It’s getting worse. Lots of live music around Valencia if you search for it, but nothing open to just anyone to get up and play – at least not this weekend, as the jams seem to be more like the Monday and/or Tuesday.
So last night I decided to check out El Loco club for some live music, of some kind of tribute band. It was a nice walk over through the center of the city through the beautiful buildings of the downtown area. But once I got there I discovered it cost 15 euros to go in to hear the band. Through the front doors the music sounded no better than what I’d heard at the Black Note, and the crowd looked about a third the size. Yeah, like who wants to play 15 euros for a halfassed tribute band? Not me. I decided that I would return to my hotel and continue playing for myself.
Thing is, I cannot go through this trip without playing at least SOMEWHERE in Valencia, and I have only one more dreary night to find a venue. So I decided to practice “It’s All Over Now, Baby Blue,” by Bob Dylan. This is a song I usually do with the cap on the second fret. But I’ve noticed in recent times that I end up losing my voice on it quite often. So I decided to give it a try with no capo. I seemed to be able to handle the highs and lows, but I’m far from satisfied. In fact, this video I took of myself in my hotel room last night in Valencia was the first take, and I made a mess of some of my favorite lines, and a mess of some of the rhythm and a mess of the filming, I find there are far too many Dylanesque inflections in my voice – ie, I haven’t made it entirely mine yet – but since this is a blog and I profess to be amateur as far as music goes, and I defend that since I’m looking for places around the world where any amateur can play, I’ve decided to put the video up at the risk of embarrassment. I mean, this is the first race ever where I have failed to find a place to play – no, I still have tonight and Monday morning. Perhaps I’ll do a video of me singing in the shower on Monday…okay, I’ll spare you that one.