Saturday's gig was stupendous. The group was tight, the crowd was responsive and the vibe was definitely about the whole thing cooking. It was a relief to let the rock roll.

I had a voice lesson the day before and lamented to the Master (Doug SM) that waaaaah I had a bad gig last time and how do you shake it off?

"If I had that answer I'd make millions." sayeth Doug.

We talk baseball all the time, Doug is a great White Sox fan and we started our association around the World Series championship time. He equated a bad gig with having a bad outing as a pitcher, because even the best of them get shelled.

"Shake it off, do your prep work, and get back on the mound." he concluded.

So Saturday was spent going over each song in the set, making proper notes (I have them on stage as a crutch, I realize, but I rarely look down) and practicing the stickier new stuff (we decided to resurrect one of our newer songs, 'Crude War,' in a slimmed down version).

I was all confidence and light on Saturday. We were able to do a proper sound check, tune up together, get the levels right.

Going through a set is like riding on the wing of a airplane. When you look over at the guys who are riding with you, it literally looks like the wind is blowing back their hair (not a problem for follicularly challenged me, damn analogies!).

We added 'What's So Funny About Peace, Love and Understanding' as the closer (a bonus after the usual 'Area 51') and took it on home. It feels great when this creative force comes together and makes it work.

At the final out, I put the game ball in my back pocket (damn analogies!).