Rubies Bar Benefit/Center Point IA 9/23/17

(Photo by Darren Sharper on a last minute poster promoting the event)

Setlist:

The Last Time
Let Your Love Flow
Tulsa Time
Ring Of Fire
Everybody's Talking
Come Together
Fever
For What Its Worth

Belinda James-Lead Vocals on Come Together and Fever

(Photo: Donna Sutton-Shaw)

It may not seem to be a very long set list, but we did play about 40 minutes in doors.  I thought it might be an outdoor concert and bought my hat just in case and thankfully it was indoors.  We had a record highs of 93 degrees today.  And it's the second day of fall.  Not complaining, another month and we'll be below zero before you know it.  But I am beginning to wonder if I should have left the AC in the window.

The Rubies Benefit is my last gig for the weekend.  I have played four days in a row and my fingers are full of blisters.  It didn't help when I bought the Ibanez guitar out today.  It has heavier strings and chicken wires might have been easier to play.  Another reason to keep the set shorter than usual, the biker crowd wasn't there yet.

For four nights, I have gone through different jam settings, from the familiar with Ryan and Julie at Checkers the first night, then on to something new and different at Artisan Sanctuary the next night and then back to the Long Branch. But the benefit was a whole new thing.  Never done one before.

So I actually compiled a list of 12-15 songs to do within that 45 minute time frame, only to drop It's Been A While and Light My Fire in favor of Tulsa Time, a song people like to sing to.  There really wasn't much jamming to the songs, I slopped up on a instrumental passage on Everybody's Talking and simply turn that mistake into a four bar riff that made people think it was part of the song.  I thought it would be a hoot to start things off with The Last Time.  Belinda was tapped to sing Come Together and Fever and it was nice to have her do the vocals while I played guitar.  Or attempt to.

For the most part we started around 2:50 and concluded at around 3:27.  The short set helped The Bluebirds to play more songs as more people begin to come in through the doors and then it got too crowded for me to hang around.  I do think that John Shaw, who was a big part of putting the benefit together did do a fine job of organizing the show.  And the Bluebells were great in supporting me and Belinda's efforts.  But when we get too many people and things get crowded I tend to move on.  But I do owe John and the Smokin Guns a visit next time they're in town.

The EGADS! Everything Good And Decent Sounding ;-)
Or is that Everything Good And Different Sounding? Hmm
Everything Good And Damn Straight?


Side note:  Our bass player for the EGADS! Tim Nemec had surgery to remove a couple of toes loss due to diabetes on Sunday and is resting comfortably.  We hope for a speedy recovery for Tim.