It felt good to be back at the Rat Pack Lounge.  I am thrilled to sing if there are six people there, or 60.  It’s such a joy to me.

     Thankfully setting up the sound system is becoming a breeze.  I was once told that I shouldn’t be doing this kind of work, and that I should hire an audio tech to do the sweaty, heavy lifting.  I’ve not considered this.  Actually, I like the fact that I know how to do this, and right now, I need to have this measure of control.

     Back to my return to the club, it was grand seeing the staff who I’ve missed during my month long hiatus.  They’re such wonderful men and women, with incredible attitudes.  They’re all work when the club is buzzing with diners, but when the restaurant closes, they change clothes and start making plans for what they’re going to do for the rest of the night. That’s when I get to laugh and have fun with them and learn a little bit about their lives outside of work.

     I had lots of new music to showcase.  It just now dawned on me, that I did not sing At Last.  I do believe in my haste to complete my song list, I skipped it.

     I talked more with the audience this time… welcoming them and asking if they were there to celebrate something, or simply to enjoy a nice evening with dinner.   This interaction brought up something that I did not exactly plan for:  I got bombarded with requests.  This meant I had to go off the song list, and start searching my I-Pod for the songs folks wanted to hear that I had not planned to sing.  I got through it just fine, but it threw off my rhythm a bit.  It’s something I suppose I need to get used to.

     I had a Billie Holiday tribute during one set.  I also had a mini-country moment.  People really like Crazy and Walking After Midnight.  Think I might add a few more popular country songs.  A few more, that’s all.

     As the evening grew long and the crowd grew thin, I found myself singing to a couple in a booth, and the staff at the bar.

It didn’t matter to me.  Like I said at the top, I just love singing. That doesn’t change according to who is there.

     I believe this week, I will work on increasing my comfort level with the new songs, while adding just a few new songs.

The primary elections are this week.  It probably wouldn’t hurt to throw in a patriotic song for grins.