I was in Boston last weekend and enjoyed the honor of singing with the Weisstronauts at TT the Bear's Place in Cambridge. I'll describe what that was like as honestly as I can. But before I do that, let me just say that these guys are extremely talented, and if you haven't checked out the video for Seven X's, stop reading this and it out on YouTube.
I hadn't really performed since Johnny Cash and Philosophy was released, so I had been looking forward to the possibility of being called up on stage, especially since I have never performed at TT's before and this is a legendary Boston venue. In fact, I remember many years ago talking to Mark Sandman and Dana Colley when Morphine was just getting started and those guys had stopped by to hear Hub Moore play with Chris Harford (1 mo', 2 mo', 3 mo', Hub Mo'!).
At any rate, I got to the club just as the Weisstronauts started playing, and noted that the crowd was pretty paltry (it later grew). At that point I started thinking about how unglamorous it used to be to play to miniscule crowds, and that a good practice was often more rewarding than a poorly attended gig (I can still remember feeling quite absurd standing up on a stage singing into a microphone at high volume when we were playing to fewer than 20 people in a small room). I decided that I really didn't miss performing at all, and started to really appreciate my post-rock life.
Then I got called up on stage and in an instant, EVERYTHING changed. The size of the crowd, regardless of whether it had actually increased or not (actually I think it had), was suddenly plenty big. All of the conclusions I had just reached became irrelevant and I felt strangely at home on a stage I had never set foot on, accompanied by a band who, at least in that particular incarnation, I had never played with.
I walked off the stage during the outro to "Go," and quietly assumed my place in the audience. A ballsier me would have simply walked right out the door, in keeping with the message of the song, but instead I hung around till the end of the set. Really great to talk to Pete, his brother Marc, Kenny, and Nate in particular, although everyone in that band is quite genial and great at what they do.
I'm not sure how much performing I will do in the future, but I do hope to start doing some recording soon and will blog about it if there is anything worth sharing.