For us land-lubbers, being by the water is always unsettling experience. Seriously, you could drown!
For those who boat, it is obviously second nature to be around the water. Give them a pond, a lake or an ocean, and they have attained blissful peace.
Carl and I have realized that a long time ago.
That being said, to witness the entire experience first-hand is something else.
Boaters are happy all of the time. I have said that over and over again. The reason, I believe is that they are simply around water; and that is all that they need.
It can’t be the music. (Come on, we both know that.)
It could be Bumper’s Landing, the place.
It could be that.
Everyone seems to be happy when we arrive. Smiles and laughter, dining and drinking. I guess, what’s not to love?
And so it was on Saturday last, at 6:00 Pm when we played the first song of the night. Still having some equipment issues that we have as of yet to iron out.
We began tentatively, but soon loosened up full throttle.
Even though it was our first of four or five sets of the night, we didn’t really care to take it slow. After all, it really doesn’t matter what speed we begin at, the boating crowd usually dictates the course and acceleration of the evening.
Everything was going according to the well laid out plan we have in place since our very first time at Bumper’s: Just show up and hold on!
Yep, that’s our plan.
The crowd gives us lots of input as to what direction they feel comfortable exploring. The requests were flying, and the gear was co-operating, so things were all good on this evening.
We talked with more new people during our first two breaks. People that had seen us before, but most who had not. We received lot’s of great compliments. That is always nice. We gathered requests, we discussed music choices, and pretty much just mingled.
Happy people are easy to mingle with. We want to spread the good cheer that we share of Bumper’s as much as we can. This place has been very good to us.
Our third set was more dancing and moving music. We got everyone going by then, and it was apparent that they loved every minute of it.
We even had a guest singer come in and regal the crowd with a couple of his favorites: The Dock Of The Bay, and For What It’s Worth. Great job, Dan!
By the last couple of short sets, everyone was ready to quiet things down for the evening. Still talking, still drinking, but a little less energy made for the right time to “mellow out”.
Perfect for us. We know that putting in those many hours of playing is so rewarding at Bumper’s, since we always get positive feedback throughout our show.
We also know that these people would be happy, no matter what we did. As long as they have their water, the’ll be fine.
Happiness in life is truly hard to find. We find it at Bumper’s Landing, every time we arrive!
Rb
