A gig.

Category: dribblings

I play with a worship team (band, whatever I don’t know.) and we played at a church out in Webster’s Chapel called… something. Shut up. I can’t think of it right now. It’s late.

ANYway we get to the place and it’s in one of those spots that got hit by the tornadoes in April 2011. So the land out there is really crazy weird and barren. This church building is new cos the old one was blown away, I guess. It was a super-nice building, big new stage. When we got there and set up our stuff and started to practice a bit to get levels and stuff it was really hard. Things didn’t sound right. I couldn’t hear any vocals. I couldn’t even hear my bass, and I was standing with the amp pointed up at my head. How is this possible?

I was getting irritated. There was a couple of old people milling about and I thought man, if this is the crowd, we are sunk.

After we got things set up as best we could we went to this back room to pray. I don’t know how long we were back there, but it couldn’t have been more than 5 minutes. When we came out there was a ton of people there! Mostly teens. WHERE DID THEY COME FROM? I went to the parking lot to get a piece of chewing gum out of my car and there weren’t any extra cars there. Just ours and 2 others. Did they bus those kids in?

When we played it was still hard to hear, but not the worst I’ve had to deal with. I think also I was thrown off because usually I get to play right next to the drums. I do this not because I love to be next to drums, I actually don’t like loud noises, but I do it so I can watch the drummer’s foot on the pedal. (I am not a musician. I am an artist and I need visual cues. DO NOT JUDGE ME LIKE HOW I JUDGE PEOPLE WITH MOUTHS THAT DON’T MOVE WHEN THEY TALK.) It’s not like I constantly stare at the drummer’s foot all night. I just need it as a security blanket. WHY AM I STILL EXPLAINING THIS?

Anyway, at this gig the drum kit was set up in the corner AND behind a plexiglass shield! What the hell damn guy? How am I supposed to deal with this?!

With quiet dignity and grace. And spearmint chewing gum.

Oh! And I should mention that I was missing my dear friend, Snatchie Onassis’s birthday party. (Worry not, she gave me a cup of fresh hell for missing her party. She’s getting a cool-ass present though.) So there I was all, “Really Lord? I’m here in Uncomfortableville with no pals, no ears, and I’m disappointing my friend, and I’m really thirsty and I could be drinking a beer with pals! What am I doing here?!”

I’m a Terrible Christian™, by the way.

But then, like I said, tons of teens showed up, mysteriously. Do  you think it could’ve been blimps? They blimped them over? I’m going to pretend they came in blimps.

We played and I was a nervous nellie the whole time cos I couldn’t hear well and didn’t want to screw up the songs. But the teens, man, they totally dug it. It was so cool. As soon as we started they jumped right in and was worshiping and jumping and dancing and just being all free and stuff. I was shocked. When I was a teen, I would’ve been in the back, tapping my foot to the music, and trying not to be seen. (Weird, when I’m on stage, I’m in the back, tapping my foot to the music, and trying not to be seen. Way to grow up and mature, Jaimie.)

These kids had no fear. They were so cool.
No kidding, they really impressed me.

Then the pastor gave a message. It was good. He’s a very earnest man.

Then we did ministry time, so we played some more songs and the teens got up and prayed for each other. I don’t know anything of what they were praying for, but at one point this girl near the stage ripped off this ankle brace she was wearing. It made a loud SKRITCH sound cos it was Velcro. That’s what made me look up. I assume her foot was healed?

The reason I have no idea what happened with the ministry time and prayers and such was because during our last song all of a sudden all the teens were gone. So I didn’t get to talk to any of them. They just disappeared. Probably the blimp came back and picked them up.

On the way home I decided that I was really glad I skipped the party and got to play for those teens. They were great.

It was a good thing, and I hope we get to do it again sometime.

I can’t believe I’m saying that.

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