My first paying gig since moving to Youngstown was unlike any gig ever before in my many, many years of playing piano.
I was honored and delighted to play with Steve Ley on drums and a delightful young YSU student, Chris, on bass to back the Italian duo Jay & Gisele on Saturday and Sunday night at the Mount Carmel Italian Festival. This lovely couple, who are Italian and French by birth, but now live in Australia, had their two daughters (late teens or early twenties) with them, along with their son. The girls sang a few duets, as well as singing back-up on a few songs. The son worked alongside the sound guy and ran the accompaniment tracks. Talented, nice, considerate—these people were the consummate professionals.
The part that was the real learning experience for me was the lack of rehearsal. We met with Jay for about twenty minutes before going on and he talked us through the charts. Then the act that preceded us left the stage, and we had 15 minutes to quickly get all our equipment set before Jay and Gisele began. In the blink of an eye, 90 minutes had passed and we were done for the evening. It was astonishing. There were a few moments when I was quite lost, and then my perfect pitch kicked in and I could find my place again. And then I realized that Steve's music didn't even show him the chord progressions, so I quit complaining!
It was fun to perform with this band and with these singers, and to watch the audience reaction to them. The audience loved them!
My thanks to Jay & Gisele for coming to Youngstown, and to Steve for inviting me to join him on stage.
One little note from occasionally watching the audience out of the corner of my eye:
Men, here's a little clue for you, something for you not to do—At one point in the show, Jay said, "Let me see the hands of all the lovers." A 60-something lady in the front row raised her hand. Her husband, seated next to her, didn't raise his. Jay jumped on that one, and joked with the man about not being a lover. The man stuck his finger down his throat in the international sign for "gag me."
Here's the deal, men. If you're lucky enough to have a woman who will confess, in public, to being in love with you, don't be a jackass! It won't kill you to act like you're in love with her. But to act like her loving you makes you want to vomit—don't do it!. Guess what, Darlin'. I think you ain't gettin' any tonight, or for many nights to come. And that woman who just proclaimed to the world that she was in love with you? Well, she could be doin' a lot better!
After posting this, I realized I never explained the title. That's the Italian title for "The Chicken Dance." Jay and Gisele and the daughters, Maria and Christina, invited the children in the audience to come down front and perform this with them. As a gift for performing, they gave each child a small stuffed koala bear. Cute!
2 comments:
Im so sorry I missed you! I did hear you were there, but saturday was filled to the brim and we were out of town sunday. Hopefully, Ill catch you next time! I have to say, the story of the couple made me really sad. In my fantasy world, he is sending her flowers every day this week and has taken out a love ad in the vindicator.
"Here's the deal, men. If you're lucky enough to have a woman who will confess, in public, to being in love with you, don't be a jackass! It won't kill you to act like you're in love with her. But to act like her loving you makes you want to vomit—don't do it!. Guess what, Darlin'. I think you ain't gettin' any tonight, or for many nights to come. And that woman who just proclaimed to the world that she was in love with you? Well, she could be doin' a lot better!"
That was great! I never could understand why it's uncool to act in love with our spouses when we're in public. There is nothing more heart-warming than seeing a man who is unashamedly completely in love with his wife.
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