Christmas Open Mic - December 23 2007

Sunday was the day of my big open mic at the Speakeasy, a first at the Speakeasy, and something I was really excited for. I was really excited, but there was a problem, and that was I had no guitar. So I had to do some shopping! I went to a bank machine and discovered... no money came out. It said "Can not honour". Well, no u, I guess, but the implicit message was the same whether it was the Queen's English or not. Anyway, I went to a few, almost had a breakdown, and then Vanessa took me to another machine that she said always worked for her, and it did, thank goodness, but only in $100 incremements, and only four times, so I had to stop then. Which was fine, because when I got to the guitar store (Vanessa had some other shopping to do) and tried out some guitars, the owner eventually pointed me toward a 420 000 won guitar made by Cort, which had a beautiful sound (very country) that absolutely blew away the others. Of course, it's no surprise, I had been mostly trying guitars based on looks (I was infatuated with the idea of a coloured guitar), so no wonder the one that gets recommended by the owner kicks ass.
Anyway, he gave it to me for 110 000 off the list price, which was really nice of him, and threw in a soft case, strap, capo, patch cords, some picks, and two sets of strings, one cheap one for "single changes" and one nice Martin DS set for a "full change" (which he was very careful to explain to me).
I started the show off, playing about half of the Hawksley Christmas album, "Almost a Full Moon" (of course). I think it went well.
The open mic continued with a few really nice performances, with Jens Rushing and Ian from Mokpo making a trip down for the evening to spread some cheer. I'll honestly admit that I didn't get Jens at first... I didn't know what was going on, because his performance style and music (especially lyrics) are both so bizarre. But listening to the recordings I have made of him at the different parties, I can finally say that I understand it now, and I really love that he comes out to perform, because it makes my night every time. He played two of his own Christmas themed tunes, first a song about Christmas zombies, and then a tune about Frosty the Snow Demon. The Ian joined him for some more traditional fare, and I especially liked their renditions of The Little Drummer Boy and "Mr Grinch".
Anthony Coppa did his usual set of originals (plus some newbies, or maybe all newbies... he seems to write a lot) and did a really great job, and then did a little run-through of "O Holy Night" and did a good job, which I was glad for, because I was going to do it, with minimal practice, and I was glad to be relieved of it, because that some is a bit of a task, and really should be done well.
Jordan Emmans Band come out for the night and stole the show. They did a few Jordan Emmans originals, including a Christmas song that he set the music for, and a beautiful rendition of "O Holy Night" (again) that blew everyone away, with beautiful harmonies by Dave and some of the nicest drumming (tom-intensive) from Dan that I have heard in a while. I love when Jordan comes out to the shows, because it makes me look like a great organizer. haha.
Then Rebecca Fairless and Brian Bordage took the stage for a cover of "Christmas in Prison" (is that the right title?) with Rebecca on vocals and and guitar and Brian putting in an awesome turn on the dobro (extreme jealousy). The only complaint that anyone had was that the duo only had one song, but Brian continued with a few covers of his own, and I joined him on stage to throw on some harmonies for "The Weight" by the band, which I did well enough to surprise myself.
I took the stage a second time, and then Anthony, and Rebecca joined me on stage to put some harmonies on "Safe and Sound" by Hawksley Workman.
I thought the night really well. I had hoped for a good mix of Christmas music and original stuff, as long as the overall feel was upbeat, which I think was definitely achieved. Unfortunately, I was the only one to share any stories, which I had also hoped would be a highlight of the evening, and get some non-musical people involved in the night. But the night remained focussed on the music, which is also good, but I think that my story could have used some company.
What was the story? Well, sharing time, again.
So, it's the Amond family Christmas dinner, the Tuesday before I returned to Korea. The family is sitting around the table, eating, and my little cousin Ben says "Oh, I should have brought the game that my family bought, it's a lot of fun".
I said "Oh, what game is that?"
He told me about their new game, called "Things", which involves each player responding to the same question, and then everyone trying to guess the other player's responses, with points being awarded for correct answers. Ben then explained it further using the the example of "Super Powers".
I said (I admit this is a terrible joke) "I bet I know what Chris's superpower would be..." then I looked around "X-ray vision." A pause.
"And I think we all know why."
Dad proved he did know why with his response.
"I've always wanted to be a gynecologist."
And that's where dinner derailed for me.
Then my mom chimes in with an even more appropriate sidenote, "But you would only be able to see two patients a day."
Wow.
Awkward laughter.
And just when I thought it couldn't get any worse, my grandmother puts in her two cents.

Wait for it...

"Well, Gerald, you've always had the hands for it."

Eww.

I lose it. I spend the next ten minutes in a fit of giggles that leaves me red-faced, sweaty, and on the verge of throwing up. I am so hot from embarrassment and laughter that I actually have to mop my face with my napkin. Then, just when I think I am done, I see that my cousin Sean and my aunt Margaret are in the middle of fits of their own. So there I go again...

The open mic was a good night. Unfortunately, Vanessa had to work on Christmas Eve, so we had to call it a night at midnight and head home.