Birthday and blaggery
Played another gig with the ceilidh band last night. I think about half the band didn't know the other half; we had a recorder player I'd not met before, the bassist was a dep who none of them had ever played with, and the caller was new to them as well. Made for an interesting mix. The bassist had it worst; he'd get told the key we were starting in, and then he'd drift out of it as the key changed, and meet us again on the other side when we came back to it. Can't say I'm surprised; if you come from a rock background, as I do, the progressions of english folk dance music can throw you; they tend to resolve in unexpected ways, and even unexpected places in the bar. As the drummer I'm glad I don't have that problem. Still, he kept the rhythm going, and the crowd was up for it, so we had a pretty decent gig.
Oh, and a couple of weeks ago I did a gig with the old band, with whom I only gig occasionally these days. They tend to forget how recently I last played with them, so I have to check if they've added anything to the set I don't know. This time it was the Kaiser Chiefs, "I Predict A Riot". Which I listened to on their MP3 player a few times after the soundcheck, and nailed in the encore having never played it before. Not that hard a song to learn, but still, *smug*.
I've just come back from a visit to my brother's place for my nephew's first birthday. Spent some time in Toys'R'Us yesterday looking for a present for him. Ended up getting him a Fisher Price Little People tricycle and cart, but not before I'd fallen in love with a soft toy snake. Not a cute cartoony snake either, but as close to lifelike as is possible to get aside from being furry. Is it weird to want to give that to a 1-year old? I mean, if you get him a soft toy dog it's dog-shaped and that's it. But a snake... he can cuddle it, drape it around his arms and get tangled in it... that's play value! Bags of slinky coily fun in red, blue or green... damn, now I want one.
Oh, and a couple of weeks ago I did a gig with the old band, with whom I only gig occasionally these days. They tend to forget how recently I last played with them, so I have to check if they've added anything to the set I don't know. This time it was the Kaiser Chiefs, "I Predict A Riot". Which I listened to on their MP3 player a few times after the soundcheck, and nailed in the encore having never played it before. Not that hard a song to learn, but still, *smug*.
I've just come back from a visit to my brother's place for my nephew's first birthday. Spent some time in Toys'R'Us yesterday looking for a present for him. Ended up getting him a Fisher Price Little People tricycle and cart, but not before I'd fallen in love with a soft toy snake. Not a cute cartoony snake either, but as close to lifelike as is possible to get aside from being furry. Is it weird to want to give that to a 1-year old? I mean, if you get him a soft toy dog it's dog-shaped and that's it. But a snake... he can cuddle it, drape it around his arms and get tangled in it... that's play value! Bags of slinky coily fun in red, blue or green... damn, now I want one.