Luc Normand: Calendar

Congratulations to Bill & Shannon.

A surprise visit from four wonderful lady co-workers added a little spark to what would normally have been a quiet Labour Day Weekend gig (typically very slow). Instead, the night went extremely well and was peppered with playful bantering and non-stop requests.

After showcasing a few originals I also sold a few CDs so all in all, it was a good night all around.

Thanks to Darlene, Adelaide, Mac & Sheila and a nod also goes out to Raz and Natalie. Thanks for the encouragement!

A last minute stand-in gig that went very well. I was late getting there to begin with due to prior commitments and on top of that I had to battle the house sound system as it decided to be a little finicky tonight.

I knew that a late start would mean a late finish, and sure enough, I started at 9:45 and they kept me up there until after 2:15am.

It was a packed house for the first two sets and then a few boisterous tables for the third that kept me flyin' from one tune to the next.

But the highlight of the night was that my wife brought our three kids for most of the first set. I could tell they were tired and most of them held out, though my youngest did pass out eventually. Hope he and his siblings have musical dreams tonight.

The weather held out (forecast was for thurnderstorms all afternoon) and a respectable crowd came out for a rainy, muggy day. I performed four songs (Something on my Mind, I Wish I was a Fly, Sure Reminds Me, and Chime in the Breeze) sandwiched between such diversely ethnic acts that I truly stuck out like a sore thumb. Funny, being the "Token Canadian" in a "Canadian-Hosted" multicultural show, showed me that we do indeed have ethnicity.

It was great to be there, it was a great show put on by some very kind and giving people, and attended by a very friendly and supportive crowd. Very well done indeed.

Once I hear back how much they managed to raise, I will post the results here.

***UPDATE: Congratulations to the NCAO organizers and volunteers. They exceeded last year's total by 50% coming in at just over $9000 in cash and food donations for the Food Bank. Full details here.

All in all a very good night. It was all a bit of an adjustment for me; playing downtown, playing on a patio (for the first time in over a decade), being squeezed in a fairly tight spot (plenty of space for the patrons though... which is a good thing), and a very transient crowd due to the location.

Each set, I had a brand new audience which meant many songs were requested multiple times. Also, the performance times (7 - 11pm) were a bit of a change. By the time they cut me off (for by-law reasons) I was just getting warmed up.

I've got to say, I want to go back there as a customer! The food looked and smelled absolutely fabulous. One fellow chowed down on a pizza all by his lonesome directly in front of me (pausing ever so briefly between bites to play air guitar and air drums to the tunes I was playing). I thought maybe I'd be able to wrangle one delicious piece of that pizza in exchange for a song request but to mine and my stomach's great disappointment, he ate the whole thing. Can't say I blame him.

It's a nice little spot. Definitely worth dropping in if you're in the area. You might even catch one of my shows there. If the response of the crowd and staff are any indication, looks like they might ask me back.

I certainly hope so.

This was a last-minute booking to cover for an act that didn't pan out. For a night before a Senators Stanley Cup game, I expected a quiet evening.

Boy, was I wrong! The first two sets were played to a packed (and receptive house). The third set was basically an extension of the second because I'd already been playing for about an hour and a half non-stop when my voice finally gave me the "take a break now or I'm walkin' out on you" warning. But it's hard to do that when there's about twenty people crammed on the non-existent dance floor and the rest of the crowd whooping it up and singing along.

Thankfully, they were gracious enough to give me a quick breather and back up I went for another solid hour. What a night though. Much fun to be had by all and certainly plenty to look at off-stage. Lots of pretty girls and young clowns trying to impress them. A handful of them did a very admirable job of it too... until the tab came (yikes)!

Several birthdays were celebrated... Patrick (happy birthday big guy!) and a fellow named Scott turned 55. There were others but I didn't catch the names.

Many flashes were going off throughout the night. If you were there and took some photos, send them to me (see "Contact' page) and I'll post them here.

Yet another great night. Gotta love when the requests come in fast and furious... And furious they were... when you combine my hearing loss (you knew I was a drummer, didn't you? If not, read my Bio) with a loud and boisterous crowd, you've really gotta yell to get my attention. I suggested that writing ones' request on a twenty dollar bill would be a surefire way of getting my attention... alas... no one felt particularly compelled to test out that theory.

It strikes me as odd that I've been playing at the Mow now for several years and night after night it's a different crowd. Oh, of course the regulars are there but you'd think I'd begin to see familiar faces by now. It's something the fine bar staff have noticed, perhaps not to the same extent, but it certainly is a transient crowd.

