Yesterday was not only a long day of gigging, but I found myself in two separate heated arguments with people.
I headed to Sparks street to set up my gear outside the CIBC bank in the early evening and when I got there, there was no one around to direct me where to set up or plug in. I stuck my head in at the bank to see if they knew anything. A guy came over but before I could ask him, he firmly told me the bank was closed. I started to explain who I was looking for, but he kept insisting they were closed, that he couldn't help me and he seemed really agitated, so I said all right, never mind. As I turned away, I could hear him mutter something and that set me off a bit. I turned back and said, excuse me? He looked at me and I asked him if he said something else. He replied that I was a f**king idiot. I could tell he was pretty annoyed, but another bank employee came over, and while she didn't have any more details about the event, she was civilized about it (and later apologized on his behalf).
The event itself was a lot of fun. It was a car cruise and people drove their vintage cars along Sparks Street, people posed with the cars for photos, and I saw a few familiar faces.
Then I made my way to Fat Tuesday's for my third and final gig of the evening. There was a big group of about 30 there celebrating an engagement and the group's host asked to get up and say a few words before we started playing, which was fine. At first, they were really fun, singing along, tipping well, and dancing, but after our first break I noticed my monitor was broken. I took some time to try to fix it, even finding a screwdriver and pliers from someone's car to try to repair it. I'd flipped it on it's side and was working on it when the host of the group (who'd had too much to drink) started hovering over me, nagging me to get back and perform and threatening to leave if I didn't start playing right away.
I tried to keep calm and explain that I would love to, but needed to repair the speaker to get the sound working, but it was pretty hopeless, so I just ignored him as he continued, telling me how much money he made at his job while all I did was play the piano. He started pestering my drummer next and that was the last straw. Perhaps it was the long day that pushed me over the edge, but I hopped over the railing and told him to back off. He yelled at me that I was crazy, reminding me that they'd spent a lot of money there (as if this was an excuse to treat people badly), but they were escorted out the the bar, and quickly replaced by other people, in better moods, having a great time.
Most of the time, I think people would say I'm non-confrontational, a people pleaser and aim to just entertain people and accommodate even those people who've had a bit too much to drink. After years of playing though, there are just some moments when you have to stand up for yourself. I was thinking over my night last night, and also that Tom Petty recently played in nearby Toronto and Montreal. I also played this song last night, and it seemed fitting to play it again for today's song of the day. So here is my version of Won't Back Down by Tom Petty.
I headed to Sparks street to set up my gear outside the CIBC bank in the early evening and when I got there, there was no one around to direct me where to set up or plug in. I stuck my head in at the bank to see if they knew anything. A guy came over but before I could ask him, he firmly told me the bank was closed. I started to explain who I was looking for, but he kept insisting they were closed, that he couldn't help me and he seemed really agitated, so I said all right, never mind. As I turned away, I could hear him mutter something and that set me off a bit. I turned back and said, excuse me? He looked at me and I asked him if he said something else. He replied that I was a f**king idiot. I could tell he was pretty annoyed, but another bank employee came over, and while she didn't have any more details about the event, she was civilized about it (and later apologized on his behalf).
The event itself was a lot of fun. It was a car cruise and people drove their vintage cars along Sparks Street, people posed with the cars for photos, and I saw a few familiar faces.
Then I made my way to Fat Tuesday's for my third and final gig of the evening. There was a big group of about 30 there celebrating an engagement and the group's host asked to get up and say a few words before we started playing, which was fine. At first, they were really fun, singing along, tipping well, and dancing, but after our first break I noticed my monitor was broken. I took some time to try to fix it, even finding a screwdriver and pliers from someone's car to try to repair it. I'd flipped it on it's side and was working on it when the host of the group (who'd had too much to drink) started hovering over me, nagging me to get back and perform and threatening to leave if I didn't start playing right away.
I tried to keep calm and explain that I would love to, but needed to repair the speaker to get the sound working, but it was pretty hopeless, so I just ignored him as he continued, telling me how much money he made at his job while all I did was play the piano. He started pestering my drummer next and that was the last straw. Perhaps it was the long day that pushed me over the edge, but I hopped over the railing and told him to back off. He yelled at me that I was crazy, reminding me that they'd spent a lot of money there (as if this was an excuse to treat people badly), but they were escorted out the the bar, and quickly replaced by other people, in better moods, having a great time.
Most of the time, I think people would say I'm non-confrontational, a people pleaser and aim to just entertain people and accommodate even those people who've had a bit too much to drink. After years of playing though, there are just some moments when you have to stand up for yourself. I was thinking over my night last night, and also that Tom Petty recently played in nearby Toronto and Montreal. I also played this song last night, and it seemed fitting to play it again for today's song of the day. So here is my version of Won't Back Down by Tom Petty.