maugorn | (Setlists included) Yesterday *could* have been disastrous, but...

...instead it went about as well as it could have.
I was doomed from the start, you see:
I got confused about the start time for my gig at Constellation Books. That confusion led me to foolishly believe that we could have cake and eat it too by hitting the SCA "Holiday Faire" first and then zooming from Manassas to Baltimore. Why dare something so perilous? Because when I booked the date I had not checked to see if it was a date when my wife wanted to do something with our weekend. She understands that most of my work is on weekends, but occasionally she wants to do something that's not one of my gigs. She has *some* interests that aren't all about me, afer all. This was one of them. My complicit confusion allowed me to believe that I could rectify this wrong.

So there I was, oblivious, with a great big "Hey Gremlins! Here it is! Come kick me HARD!" sign on my back.

We went out to Manassas had lunch, did some shopping, yacked with old pals about this and that.
I bartered some CDs for a new, and promisingly solid mug. I sold a CD during lunch. I got an invitation to play an event next October. A merchant asked me to come set up and entertain by his booth in the outside section. The weather was beautiful. Children danced as I played and sang. I sold some more CDs and made a few tips. Time came (or so I thought) to pack up and get back on the road. Goodbyes were said, and bladders were emptied and off we went, right on time. Or so I thought.

Traffic, for the most part was good, with only pockets of bad, and most of the time we were ahead of schedule.
Or so I thought. At 3:45 we got a call asking "why aren't you here yet? People are here and waiting."
D'oh!
And thus my illusions were shattered.
What's more, this wouldn't be easy to fix by just shifting the time to match my delusions, as our host, the owner, had plans that evening for attending a concert and needed to leave by 7pm.
And people were already at the store waiting, as my announcement page and my Wall on Facebook were aflame with confusion, questions, and speculation.
(time for grim irony- for much of the summer, it's been hard to get good attendance at Constellation- but now that I was late and confused- Augh!)

So we changed to the driving strategy from "efficient, but not so fast as to get a ticket" to "pedal to the metal and hope for the best".

We arrived at Constellation at 4:50, where a heroic unpacking and setup ensued, and I played from about 5 to just before 7.

Which worked out GREAT!

Mischief managed, disaster averted.
Instead of a snafutacular pile of temporal wreckage, I had a day filled with two appreciative audiences, one of which was one of the largest in that venue! And many of those in attendance, while they've heard me before at events we'd all happened to be at, were specifically attending one of my gigs for the first time.

And after Constellation, we hit Sonny Lee's again, which was a great time for us, but a terrible time for all that poor Chinese food and sushi.

So here's something resembling the setlists:

At Holiday Faire:

01) Polka Set
02) Country Life (+ Kesh Jig)
03) Heather On The Moor
04) Whistling Gypsy Rover (+reels)
05) Wild Mountain Thyme
06) The Wee Wee Man
07) Butterfly
08) Enchanted Gypsy
09) She Moves Thru The Faire
10) The Whistler (+Banish Misfortune)
11) Queen Of All Argyll
12) Rattlin' Bog
13) McIntrye

11/21/10 Constellation Books

01) Red Is The Rose

(Banjo)
02) The Unicorn Song (req) Ruthie
03) Ranching In The Evening
04) Son Of A Scoundrel
05) Friend Of The Devil (req) Spike, for some Grateful Dead
06) Apeman

(Acoustic 12 String Guitar)
07) Sugar Magnolia
08) Butterfly
09) Yankee Bayonet (req)

patches023

(Banjo)
10) I've Just Seen A Facei (req) Spike
11) Your Flag Decal Won't Get You Into Heaven Anymore (req) Lauretta

(Acoustic 12 String Guitar)
12) Me & Bobby McGee (req)

patches023
13) Imagine (req) Bill

(Bouzouki)
14) Bang Bang (debut)
15) Across The Universa

(Banjo)
16) Nancy Whiskey (req)

madbodger +

fizzygeek

(Acoustic 12 String Guitar)
17) Maggie May(trad)

In Attendance:
Lauretta
Steve
Sandy

madbodger

fizzygeek
Ruthie
Eric
Bill

patches023

jmax315
Spike
Tracey
Maggie