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Henning Says: When Lesa and I got there, we found a pretty much empty room with the boys from Fancy Trash sitting at a table and a woman playing a keyboard (strings/piano) and singing. She was just finishing up her set and we sat for a moment.

A few minutes later, I was outside helping the Fancy boys unload their incredibly cool van which I am infinately envious of. They brought along an excellent PA system and we set it up in the front of the room pretty quickly. They are a well-oiled touring machine at this point.

Gradually the room started to fill up and Tony and I took the stage at around 10:00. We had a good set. Fairly tight and creative and, I am told, funny. I had a great time. The folks sitting in the first row of tables were listening and laughing and smiling and singing along. The tables in the middle were all sort of half listening and half talking among themselves and the tables in the back were pretty focused on us - even cheering with recognition at the intro of a song or two.

We did the me-just-singing version of Day Job and a luckily good version of The Title Song. Our performance was very relaxed and we played with the songs, working off one another and goofing around. Fun.

When we finished, Fancy Trash played a marathon two-hour set. They were wonderful as always and in this somewhat quieter setting (though it was still pretty loud) I got a chance to focus more on Josh's bass playing than usual. I really like the things that he plays, the parts are very well-thought out and expressive.

Two-hours is a long time, though, when the music is that dynamic and passionate and I felt very drained when it was time to pack up. Lesa, Debbie, and I headed over to the Easthampton Diner Restaurant for some really crappy late-night fare before heading home.

Tony Says:The Red Cat Cafe- who are you? You are a beautifully lit, upscale space nestled in downtown Holyoke. At one table sit two guys drinking bee-ahs. Next to them is a table of six women sipping caramel macchiatos and lattes and chatting about the teaching profession. At another table is a collection of folks whose outfits cost more than my car eating cheese wedges and fancy crackers and quaffing Chardonnay. Who are you, red cat? One minute your sound system is blaring Eminem, then it's The Ramones and then it's shut off for some live music. And that's where we come in.

Stumbling uncomfortably through Uncomfortable. Dear God, I cannot find the tempo of Henning's strumming- the noise is bouncing all over the high celilings and brickwalls and amps and monitors. Help me, Obi-Hen, adjust that mutha sound.

We settle into our set. 4th song, Soup of the Moment, I'm aware that I'm not as entertaining as I should be. I'm very aware of this nowadays. It's obvious with kids. Heads on desk, glazed expressions, exasperated sighs when they are told to flip to page 78. So before they even get to that stage now, I can feel it in my presentation and punch up the voice modulation, change speeds on my room prowling, sit on top of Lahashid's desk, lean my hand on top of Tashika's notebook ostensibly for support, letting her (but not the rest of the class) know that I am perceptive enough to know that she is writing her Christmas shopping list and not taking notes. What gave it away? She was writing while I was talking! (Get it? They just don't take notes). So anyway, for Soup, I spend the bridges of the song standing behind Henning, stepping out to wail away on the solos. It's just the silly burst of energy both of us need to find the groove. And by set midpoint to final Omnivore, we're firing on all cylinders. Back To School especially sounded just lovely. Nice job, boys.

Here comes thirty-three.

Uncomfortable
Superhero
The New You
Soup of the Moment
Map
Disgruntled Lover
Day Job
Save My Place
Journal of Lies
Back To School
One Lady Dancing
Omnivore