Post by tiller2 on Mar 9, 2020 14:27:25 GMT -5
This afternoon, I’m basking in the afterglow of yesterday’s “2020 March on Washington” jam, held in my backyard in Northwest DC, under a white tent and a cloudless blue sky.
We had to make a quick decision on where to hold it—or if at all—a few days ago, when the manager of our venue for the past four years emailed me that the venerable Electric Maid has been getting a new floor and electrical fixes and the work was unfinished; in short, they canceled us.
Any thought that I might cancel the jam was brushed away by my wife, Daphne, who knew the good weather forecast and said, “The world needs the positivity.” So, the message went out: the jam is on!
About twenty players and singers arrived in our backyard—down from the 30 people who signed up, some of whom pulled out in dribs and drabs over the winter. Fortunately, our hardy score of warriors were talented and enthusiastic, including former FDPer’s mroulier, Grizbear, wrxplayer, Diplostrat, and SteveCarlo.
Newbies included two terrific female singers, Jo and Lisa, who delivered hard rock as well as pop leads. Sharing the load with General of Drumming Grizbear and 2nd year multi-instrumentalist Josh were two new percussionists; one was Amelia, wrxplayer’s 16yo granddaughter, who played some conga drums and sang stylish leads, including a duet with her granddad.
Spouses and other guests did their part by singing background vocals—as did everyone, in fact—and adding sonic dimensions with shakers, tambourines, and cowbell.
Anyone who’s attended Clamfest or the “March on DC” knows that the rehearsal-free performances are not about perfection but about going for broke and sometimes having magic happen. Yesterday saw many excellent efforts and not a few magical moments. Crisp and dynamic drumming, lots of solid rhythm and bass guitar and some terrific lead playing (hat tip, wrxplayer, SteveCarlo, and mroulier). Lead male vocalists, Gman, mroulier, and our local Steve Berg commanded the mic with flair. The "Brass Knuckle Horns" was composed of just two saxophones this year, but they hit their Motown and other licks hard. We also had three solid keys players, a luxury.
Between 1 and 5:30 PM, we roared through about 40 songs, with just one that, to paraphrase Gman, “fell down the stairs” and through the floor at a key transition; but it was a medley, which is perhaps too ambitious for the format. Standout songs included “A Crazy Little Thing Called Love,” “Wagon Wheel,” “Psycho Killer,” “Gimme Shelter,” “Keep on Rockin' in the Free World,” and the closer “Heroes” featuring everybody.
Signing out,
Andrew aka tiller2
We had to make a quick decision on where to hold it—or if at all—a few days ago, when the manager of our venue for the past four years emailed me that the venerable Electric Maid has been getting a new floor and electrical fixes and the work was unfinished; in short, they canceled us.
Any thought that I might cancel the jam was brushed away by my wife, Daphne, who knew the good weather forecast and said, “The world needs the positivity.” So, the message went out: the jam is on!
About twenty players and singers arrived in our backyard—down from the 30 people who signed up, some of whom pulled out in dribs and drabs over the winter. Fortunately, our hardy score of warriors were talented and enthusiastic, including former FDPer’s mroulier, Grizbear, wrxplayer, Diplostrat, and SteveCarlo.
Newbies included two terrific female singers, Jo and Lisa, who delivered hard rock as well as pop leads. Sharing the load with General of Drumming Grizbear and 2nd year multi-instrumentalist Josh were two new percussionists; one was Amelia, wrxplayer’s 16yo granddaughter, who played some conga drums and sang stylish leads, including a duet with her granddad.
Spouses and other guests did their part by singing background vocals—as did everyone, in fact—and adding sonic dimensions with shakers, tambourines, and cowbell.
Anyone who’s attended Clamfest or the “March on DC” knows that the rehearsal-free performances are not about perfection but about going for broke and sometimes having magic happen. Yesterday saw many excellent efforts and not a few magical moments. Crisp and dynamic drumming, lots of solid rhythm and bass guitar and some terrific lead playing (hat tip, wrxplayer, SteveCarlo, and mroulier). Lead male vocalists, Gman, mroulier, and our local Steve Berg commanded the mic with flair. The "Brass Knuckle Horns" was composed of just two saxophones this year, but they hit their Motown and other licks hard. We also had three solid keys players, a luxury.
Between 1 and 5:30 PM, we roared through about 40 songs, with just one that, to paraphrase Gman, “fell down the stairs” and through the floor at a key transition; but it was a medley, which is perhaps too ambitious for the format. Standout songs included “A Crazy Little Thing Called Love,” “Wagon Wheel,” “Psycho Killer,” “Gimme Shelter,” “Keep on Rockin' in the Free World,” and the closer “Heroes” featuring everybody.
On a technical level, the jam was the best yet in DC. The setup crew did a superior job with PA and we had multiple monitors so the performers could hear themselves—not always the case in past jams. Catering worked out well with sandwiches from the deli and plenty of choice beverages (thanks, Josh, for the Toki); and not forgetting the chili dinner Daphne prepared for the out-of-town participants the night before.
At the end of the day, our newbies asked to be asked back. Amelia, the teenager, told her mom, "I didn't know there were grownups like this" (which I think was a compliment). Our regulars seemed pleased.
So today, after taking down the tent, the jam commander claims an afternoon of doing very little. However, I will issue one more order to our participants: Give ourselves a collective pat on the back! And thank you to the many who helped make this a great event, especially Gman and Daphne! And for those of you at Moe’s who might want to get in on this jam in 2021, give me a shout and I’ll put you on the email list.
Andrew aka tiller2