Saturday was a good day all told. Starting out with a nice healthy breakfast of oatmeal and espresso. It was a rainy morning, which is much easier to deal with than ice and snow as far as I’m concerned. Even though St. John’s College is on spring break, I’ve been keeping my pottery classes open for those who care to show up. The Tuesday night class has been completely abandoned but in the Saturday group there has been a regular and enthusiastic turnout. Then in the late afternoon I did my usual two sets at 49 West Cafe and Wine Bar including the following tunes: Creole Belle, Trouble In Mind, Hesitation Blues, Make Me A Pallete, One More Cup Of Coffee, St. Louis Blues, Crawling Kingsnake, Got The Blues, Nobody Knows You When You’re Down And Out, Ella Speed, Betty and Dupre, St James Infirmary, Nervous, The Thrill Is Gone, Georgia, Way Down In The Hole, Big Chief Buffalo Nickle, and Freight Train. After I did Georgia, Mike Shifflet (a regular in the audience) said something like “Nice job, Ray,” and later another person in the audience called me “Ray.” I had to explain that my name is not actually “Ray” but that Mike was just giving me a nice compliment by comparing me to the incomparable Ray Charles. First set of music was a bit of an uphill battle with two parties of very loud and chatty young people in addition to the usual sounds of passing cars, clattering of dishes and very noisy espresso machines. But the second set was miraculously peaceful and I could actual hear the space around the music I was trying to create. What a difference! I guess it was noticed by the audience. In any case tips were about double the usual, so thanks very much whoever and where ever you are. There’s no nicer compliment than a good tip of $. My sweetheart and most faithful fan took this picture with her phone. Thanks Zahn.