In such cases, it's difficult to cultivate a following for my original material. The standards I play, well, they do just fine no matter who's in the place; but, pulling out something they've never heard doesn't seem to fly so well. All this to say, I've played The 'Other' Easter Bunny Song live now for almost 15 years and there are only two times I've played it where I not only didn't receive any applause, but not even so much as a snicker.

Both of these have occured at the Mow. Guess I'll have to find myself a Coffee House somewhere and try my originals there.

I knew this would be a tough show to do, what with coming down from the craziness that was the week before (see March 17 below); but it was actually quite nice. As expected, the crowd was pretty thin what with all those folks probably still nursing hangovers. Still, a nice evening had by all.

A Frenchman singin' on St. Patrick's Day??? Actually, I'd been called in by special request to help close off the night after a full evening of pipers and fine Irish entertainment. And fine entertainment it was! Lorne Daley and his crew whipped up the crowd into such a frenzy that the encores lasted until well after 11:00. No complaints from me. I'll be the last person ever to kick a Good Ol' Irish Band off the stage.

But they did eventually pack up and I was left alone with me twelve string to spin some musical yarns for the fine folk at the Mow. Wasn't hard to do. I gotta say, I sound a heck of a lot better when every last person in the bar is tanked.

The dance floor had already been cleared before I started and, even on a night like this, I'm still surprised how people can dance to just the trusty old 12-string n' me.

Once the George Thorogood, the Eagles, Bare Naked Ladies and, of course, Don McLean had been given their salutes, every other song was met with hoots, hollers and applause. Then two young ladies decided they really liked each other and exchanged a kiss (to the thunderous approval of every lad in the place) right there in front of me. Well... the rest of the night played out like one of those "Girls Gone Wild" videos (which I've never seen but you get more than enough of an idea from their commercials).

It was gettin' pretty close to 3 in the morning when one of the bouncers came and thanked me for my efforts, which I took to meaning he was encouraging me to keep going, so I did.

But he came back.

Seems he had a different kind of request...

Then the house lights came on and we all went home safely. One or two needed assistance from our friendly neighbourhood police officers but that's another story.

All I can say is: "I FROZE MY NUT OFF!!!" (...the 'Nut' is the white bar thingie at the top of the neck of the guitar that holds the strings in place.) While everyone else in the place was toasty warm (thanks to multiple roaring fireplaces), myself and a few die-hard fans near the stage were at the wrong end of the thermometer. Seems the seams on the patio doors (right by the stage) have no weather shield left in them. The cold February minus 26 wind was dancing its way "up me knickers" and playing "havoc with my fingers"... which might be fodder for a new country song...

But what a great night!!! Freezing aside, I played to a full house of highly interactive music lovers. Great fun all around. Big thanks to Monty & Susan; Claude, Lise & Aline; Deborah & Frank & friends; as well as my travelling fanclub: The Lowreys!!!

I learned one important lesson last night: Don't ever play Weird Al's version of American Pie (The Saga Begins) in front of a predominantly Baby-Boomer audience... I should have known it equates to blasphemy! ;-)

Looking forward to next month's gig...!

Wow! That felt good! Quite the turnaround from my last Barley Mow gig! This night was absolutely outstanding with the crowd hitting what one might call "fever pitch" for a small English Pub. I received standing-o's, round after round of applause, great audience participation including a spontaneous clearing of tables for dancing and, get this, 45 minutes worth of encores! Thanks to everyone there!!!

I put in about 8 hours prep, set-up, tear-down and travel time for this gig only to play 7 songs... Yikes! But they loved it and, though their speeches and gift exchange went a little long, they enjoyed it enough to give me a little extra at the end of it all. It's all good!

Fantastic against all odds. It's a loooong story... it'll take me a while before I post it here... stay tuned!

Well, in stark comparison to my previous gig at The Mow, this one ranks among the worst in recent history. Opting to use the house system rather than my own amplifiers, I experienced sound quality issues the entire night right up until... oh... around four songs from the end of my show. This time, however, I jotted down all of the settings (once I had them all straightened out) so that this should technically never occur again.

Comments from guest of honour: "Hi Luc. I just wanted to say thanks for the great performance Saturday. I really enjoyed it and I think it was the highlight for the evening for many others as well. (...) Thanks again. Let (us) know when you are performing next (...) and we'll be there. ..."

What a fantastic night. An extremely receptive near-capacity crowd provided much needed encouragement for me to continue playing my originals throughout the night. A huge thank-you to all who wished me well and, particularly, to those who came to the show. More to come...