Tonight's the Night

I survived the trip to Ottawa with no incidents caused by songwriting en route.

The gig was good. Quiet, but good. (A lot of life is like that.)

I wrote three half-songs on the trip, and have started and finished two more this week. This writing streak (which has been going on for about a month) is getting out-of-hand, but it sure is fun. Every day, I wonder "what song is going to drop by today?" as if they were strange and interesting relatives. I keep feeding them.

My most recent song--the one I was so excited about I had to go play last night even though I hadn't quite memorized the words--is a tribute to Neil Young. (We recently saw "Heart of Gold", his concert film directed by Jonathan Demme.) It's fun to write a tribute song. I told myself I had to write pretty much in the Neil Young style, without plagiarizing anything. It worked out pretty well I think. Plus, I got to mention Winnipeg.

I wrote it on Tuesday, and figured I'd play it Wednesday night...and then I had an attack of the mysterious stage-fright vapours, consisting partly of a feeling of genuine illness combined with a sudden urge to nap. (I know from experience that if I'm actually ill, the best thing for me to do is go out and sing--it basically cures anything--but the napping/escape instinct can be even more powerful than this self-awareness.)

So, I was all set to say "nah, I'm staying home tonight" when I walked into the kitchen where Dave was playing Classic Rock radio.

Neil Young came on, singing "Tonight's The Night".

So I changed back out of my pj's and took the guitar out to the car.

As it turned out, it was also a night I'd see two friends I hadn't seen (or in one case, heard) for too long. Good thing I listened.