Pressurific - Cat's Cradle Back Room 8/4/18

Photo by Ed Speas

Well, Saturday night was just a phenomenal event for me. It was a celebration of my new album's release (Game Day on Omnivore Recordings). And it was the debut of my new trio, the Peter Holsapple Combo. 

Pressure? Nah, well maybe just a little. It's always good to hedge your bet and get a crew to film and record the first ever show so you can have your major mistakes documented, right? Also, it's an audience largely made up of people I know in some capacity (cue the Kinks). So no big deal.

We, the PHC, actually sounded great. The extra rehearsaling we did last week paid off in spades. The mix, courtesy of Andy Young, was sublime; vocals were balanced, in tune and were largely comprised of the correct words to each song. The rhythm section was locked, and I was able to make my guitar solos sound competent and, dare I say, emotionally valid. We started with four songs from Game Day, ended with four more, and stuffed the rest with a representation of my long and sordid career in music.

When we were done, I was buttonholed a few times by old friends who said they completely dug what was going on with the band and the songs. I might've ordinarily thought they were being polite and deferential, but Larry Tucker sent me a rough mix of the set, and damn if we weren't smokin'. (We also clocked in at just under 60 minutes, including the encore--important that you stay on time when you're the middle band in a three-act show.) I don't usually like to listen to the evidence, but my curiosity got the better of me. I was not disappointed.

On Tuesday night (tomorrow) we will try to repeat this feat of derring-do at Gas Hill Drinking Room above the Ramkat in Winston-Salem. Saturday bodes well for a long and successful run with the Peter Holsapple Combo, and I look forward to further-flung dates in the foreseeable future so that you Internet people can come see and hear us.