask my personal disappointment at the time, so as to not drag down my performing and travelling companions too much.   Along for the trip were friend Amanda, Steve's wife Suma, and Rob's girlfriend Maria, bringing the size of our entourage to seven.   Thanks to Curtis and Johanna for coming over from Huntingdon to run sound for the duration of the show.

Saturday, October 13th, 2007:     Crescent Moon Coffee & Tea   in   Mullica Hill NJ         This show had its bright spots but overall was a rough show for both Steven and myself.   For the first hour Steven played his selections, with me backing him up on rhythm for much of the set.   For the second hour, Steven and I played our joint selections under the Crossfire banner.   I think Steven had a rough night vocally, suffering some pitch issues, and for my part I had a rough night guitar-wise, making a number of guitar mistakes especially while playing in support of Steven's selections.   To make matters worse, audience turnout was minimal, with perhaps a half dozen listeners at most still in the room at the end of the show.   The aftermath of this show was painful for the Crossfire boys, with me criticising Steven's vocals, and Steven criticising my guitar playing.   Coming just after the failed Mary's Pub show and the lackluster-for-me Coffee Works and Cool Beans shows, I found myself not only expecting Crossfire to break up, but also contemplating giving up on music performance entirely.   I remember thinking to myself that the whole endeavor just seems hopeless... I found myself thinking that I just do not have the talent for this game, and furthermore that regardless of whatever talent I do or do not have, almost no one in the general public seems to care anyway.

Thursday, October 18th, 2007:     Coffee Works Roastery & Cafe   in   Voorhees NJ         This show -- not even listed on my official web site calendar -- was a Steven Paul show, with me backing him up on rhythm guitar.   Steven and I opened up for Mighty Purple, a really talented duo from Hamden Connecticutt.   Coming less than a week after the disastrous Crescent Moon show, I think neither Steven nor I wanted to play this gig, but we played it anyway, because we had committed to it, and because we both agree that the show must and does go on.   Steven was likely on edge about his vocals -- especially in the cavernous Coffee Works, where the size and some other characteristics of the room may make sounding good especially difficult? -- and I know I was on edge about my guitar playing, not wanting to make any mistakes which could hinder Steven's performance.   We managed to get through the performance and conclude, I think, that the set had gone better overall than had the recent Crescent Moon show.   But I think we also both knew that we had a lot of work ahead of us to address our problem areas.

Saturday, November 10th, 2007:     Studio LuLoo   in   Haddon Township NJ         This show went very well overall.   Given my state of mind after a string of disappointing and unnerving performances, quite frankly this show HAD to go well, or otherwise I might have walked out of the venue that night and given up on music entirely.   The show was organized by Kettle, who lined up five acts, those acts being JeNell and the Yets, Soul Peace, Gerry Thompson, myself, and Russ Edwards.   The room was full to near capacity at the start, and JeNell and the Yets kicked off the show right with a fantastic set marked by great vocals, catchy songs, and high energy.   Soul Peace, a 3-member rocking reggae band, followed with another high energy set, before Gerry took the stage and provided a more mellow yet still engaging performance.   I went on fourth, playing solo for the first half of my set, and playing with Steven Paul's guitar accompaniment for the second half of my set.   The audience size had dwindled a bit by the time I took the stage, but apparently my performance both solo and with Steven was well received by those who remained, given feedback in the hours and days following the show.   Some of that feedback -- especially as regards my vocal performance -- was SO positive that I found myself almost in shock.   Talk about a roller coaster ride.

Saturday, December 1st, 2007:     The Daily Grind   in   Vicksburg PA         This show, my first as a performer in this venue, featured a double bill, with Doug Irwin and myself playing solo for an hour each, in half hour sets.   The show was lightly attended, but I think it was a good show otherwise.   This show was the first time I heard Doug perform more than a song or two at a time, and I was thoroughly impressed with his singing, his songwriting, and his performance including his between-song banter.   For my part, I think I did well, judging in part by the feedback I received from my friend Curtis, who with his girlfriend Johanna kindly drove almost two hours one way to attend to the show.   This room is a great room and I hope to play it again in the not too distant future.

Saturday, January 5th, 2008:     Barrington Coffee House   in   Barrington NJ         This show, Crossfire's first since October 13th, was, in the words of new BCH owner Scott Trifeletti, "Triumphant."   Steven Paul and I each played solo, for a half hour apiece, before rocking out as Crossfire for the final hour of the two-hour show.   Steven's vocals were in great form, with his gentle and finely nuanced cover of Michael Buble's "Home" an absolute show-stopper.   My vocals may not have been my all-time best, however Crossfire's overall performance as a duo was easily our best to date.   The audience filled the seats and overflowed into standing room, and applauded not only at the end of each song, but often at the end of Steven's guitar solos.   This show was in a way a pleasant surprise, but on the other hand perhaps a deserved payoff after a couple of months of focused rehearsals.   If the prior Crossfire show was the absolute bottom, then this Crossfire show was the absolute top.... so far.   Who knows what the future holds, but this great show guaranteed that Crossfire will continue to press on into the future...