Last night Fight Nice played in Chicago at the Mystic Celt.  The reason for this totally different kind of show was for a charity event put together by the One Brick organization as a benefit for the Greater Chicago Food Depository.  The bill was dubbed “Live Band Happy Hour”, and we were happy to open for Mad Bread, a quality troupe of truly acoustic musicians.  This was a really good experience, in all categories.
     First, The Mystic Celt is a very nice place to hang out.  The party was set up in the back room, which is like a comfortable bar with soft lighting and big clean sofas.  I loved the room right away, it was welcoming and seemed like the sound would be good while people could drink and socialize, with our music in the air.  Also, I noticed that everybody involved wanted to be there, and were happy, and cool.  The other band helped us set up, and they made us feel at home.  This was the setting, and all we needed was their PA system for some amplification.  And they had some excellent microphones ready for us, we really did just roll in and play. (Aside from the near universal lack of local parking)
     Our first song was “The Reason”, and we often start with this because it helps us get on the same page together.  It’s just that kind of a song, Brian drums out a tribal march that Dean’s bass and my guitar chords follow in order to build some anticipation.  We use that time to quickly check our sound levels in relation to one another, and to size up the room’s sound and how much to push or pull back.  Out of all of our songs, we seem to start shows with this tune so that we can calibrate on the fly, and ease into the set.  One quick glance at Dean told me that we were clear for takeoff and Brian had started us on our way.  There is a pre-chorus in “The Reason” that kicks in, and that’s usually when I know how things are going to go that night.  Sometimes, the venue will offer logistical challenges that we have to overcome, or just deal with.  On this night, it was apparent that our volume levels were fine, and our rehearsal time would pay off- the song rolled along as planned, and I enjoy playing it with Brian and Dean very much.
     This wasn’t our regular gig.  Fight Nice is a rock band for sure, we play electric, and our drums are loud much of the time.  We were really excited to be invited to this event for the chance to play in a nice place, and to be a part of a generous occasion.  I tried to keep in mind that having fun was important there, and nobody really cared about my concerns regarding string tensions, changes in song arrangement, different soloing challenges, and stuff that came up as we tried to translate our electric rock show into a stripped-down acoustic musical evening.  I know that my bandmates were also making calculations as we played, working out the little obstacles that come with doing an “unplugged” performance.  I was really impressed with Dean and Brian, two guys who know their equipment and like to be on top of the situation.  They had to play instruments and in a style that was outside of their usual comfort zone, and they did so with aplomb and a cheery confidence.  That helped me to enjoy playing our songs in this skeletal mode that exposes the tunes for what they really are- no way to hide behind the electric sound.  I couldn’t help but think back to how the show MTV Unplugged really brought out this acoustic artform, bands would show their true colors with acoustic instrumentation and it was almost always fascinating to see their other sides as artists. 
     As Dean said to me afterwards, it was nice to be part of a show where everybody that was there wanted to be there, and they were cool people doing something meaningful as an audience.  It was great to play for them.  I’m sure they didn’t know how much I was worrying about every note, and how really different it was for us to play in this way.  I mean, Brian had to barely press his bass drum pedal so as not to blow away the room.  It’s hard for a drummer to play super quietly, and Brian still laid down a groove for us to work with despite the limitations.  And Dean had to play his bass parts in a style that was careful to avoid the strange scraping sounds this acoustic bass guitar can generate.  We all had to adjust for the intimacy, and I still enjoyed the noise we made together.
     The crowd was very nice, and what can they be thinking? they have never heard any of these songs before.  We just seem to be accustomed to that look on people’s faces, as they work out where exactly to file us in their minds.  I’m just grateful for the chance to play our songs for them at all.  Some of our decidedly electrified rock songs took on a new life as acoustic numbers, and it’s been great to be challenged to rework our material in this way.  That’s what taking this gig was all about, forcing us to try something new, and to develop new skills.  We all wanted to add some new abilities to our band as musicians, and we took this as a challenge to learn our songs again as acoustic pieces, it really is a dramatic adjustment.  I felt very happy that we have songs that can work in this medium as well.  It has always been important to me that our songs have enough melodic substance to be able to stand up when they are reduced to their elemental state.  In our practice sessions, we have grown a lot because of having to prepare for this show- and we have had to play in a new way that might help us improve.  I’m super grateful to be part of a band that is willing to do things that might be new, or difficult.  We just want to get better, and this show meant a lot to us.  It seemed that we played a little bit better than even our prior practice session, and that’s a big step forward for us.  I’m not sure exactly how every little thing sounded for the patrons of the event, but it was as pleasant as sitting by a campfire with friends and some drinks playing music together.  I hope that it was enjoyable for the folks there.
     So we played through nine songs, and ended with “Abbotsford”.  It felt good to close out on an upbeat rave-up.  I even heard Brian give the crash cymbal a good hit in his enthusiasm.  I guess he had been holding back all night, the time was right for a resounding accent.  I will always remember this show because of the things that went into it, and for the purely positive vibes in the air the whole way.  I remember laughing and sharing smiles with Dean and Brian-and being proud of what we were doing.  Thanks for having us.