It’s about the music.
And, the people.
Ok, so it’s about the music and the people. So on an afternoon in July that could have turned for the worse at absolutely any moment, it was the music and the people that saved us.
Well, saved us might be a stretch.
What I meant was, that sometimes during the year, as entertainers, things become rote at some point; especially when you play at the same venue for a long period of time.
But the people always seem to save us at Bumper’s Landing. Nothing is ever what we think that it will be; and above all, it is NEVER boring!
Anyone who visits for very long there eventually makes the same comment, “This is a great place to people watch!”
Ah, yes it is.
You can see people from all walks of life there. All having a wonderful time, just relaxing and being themselves. Or, who they want to be. (for a little while).
So, as the sky threatened trouble, we ignored it all, and were rewarded with another wonderful, memorable evening but the water.
Looking to begin with a little twist on our usual first set selections, we began with some, ah, usual Jimmy Buffett; but then veered off in a totally different direction.
Someone in mentioned to us how since the last time they were there, they asked us to play some Lyle Lovett, and we said that we would try and learn some, and of course, now there were calling us out on it.
Ah, but Carl did learn some Lyle Lovett, and was all ready to go with it. And, you know what, it was really good, too.
Just another example of how people will always surprise you.
Like I said, the clouds were threatening, and of course, the local and national weather experts, all to a man,(or woman), said that it was going to rain.
Long story short . . . nope. It didn’t rain. Didn’t snow and it mostly didn’t hurricane.
So, we forged ahead.
You must understand that at this point, everyone kinda leaves the final decision to us. If we get to Bumper’s we know that most everyone comes to be by the water. So, playing inside, though nice, is just not the same.
We start out by the water, and know that if anything becomes wet, we can always move inside. It’s a lot more work, but then again anything in life that is worthwhile is a lot like that.
People with lots of smiles usually await us here. Since we have been entertaining at Bumper’s for more than three years, we know most of the regulars by now. That makes most of the smiles every more rewarding.
A perfect example of that would be Mike and Jessica. While not regulars, they were something new and different on this rare Friday night. Mike was signing up boaters to be part of the Guinness world record attempt at the Muscamoot bay raft-off on August 11th.
Back to the music, Carl and I have been doing all we can to integrate new, (old), songs into our nights. We spend all week working on them individually, and then put them together in front of the audience.
It works most of the time.
Tonight, we played several new songs for the first time, with mixed results. We played some Lyle Lovett, some Neil Diamond and some DeBarge.
Just about then, the strolling lady rhythm section arrived to thoroughly entertain everyone, including ourselves.
They danced, they shook and they rhythm their way into everyone’s hearts.
Great fun.
But on this interesting night, the most memorial song was an old Mexican folk song that was turned into a huge hit, way back in the fifties, by a man named, Richie Valens.
A young lady requested La Bamba, just at the right time, as the dance floor was hopping. Playing that timeless hit put things into another gear all together.
It’s the kind of thing that happens most every night here, and why we say, that it is never boring.
It was another fun, fun evening by the lake.
We can count on a lot of things when we are going to play there, but one of them is not boredom.
The weather, the people and the music all have the effect of putting the patrons in a great mood. It is the perfect tonic for what ails ya.
If you missed it, you should know that it would have been even better if you were there. This is that classic summer that we will look back fondly on for years to come.
Don’t let it slip away . . . .
Rb
