This has been the best St. Patrick's Day for several reasons.
1. Ian split the band into two groups here and there, so we were able to play for many more pubs than usual, and still be done by 9:00 pm. We played 12 times for pubs.
2. We only have two hours of church now (9:00-11:00) and tune-up wasn't until 11:30, so I was able to go to all of church (wearing my kilt) and still show up on time for tuning.
3. Nick was in charge of Group 2, and he was very tired, so tuning was short and chill. We played maybe 2 sets and were done.
4. I played solo for Highland Cathedral FOUR TIMES! I VOLUNTEERED! Don't know where this self-confidence is coming from. Meditation, perhaps? I did very well, too.
5. We had Janelle (learning pipes) and her sister Annie (learning tenor drum) selling T-shirts and collecting donations. We took in over $4600! One guy bought $200 worth of T-shirts!
6. Janelle and Annie also were bouncers, keeping drunk customers away from the pipers and drummers. Annie, especially, was very effective!
A few things were detrimental.
1. My hip was giving me problems (arthritis) so any walking was painful
2. Trevor had to go to a setting-apart for his brother being called to a bishopric in Provo, so Group 1 was short a piper for 3 hours, and I transferred from Group 2 to Group 1 to fill in the gap. I never transferred back to Group 2 due to people wearing out early
3. My pipe case got left in Dan's truck when I switched to Group 1, and I still haven't gotten it back.
4. I also had my music, my practice chanter, and my car keys in my pipe case.
A few funny things happened. Here's one:
1. While playing at The Leprechaun, always loud and crowded, I was standing behind an elderly gentleman and playing right into his ear. After the first set, I leaned down and apologized for playing so close to his ear. He said, "That's OK. I took my hearing aid out before you came in!" That got a laugh from the table and neighboring pipers. When we were ready to move on, I clapped him on the shoulder and told him he could put his hearing aid back in again. That was good for another laugh.
No comments:
Post a Comment