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It’s not everyday you have the opportunity to serenade a bunch of university students on Halloween night, but this year was the exception as I performed at the Madison piano bar. Doing 3 sets – 1^st set piano, 2^nd set guitar, 3^rd set piano again, it was a mish mash of popular songs with Halloween spirited songs in between – classics (Thriller), to newer classics (Backstreets Back – by backstreet boys..uh yes that’s correct). In between songs, I’d see weird costumes (aka Mexican Polish dancers?) and break right into ‘La Bamba’. By the end of the night, my brain was fried on the adrenaline and the fact that I’d done 4 shows straight leading up to this crazy party. All I heard was the crowd chant “1 more song” in my sleep that night. A splendid time was had by all.

It’s interesting when someone hears you perform at one place, and then invites you for an event at their peers place (based on what they’ve seen and heard). That’s not what happened with Kelsey’s Restaurant, but it kinda did. Basically a peer from a Fionn MacCools location told a peer at a Kelsey’s Restaurant location about myself and they invited me to their location for a ‘one-off’ show (as part of new venture in live music). It was a modern roadhouse, and the staff and patrons gave a number of requests that were as Canadian as Swiss Chalet (Blue Rodeo) and Harvey’s (Barenaked Ladies)…except it was at a Kelsey’s. Off to the next show: Taxi! 

My “Back to Work to Rule School Tour” started September 1^st and finishes Oct. 3rd, just before thanksgiving weekend (pubs, clubs, parties, fairs, all over the GTA). As I’m performing new setlists, and songmashes, I can help but think that if the Toronto Blue Jays keeps on winning, my shows will start later and later (pass the redbull). But that’s okay, cause as they keep winning games, the crowds keep getting more feisty, more aggressive more demanding, and completely more unpredictable with requests (which makes it fun for a guy like me).  To appease the masses, and the new generational gap of boomers – GenXY – Millennials, I have added mashes to everything – meaning – all modern songs from today go back to 1980s music “instrumentally”, but the actual “chords” go back to 1970’s classic rock progressions. What i mean is ‘Taylor Swift’s “Welcome to New York” is musically – The Who’s Baba O’Riely with Depeche Mode as the backup band. I’m seeing it more and more, and my upcoming shows will start adapting the ‘mash’ effect to make this musical link to appease the Millennials and the GenX,Y Boomers. Here’s a sample setlist;