April 10 , 2003 - Druid Pub - Cambridge, MA (Henning Solo)
HENNING: Time for my first solo gig in the Boston area. I'd never been to the Druid Pub before, had you? Lesa, Kelly, and I drove down the Mass Pike listening to all my favorite songs. At times, we were singing along at full volume. "The waaaaaaai-ting is the hardest part." Suddenly we are circling the block looking for parking and I am quickly remembering why I don't live in a real city. The Druid is warm inside and we meet Lesa's sister, Judy, and the ladies order some food. Meanwhile, the rest of the boys show up with equipment and we load in to the teeny corner provided for us. Soon, we, too are eating. Excellent chicken pot pie and french fries like they'll serve in heaven. My family shows up, I take the stage, the crowd remains the crowd. I try to break the ice and do ok. It feels good to play like this, here, now. The sound system is working. I'm playing the peppy numbers. Nobody sings along to Photobooth, but they do during Screendoor. There is almost one lady dancing. My brother, N, has the coolest cell phone you've seen. That's it there in the first picture. Later, in the corner of the room, Jeff is teaching me how to use his digital camera. There's a picture he sent me. Third down from the top. Lo Fine fills the room with lush familiar music. Lesa and Kelly sing along to every word. BRIAN: Yee, the Druid. The Thursdays in this Lo Fine residency are open to the public, free admission. So, it's a general public crowd. Adavantage: you get a packed house. Disadvantage: 70% of the people are there to drink and talk. But Ning warmed the crowd up just fine, thank you. By the end of his 40 minute solo set, most folks were laughing at his jokes and applauding enthusiatically. I thought he did a great job, and well, it's a treat to see, since I can't just go to Open Mic anymore and see solo Ning. Would you believe the whole Ohlenbusch clan was there? That's a lot of letters to fit into a small Irish pub!! I hope the smokey atmosphere wasn't too much. Lo Fine's set afterwards also, for the most part, conquored the loud crowd. As usual, I was stuffed into the 6 square inches of space I'm allotted at the Druid, so I just closed my eyes and got into a meditative state--playing with Lo Fine is as good and cleansing as an hour of meditation. But lemme backtrack to the whole show-biz part of the night. I rofde with Kevin to this gig, digging the sunset behind us on the pike. Ning arrived minutes ahead of us, and Mark/Bruce/Thane arrived almost simultaniously (this is what happens when you've known your partners for a while). Lo Fine were scheduled to meet Jeff Breeze of Northeast Performer and a staff photographer to have our picture taken for their cover (I think). It's very difficult to find parking near the Druid. When I saw Jeff, I said "you did reserve parking for us, didn't you?" and just at that second a guy in a Saab backed out of the spot right in front of the Druid. I ran in and got Kevin, and he backed right in from his unloading spot. We ordered dinner (fish and chips, me). The music as always, was great. Joni Mitchell, Elvis Costello, The Scorpions (?) (that was the end of the night, get the hell out, we're closing music)..... Then the paprazzi moved in, and I was photographed eating fish and chips from many different angles. Also, outside, in the freezing cold, sitting at a bus stop. The photographer had a little difficulty with this shy band. But, she did say I was like a model, in the way that I kept changing poses and expressions. We'll credit the Steamtrain for that skill. I also decided to dress up a bit, to make up for my "I woke up early and worked all day" state of mind. So, folks at the club were eyeing us as we were sitting at out booths, getting rolls of pictures taken. I told the boys now, "you're embarassed now, but this could one day be looked back upon as the "good ol' days".