nailed part 2
Buckdancer’s Choice, the Grateful Dead cover band, had a really good gig Saturday.
Typically we’re at private parties or amongst friends, and gigs that we’ve planned and gotten the word out for. This one was different. It was at an outdoor shopping mall west of town, mini-festival setup, with a stage in front of a field.
It’s SXSW in the core of Austin, and it’s spring break, so attendance was a big question mark. But not only did people come out, they stayed.
We probably knew a collective 10 people there. For this kind of band, that’s a huge victory. It’s not a room filled with familiar faces. It’s a bunch of people who’ve never heard us, who just wanted to be outside for a little bit and got drawn in.
At no point did a bunch of people leave. I saw a couple here and there, but generally folks stayed. Not only that, we had a few get really engaged, taking pictures and stuff like that.
The owner reached out to the booker during the set and asked, or told him, that we need to come back, implying that a better weekend would be even better. He said that’s never happened before for a band.
This is such a validating step.
We really spent a lot of time developing this core audience and this thing. After all, it was just a dopey band put together to play a church farmers market on the weekends, basically a dad band, and for some reason it works.
A friend of mine called it, “digestible.” I would’ve about punched him in the face years ago, but I know exactly what he means. It is very easy to like and listen to this band, and in this situation it’s perfect.
The song selection, the instrumentation, the general vibe, it just all works. And now, away from our 50-something friend group and other connected groups, it also travels. That’s hugely gratifying.
Great gig, even though I’m still fluffing “Sugar Magnolia,” but I’ve got about a month now to get that right next time.