Cool Night

2006-06-25 - 12:36 a.m.

So I'm down yesterday (Saturday) for my between-jobs nap, and the phone rings. It's Bob, the Fearless Bandleader. Now, Bob was out sick Friday night. And when Bob is too sick to work, it's serious. He's played with bad colds, achy bones, etc. The last time he missed band work was when he had a heart attack. It's not that serious this time - he's developed some kind of infection, but his hands were shaking so badly he couldn't write, much less play guitar.

So Friday night, I got to lead the band - calling the song list, etc. We don't have a set list for each night. We wing it. When someone comes in, Bob usually knows what songs they like and immediately fits them into the song order. Since Bob was out, it fell on my shoulders.

We did good. We kept most of the crowd there, did a few songs we don't normally do, and actually made some tip money.

Now, here it is, Saturday evening. I'm trying to rest up for another night of calling the shots. The phone rings, and it's Bob. He tells me that the bar owner called him and said she found out Bob hadn't been there last night. She told him, in essence, "If YOU aren't there, the rest of the band can stay home."

Even though we did pretty well without Bob, we'd been canceled by the owner.

So now I had a night free. I knew I had to go to the bar anyway, to pick up some gear that I didn't want to leave until NEXT Friday. So I went. I arrived at 8:45pm. And there, in the bar...

...were three customers and the bartender. All watching the Angels play the Diamondbacks.

So I stayed and watched the game. And I also explained to the six - SIX - regulars who came in why there was no band. None of those six stayed. And one of the starting three left after 45 min of visiting.

Usually the bar closes at 1:40am or so. This time, they closed at 10:40pm, when the game ended. The Angels won, by the way - 6-4, in 13 innings.

Now, I have no idea how many regulars showed up before I got there. But I have a hunch that, once they learned there would be no band, they started making phone calls to those who hadn't made the scene yet.

But we'll never know how much money she never made.

===

Well, I'm home early...well, early for me. I'm going to bed. I may post again later. Till then...

...be seeing you.

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