Windhaven took our dog & pony show to Market On 7th again last night. It was a dead night in Ybor City, with only a few people out and about. We skipped rehearsals on Tuesday night, so wound up running through our Covington Park sets again. We had planned to run through some new tunes in our third set, but found ourselves at end of the second set fighting to be heard over the loud electric Blues band across the street at Gaspar’s Grotto. There was no one around anyway, so we decided to call it a night.
The two sets we did were solid, but I was really looking forward to working out the new stuff. We’d planned to do a blend of J.J. Cale’s and Lynyrd Skynyrd’s versions of “Call Me The Breeze”, Sarah McLachlan’s “Ice Cream”, and “Red, Red Wine” by Bob Marley (with a whole lot of UB40). What we had to make do with as a highlight of the evening was when a street performer wandered in and asked us if we’d like a little violin. He sat in with us on “Rocky Mountain Way”, which was an odd fit. But I really loved what he did. The textures he was adding gave the song an odd, haunting feel. But I loved it. I wish I had written down his name and contact info. There are definitely some of my more bizarre ideas that could use a violinist. And I admired the kid for the chutzpah it takes to put himself out there like that.
The other highlight of the evening was making friends with an Ybor kitty. There was a female cat hanging out in the spill-over area beside Market who took a shine to Victoria and I. She was a sweet girl and apparently pegged us as easy marks. I couldn’t help but think of an old proverb I’ve used on my web site; “You will always be lucky if you know how to make friends with strange cats.”
Last night felt like a transition of sorts. Some thing were said that make us wonder if we’ll ever play Market again. We hope so, because the place is almost a second home for us. But if the focus on Wednesdays there are going to shift to the package type shows like those that are put on during the weekends (with multiple bands essentially playing for free, or next to nothing), I don’t see how it’s going to suit our needs. Somethings was said about us maybe playing a set, but that immediately made me think that I’m not going to go all the way Ybor City from Saint Petersburg to play one set for free.
So, if out last night at Market On 7th was to be last Wednesday, we went out on a good night, with two strong sets from a band in transition, a visit from a random violinist and a new friendship with an Ybor kitty. If I needed an evening full of omens, I couldn’t have asked for a finer evening.
Sounds like Windhaven had a good time! Love you! Have a real good weekend!