22 Mar – the Earl (Atlanta, GA)
w/ the Yum Yum Tree, the Features
I haven’t played the Earl in about a year and a half. The last time I was there was only the third show with the Million Box, my previous backing band. We were still sort of forming as a unit and it was the first show where I felt like it had it’s own identity. We did well, brought in 60 people on a Wednesday night at midnight. But even so I could never get back in. Being a pop band is a tough sell in Atlanta.
The way I finally got back in was through the kindness of Andy Gish of the Yum Yum Tree, who asked us to play this show with them. We opened and played a good show to a good-sized crowd. I feel fairly sure most of them did not know who we were, but I think a lot of them were also fans of the Features (who went on last), a pop band out of Nashville. So we were playing to a crowd that was expecting pop of some kind. They applauded but there wasn’t much interaction, which felt like a let down after our set but they kept that attitude for most of the night, so at least it wasn’t just that it was us.
I talked briefly with a couple of the guys in the Features after their set, but I don’t think they really put it together that I was the guy that opened. The person who does the booking there was working the door so hopefully that will help my case when I start trying to re-book.
I feel a little like I sold myself out somewhat. I left my acoustic at home and decided to do the two acoustic songs on the Telecaster. They sounded fine, but afterward I was a little mad at myself for doing it. Sometimes you can work yourself up over a show and start second-guessing what you do and you start to try to plan a show based on your idea of what the crowd will want. In a way that’s all well and good, and it’s not that it backfired at all, but I don’t think I’ll do it again. In the end I’d rather go down or be ignored as me. The fast and soft stuff is all mine, and there’s no reason to change that to try and win anyone over. If they buy the CD they’re going to end up with that side of me anyway.
I also talked with someone about the whole idea of having some sort of loose organization to try and band all these struggling Atlanta pop bands together. I’d been spending some time over the past week trying to pin down ideas, then it turns out I meet this guy who’s already halfway there. It seems silly to try and compete; it would sort of defeat the purpose. So now I’m not so sure what to do.