After the fake snow has fallen and the glitter of celebrities touched has faded, it is time to reflect on the first annual Festival Holidad celebration.  A round-up of the evening:

5pm:  Having sat for a good 235 minutes at the rotary feeding on to the BU bridge, I arrived at the venue in a terrific mood.  Luckily, parking is plentiful near the Paradise and as luck would have it, Friday night was a warm and balmy 72 degrees with an oh-so-slight breeze. 

Oh wait – I had to park a kajillion miles away and lug my gear through winds that cut through my clothes like a knife through… clothes.  Absolutely brutal.  My nipples officially filed a restraining order against me for exposing them to that level of neglect and abuse.  (Don’t you worry – the rift between my nipples and myself is nothing a little flowers, champagne, and Jergen’s body lotion can’t cure.  Ike still loves you, babies.)

6pm:  When I was setting up the merch-selling arrangements with the sultry Gianna, I heard the Luxury soundchecking the Beatles’ “Carry That Weight.”  I ran into the main room, yelling “Oh my God!  Did the Beatles reunite?  Oh…. it was just you guys” and slumped away, disappointed.  It’s safe to say that no one was as amused by this bit nearly as much as I was.

7pm:  After a quick soundcheck ourselves, I met with the sound people at the Paradise to quickly find out that almost all the shenanigans we had planned for between-set banter were going to be rendered logistically impossible.  Who knew it was going to be so hard for the Paradise to create a holographic Santa that flew over the audience’s head and pooped cranberry-flavored rainbows on them?  Modern rock clubs just aren’t what they used to be.  I retired to my green room (a.k.a. Will’s green room) for some quick rewrites.  And to steal beer.

8pm:  After all the preparation, the begging people to attend, the promotional songs and videos, it was finally time to do our thing.   Will and I did our hastily rewritten Holidad schtick and it was time to play our set.

Oftentimes, when I’m on stage, there are so many things to think about that I don’t really pay attention to what I’m actually playing or singing.  I know this may seem weird to non-musicians, but the first few songs of the set, my mind is usually looking for faces in the crowd with whom to connect, checking on my bandmates’ equipment, listening to make sure we have the right mix in the monitors – basically, everything except actually being present in the moment of performance. 

But on this night, everything was perfect.  The on-stage sound at the Paradise was crisp and lovely to my ears.  Even at the early hour, the floor was filled with eager faces, many of whom were familiar and attractive (*cough*MikeMirabella*cough).  The band was solid and it was time to actually be present in the moment and enjoy the feeling of performing.  In my mind, there’s really no place to play like the Paradise.  It’s a dream-come-true every time I do it.

9pm-2am:  I spent the rest of the evening running around the venue, changing into ugly sweaters and antlers, stealing beer from Will’s dressing room (yup, it was me), catching up with friends and family, and trying to hide the giant rip in the crotch of my tuxedo pants.  Rock and roll takes no prisoners.

Violet Nine is a great bunch of guys and it was nice to see them for the first time since we shared a TT’s stage with them back in the Scamper days.  The Luxury (who I’ve seen MANY times) had perhaps their best performance ever, reminding everybody that they are who they are for a reason.  They are the real thing. 

And what can you say about Will Dailey?  After all those great songs and performances, it still doesn’t change the fact that he probably molested Macauley Culkin in 1990.  Yeah, yeah – innocent until proven guilty.  And let’s face it – the guy is the total package.  Killer songs, great singer, amazing performer, generous colleague, okay on the eyes.  But still – it’s  so bittersweet to watch him perform.  All that talent almost makes you forget about the alleged Macaulestations.  Almost.

So thank you all for coming out to Festival Holidad 2009.  Maybe if we stay out of the court and prison systems we can do it again in ’010.

Here’s some video from the Paradise show courtesy of the wonderful Sooz over at Sooz TV:

Thanks to Johnny at Arguedas Photography:

Thank you all so very much for coming out to the big CD release show last night at the Paradise.  The boys and I were thrilled to play the big stage and see so many of your booties grooving to the new tunes.  Hope you all picked up a copy of the new record (if you didn’t, feel free to hit the Music button right up there and download that piece).

In the days and weeks to come, we’ll hopefully get some pics and videos of the show up for your eye and ear holes.

Here’s, um, an interview with me at Boston Music Spotlight.

Interview

Off to the Paradise for sound check and whatnot.  See you all tonight!  8pm sharp!