I think that's spelled right.
Last night Foz and Dan and Patrick opened the weekly comedy open mic at Cole's with a blazing six-song set to warm the room for Cameron Esposito and the comics.
Must admit it sounded better in practice, but the crowd seemed to appreciate it, assuming the laughing was intended as a gesture of appreciation. The good thing about our set is that we have some reliable hits that draw enthusiastic responses whether we're on top of our game or not. By that I mean With Drunk Astronauts, of course. Then last night we brought Cameron up with Downhome Christmastime, which is an easy song to play right.
We still need to find the right groove for Nasty Snowman, but it will come around. Mother Russia was finally too fast, which I didn't think was possible. All the instruments kept up pretty well, but Ole Foz couldn't sing the words fast enough, and even if I had sung up to tempo it would have been too tough for the audience to understand the lyrics. So we'll probably have to draw the song down to a more relaxed 180 beats per minute.
Which brings us to Grinch Karaoke v.2. We knew this was a good idea after last week's unexpected success. This week, with just a little bit of planning, the bit blew the roof off the room. The credit goes to the comics, who each took the mic for one stanza, and gave some magnificent and inspired interpretations of the Dr. Seuss classic. The best readings I could hear came from Cameron and from Chris Condron. Maybe I heard Mo Welch? The piano faces away from the mic, so I couldn't really tell who all got up, but they all deserve credit for making Grinch Karaoke about the best time I've had playing Cole's open mic.
Unfortunately, Foz will miss next week's open mic as I will be in Kansas City to see my folks and my kid sister. Patrick and Dan might play themselves, though. We are nothing if not versatile.
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Congratulations for breaking the speed barrier with Mother Russia! As always, I wish I could have been there. Just to say I knew you when...where "when" is defined as "when you had no idea how to play the keyboard."
ReplyDeleteMany thanks to Foz the Hook for bringing performance diversity and awesome energy to Cole's...the inclusive nature of the evening sets the Cole's open mic apart and you guys really contribute a ton to the show.
ReplyDeleteOther karaokers included Natalie Jose, Ryan Walker, Jim Zeikis, and Jerry Somebody (it was his first time at Cole's and I don't remember his last name).
Can't wait to see you upon your Chicago return.
Oh, yes! Natalie went first, which took a lot of moxie. Performing a song live is just easier when you get to hear it at least once.
ReplyDeleteYes, Jeff knew me before I knew how to play keys, but I must assert that even then I did know how to play air-powered toy organ about as well as that instrument can be played.
ReplyDeleteFor Fozfriends who have not yet expanded their worldview to include Bobby and the Chuxx ( http://www.myspace.com/bobbythechuxx ), the correspondent whom we shall call "Jeff" is actually Chuxx bass player thos. e., the lyricist for the Chuxx/Foz anthem "With Drunk Astronauts."