The Greenhouse

Last Friday night, 11/7/08, got a chance to play right here in my own 'hood at the Greenhouse restaurant. I can literally see it from where I'm sitting right now.

I occasionally go to their Thursday open mic night, which is run by a very good friend named Sky King. The Greenhouse is one of those places that has changed hands several times. Last year it was The Twig; before that, the Garlic Clove, and when we first moved to Warren 9 years ago it was Paramount Pizza. The Twig went whole hog into live music, and the Greenhouse has been getting into it as well. But it's a small place with a small budget.

The Open Mic works out well for them. If you're on the list, you get your first drink free, which is a good deal imho. The list fills up quickly, and the place stays packed until closing time. It's also one of the better open mics around; not so much because of the quality of the players, but just the atmosphere. You can tell that most of the people that play there only play in their own living room, but it's that love for the music that permeates everything.

Most places, you go to their open mic, you get to see a lot of people who are trying to get a group happening. And that means it's mostly people who aren't quite good enough to be in a working band. Which isn't necessarily bad, but the sad ones are the ones who think they're really good, and they really aren't. And everybody in the room knows it, except for them.

Hanging out on Thursday night at the Greenhouse is just flat-out fun. You haven't lived until you've sung "Good Night, Irene" with Sky. Anyway, I went there to play one evening and the owner came up and said that she'd love to have me come do a Friday night, but she couldn't afford me. It was very flattering, I must say. I assured her that she could afford me just fine. After all, it's a hundred yards from home! And, I love to play.

So we did the handshake and I went down. I got a free dinner, and we put out a tip basket, and it went very well. I've got to say I do like playing solo. More and more I'm treating solo gigs more like concerts; more chatter, and more stuff that I like to play or even wrote myself. It's more personal.

Not that I dislike playing with the band. Jon and Ken are excellent musicians and we have a great time. Band gigs tend to be more about getting people to dance than to listen. But I get to play electric guitar, and that's big-time cool.

The places I play solo are usually pretty small. Actually, the only other place I'm doing solo lately is the Colatina Exit in Bradford, VT, which is also a very nice gig. For PA, all I'm bringing is my powered board and a pair of monitors, which I lay on the floor and point toward the audience. I'm tellin' ya, these are small rooms. No need on bringing my 12's-and-horn mains and putting them up on stands.

So maybe I'll see you at a solo gig sometime soon. I'm playing the Colatina Exit on the 21st, and the Greenhouse the first Friday in December. In between, on the day after Thanksgiving, the Red Hat Band is at the Bridgewater Inn.