Gig Journal

Wildcat Inn, Jackson, NH. February 27, 2005

(Click to enlarge)

Mike Scott, saxophone, Mary Mitchell, vocals.

A return engagement. I had enjoyed our first Wildcat gig, but I enjoyed this one even more. There's nothing like performing to pull a group together. Mary and I learned a lot about each other's approach on that first gig, so this one weny much more smoothly. Mike and I have played together a million times; even so, a new group is a new set of challenges and discoveries.

The setup of the PA went pretty smoothly, as opposed to last time. We had been expecting to have the monitor again, but that did not turn out to be the case. As it turned out, the first time, the monitor just happened to be around from Hoot Night; this time we had to do without. Fortunately, I'd brought my small amp, the Peavy Studio 112. I set it up right behind me, took the XLR from the direct box (Behringer DI100) to the PA, and ran the "link" output of the direct box to the Peavy. So we could all hear the guitar sound just fine.

As I've said many times, one of the great pleasures for me is to bask in the guitar sound. I positioned myself so I could hear some of the guitar sound from my amp, some from the PA speaker to my right, and some from the PA speaker at the far side of the room, stage left. It was a delight. I was right next to Mike, so I could enjoy his sax sound, and I could hear Mary very well through the PA. All of that made the gig a delightful auditory experience for me. And, since I'm the whole rhyhtm section in that group, keeping me happy is important.

For the Apres-ski set, the audience, like last time, was noisy but appreciative. We had our "ringers" in the crowd. My daughter Sheri and her husband Jason had come up to New Hampshire with us for the gig and to visit with our old friends. Mike's wife, Sandy, was there, as was Mary's husband, Ross. They are all great fans and really enjoyed the music; they could also be counted on to instigate the applause.

We followed the same format at the first gig: I started each set with a solo piece, Mike and I played two duo pieces, then Mary sang the rest of the set.