Now Playing at the Broken Spoke
I've been having a somewhat hard time finding something to write about. I was about to write a really exciting entry about ball point pens, but thankfully I can talk about something different I did last night.
A friend who knows the little known fact that I can play accordion let me know that he would be at the Broken Spoke for the "Accordion Round-up," which a kind of open-mic for accordion players. Another friend of his said he would be there to play. I left my accordion at home, as I am severely out of practice and have nothing prepared. The atmosphere was not as intimidating as I expected and initially I thought that maybe I should've brought my accordion anyway, but once I heard some of them play I was glad I left it at home, because some of the players are very good. They play all types of music: zydeco, polka, waltz, blues, etc. and take turns at the mic. I think I might go and participate next month. I'll brush up on my repertoire of Wisconsin polkas and fight songs (as in football), but what I really need to work on is improvisation in those styles of music. I'm also open to suggestions if anyone thinks they might go to watch.
What was most memorable about the night wasn't the accordion player, though; it was the saxophone player in the band following the round-up. (The lead singer of the band plays accordion and participated in the round-up.) The sax player was very grandfatherly looking, with white hair, and probably in his 60's or 70's. What was memorable were his solos. He would really get worked up in each one, jumping and jerking his body around, with pained expressions on his face as he played the screeching high notes. He even did this during the slow songs where it probably didn't fit so well. Also he had a great "fart move" where he simultaneously lifted one leg and blew a low accented note on the sax during his solo. Everyone loved watching him play, except maybe his wife who sat there calmly with her glass of wine. But I imagine she's been watching his goofy act for fifty years, so that's understandable.
A friend who knows the little known fact that I can play accordion let me know that he would be at the Broken Spoke for the "Accordion Round-up," which a kind of open-mic for accordion players. Another friend of his said he would be there to play. I left my accordion at home, as I am severely out of practice and have nothing prepared. The atmosphere was not as intimidating as I expected and initially I thought that maybe I should've brought my accordion anyway, but once I heard some of them play I was glad I left it at home, because some of the players are very good. They play all types of music: zydeco, polka, waltz, blues, etc. and take turns at the mic. I think I might go and participate next month. I'll brush up on my repertoire of Wisconsin polkas and fight songs (as in football), but what I really need to work on is improvisation in those styles of music. I'm also open to suggestions if anyone thinks they might go to watch.
What was most memorable about the night wasn't the accordion player, though; it was the saxophone player in the band following the round-up. (The lead singer of the band plays accordion and participated in the round-up.) The sax player was very grandfatherly looking, with white hair, and probably in his 60's or 70's. What was memorable were his solos. He would really get worked up in each one, jumping and jerking his body around, with pained expressions on his face as he played the screeching high notes. He even did this during the slow songs where it probably didn't fit so well. Also he had a great "fart move" where he simultaneously lifted one leg and blew a low accented note on the sax during his solo. Everyone loved watching him play, except maybe his wife who sat there calmly with her glass of wine. But I imagine she's been watching his goofy act for fifty years, so that's understandable.
posted by PlaysByEar at 10:12 AM
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