Post by Gene on Jul 28, 2010 12:01:22 GMT -5
I’ve been so busy with gigging and other fun that I almost forgot to get this out! In the interest of brevity, then, I’ll list where I’m going to be, minus the private parties. By my day-job-guy standards, this is very busy, maybe even a little TOO busy!:
SUN, AUG 1: Mackinac Grille, St. Ignace, 4pm-7
WED, AUG 4: Locals On The Bay: Marina, St. Ignace, 7pm-8:30
FRI, AUG 6: Northern Lights Recreation, Harbor Springs, 8pm-12
SAT, AUG 7: Bluegrass & Blues Music Weekend: Elkwood Campground, Wolverine, 7pm-9
SAT, AUG 14: Rusty Anchor, Cheboygan, 4pm-7
SUN, AUG 15: Douglas Lake Bar, Pellston, 6pm-9
THU, AUG 19: The Islander, Hessel, 8pm-12
SUN, AUG 29: Douglas Lake Bar, Pellston, 6pm-9
The only new place listed here is the Mackinac Grille. This is about the nearest place to me that I haven’t played yet, being only a couple blocks from my house. This place has rarely had live entertainment, but now with their new, beautiful, huge deck they’ve built on, overlooking the lake, the place is really now much more accommodating for it. St. Ignace needed something like this to have more live entertainment, and the local musicians I know are very grateful for it. Looking forward to this one!
Locals On The Bay is a special gig, where I’m more of a centerpiece show than a background ambiance kind of thing. I’ll do some original music and more risky, eclectic stuff for that. Hope it’s not drippingly hot that day!...
Northern Lights is a classy lounge place, but seems to have a younger crowd than you’d expect, so that suits my strengths. Rusty Anchor, along the riverfront in Cheboygan, had an older crowd, so it seems that asks for a more conservative, “safe” show that doesn’t call too much attention to itself, but I’m fine doing that, too. Douglas Lake Bar is very similar, but they seem to give me some allowance to let ‘er rip a little, there, too.
The Elkwood Campground music weekend in Wolverine is going to be tried for a second year. I did this last year, but the weather was about as bad as it could be, and it was also placed on the same weekend and Gaylord’s big fair, so attendance wasn’t that great. But, I must have done well, since I went from an opening act to a closer for this year. It’ll be fun, and I also get to camp for free!...
I did the Islander last month in Hessel, and that worked out well, so I’m doing it again in August. This gig really threw me: I expected a bunch of old-money grey-hairs from the marina and old farmers from the north wanting country music, but boy, I couldn’t have been more wrong. This place ROCKS with 20- and 30-somethings into the wee hours! It looked like the hoppin’ Mac Island nightlife you’d see at Horn’s, for instance. I can’t WAIT to get back there!
I only saw one other act in the past month, and that was Claudia Schmidt at St. Ignace’s Locals On The Bay. I’m told she’s from Traverse City, but another source told me she’s from Cedarville, so I’m not sure. She tours nationally and makes a living at this, it seemed, so my expectations were very high for this performer. Claudia is an old “folkie”, and is really more about story songs, story telling and between-song banter than about music, I think. She was a good singer, and even sang acappella for 15 minutes, which was pretty brave. The guitar and dulcimer were more in supporting roles of the main “story” thing than being a central thing of the act, for sure. It was aimed for a grey-hair demographic, clearly, so I personally found it slow-moving and corny. I think I was the youngest one there (and I’m 47), but the folks around me seemed to be enjoying it quite a bit. I did end up learning something from her, though, and I recognized that there was definitely an appeal here going on for some, although it was lost on me, personally... It was something I could still appreciate, though.
It sure is great to see the local music scene so hoppin’ this time of year. Keep enjoying your summer, and get out and enjoy some live music, for your own sake and others’!
Live Well & CREATE!
–Gene.
SUN, AUG 1: Mackinac Grille, St. Ignace, 4pm-7
WED, AUG 4: Locals On The Bay: Marina, St. Ignace, 7pm-8:30
FRI, AUG 6: Northern Lights Recreation, Harbor Springs, 8pm-12
SAT, AUG 7: Bluegrass & Blues Music Weekend: Elkwood Campground, Wolverine, 7pm-9
SAT, AUG 14: Rusty Anchor, Cheboygan, 4pm-7
SUN, AUG 15: Douglas Lake Bar, Pellston, 6pm-9
THU, AUG 19: The Islander, Hessel, 8pm-12
SUN, AUG 29: Douglas Lake Bar, Pellston, 6pm-9
The only new place listed here is the Mackinac Grille. This is about the nearest place to me that I haven’t played yet, being only a couple blocks from my house. This place has rarely had live entertainment, but now with their new, beautiful, huge deck they’ve built on, overlooking the lake, the place is really now much more accommodating for it. St. Ignace needed something like this to have more live entertainment, and the local musicians I know are very grateful for it. Looking forward to this one!
Locals On The Bay is a special gig, where I’m more of a centerpiece show than a background ambiance kind of thing. I’ll do some original music and more risky, eclectic stuff for that. Hope it’s not drippingly hot that day!...
Northern Lights is a classy lounge place, but seems to have a younger crowd than you’d expect, so that suits my strengths. Rusty Anchor, along the riverfront in Cheboygan, had an older crowd, so it seems that asks for a more conservative, “safe” show that doesn’t call too much attention to itself, but I’m fine doing that, too. Douglas Lake Bar is very similar, but they seem to give me some allowance to let ‘er rip a little, there, too.
The Elkwood Campground music weekend in Wolverine is going to be tried for a second year. I did this last year, but the weather was about as bad as it could be, and it was also placed on the same weekend and Gaylord’s big fair, so attendance wasn’t that great. But, I must have done well, since I went from an opening act to a closer for this year. It’ll be fun, and I also get to camp for free!...
I did the Islander last month in Hessel, and that worked out well, so I’m doing it again in August. This gig really threw me: I expected a bunch of old-money grey-hairs from the marina and old farmers from the north wanting country music, but boy, I couldn’t have been more wrong. This place ROCKS with 20- and 30-somethings into the wee hours! It looked like the hoppin’ Mac Island nightlife you’d see at Horn’s, for instance. I can’t WAIT to get back there!
I only saw one other act in the past month, and that was Claudia Schmidt at St. Ignace’s Locals On The Bay. I’m told she’s from Traverse City, but another source told me she’s from Cedarville, so I’m not sure. She tours nationally and makes a living at this, it seemed, so my expectations were very high for this performer. Claudia is an old “folkie”, and is really more about story songs, story telling and between-song banter than about music, I think. She was a good singer, and even sang acappella for 15 minutes, which was pretty brave. The guitar and dulcimer were more in supporting roles of the main “story” thing than being a central thing of the act, for sure. It was aimed for a grey-hair demographic, clearly, so I personally found it slow-moving and corny. I think I was the youngest one there (and I’m 47), but the folks around me seemed to be enjoying it quite a bit. I did end up learning something from her, though, and I recognized that there was definitely an appeal here going on for some, although it was lost on me, personally... It was something I could still appreciate, though.
It sure is great to see the local music scene so hoppin’ this time of year. Keep enjoying your summer, and get out and enjoy some live music, for your own sake and others’!
Live Well & CREATE!
–Gene.
