Viva la Vestibule - Fat Albert's Part II

When I walked into the Steelworkers Union Hall, all the musicians were standing around in the lobby.

Someone explained that there'd been a mix-up and the space usually reserved for Fat Albert's Coffeehouse had been double-booked. This was the first time it'd happened since Fat's had found a new home in the Union Hall after being forced out of the church basement.

Undeterred, several musicians entered into talks with the Union and successfully negotiated a settlement. We'd head down the hall to a different room than usual which could be sub-divided, allowing music and committee meetings to co-exist on either side of the wall. The room thereby divided, we all got to work re-organizing the moveable risers and unstacking the stackable chairs.

Of course, I hadn't seen the room that Fat Albert's usually used, so it was all the same to me.

The show started efficiently, making up for the delay. A few performers took the stage, including one who did an abridged version of Bruce Cockburn's "Mama Just Wants to Barrelhouse All Night Long". Then water started dripping, then pouring, from the ceiling.

A couple of big plastic garbage cans were strategically placed, saving the sound equipment, but it was no use. The room was a mess...a result, we learned later, of someone leaving a faucet on in the kitchen upstairs.

At this point I put on my coat.

Sure, I wanted to see the wise and wonderful Sam Larkin and his new band The Boxcutters (Don Kerr, Eric Newby and Doug Friesen) who were featuring that night. But I'd avoided Fat Albert's on much thinner excuses before.

"It's okay, everybody. We'll play in the lobby!"

It was Mary, an energetic and motherly-looking woman who appeared to be organizing things. Sure enough, everyone grabbed a chair and we headed down the hall: a diverse-looking group of musicians and music-appreciators, ranging in age from about three years old (the granddaughter of one of the performers) to seventy-something.

Hmm. Did somebody mention a vestibule? Maybe I'll stick around.

The stage was established on a landing three steps down from the audience. We'd play without amplification (some people were worried, but I knew that the tiled walls would work fine). We looked up, not down, at the audience made of each other--and it felt respectful and completely appropriate.

Musicians played original songs in styles ranging from (and mixing together) blues to country to contemporary folk. (I played my new song "Pennies" and another new song called "Everything and Everyone I Have Ever Loved" which I realize is probably too long a title now that I type it out.) Other performers gave us heartfelt renditions of "You Fill Up My Senses" and "Landslide" and "What a Wonderful World". One performer (who goes by the name "Madame X") played another performer's song on unaccompanied pennywhistle. Sam Larkin and his new band were captivating and impressive--especially so when Sam revealed it was their first performance together.

I was happy to be drinking coffee at an open stage, instead of wine.

I stayed to the end.

And I'll be back.