I dont know how you feel about playing a song again at a gig when youve already played it once. I think its just unprofessional, and I just wont do it anymore! The last time we did it was probably about 12 years ago. I swore that would be the last time! A month or so ago we were at a gig. We played an original Black And Blue in the first set. This woman comes in during the second set. She starts screaming for the song. I got on my microphone and said Im sorry Honey we already played that song. Well that just p---ed her off! She was screaming in between every song thereafter. I told her that I TRULY appreciated the fact that she loved one our originals, but it wouldnt be fair to everyone else who already heard the song. I was REALLY nice and gracious about the whole thing because it was an original that she wanted to hear. Now had she been screaming like that for a cover song I would have simply told her Were not a jukebox, were a band. After the second set I went up to try to calm her because she was not a happy woman. Normally only women Im dating get that mad at me. She was sitting with a friend and I was being just as nice as I could be and she was just plain p---ed! Nothing I said seemed to do anything but p--- her off more. Then I said what must have been magic woods when I said we cant do it again its a rule. Her friend looks at me and says Well why didnt you just say it was a rule in the first place. The friend looks at the woman who wants to rip my throat out and says Its a rule. It was like flipping a switch. She sat silently for about 10 seconds. Then she looked up at me, smiled, and said Youre cute. In my mind Im thinking WTF, but I just rolled with it and said Youre cute too.

This past weekend we were at a gig. It was a birthday bash for a PA music magazine writer. We had an opening band and we were playing straight through for two and a half hours. For those keeping score thats a long set! About the fifth song into the set this woman comes in who comes out to see us all the time. She wanted to hear a cover that we just did two songs before she came in. Its her favorite song that we do. Personally its one of the few songs we do that I just dont like. I would never tell the guys I dont like it, because they do, and it packs the dance floor so I just keep my mouth shut and take one for the team. The writer starts telling my singer to play this song for this woman. Im shaking my head no and stepped up to the microphone and said we already played it, we cant do it again ITS A RULE. Well it didnt work that time. My singer hands his microphone to the writer and she is going on and on trying to get me to play this song for this woman. Now I love this writer to death but Im not doing this damn song again! Then she gives me a shot below the belt and says Come on Dave, shes a cancer survivor. Now I didnt like this woman before she had cancer and the fact that she had cancer isnt going to make me like her, but that made me feel about an inch tall. I said I can appreciate that, but we CANT do the song again. At that point I was done talking about it so I just stepped away from my microphone. I look at the guys in my band and I can tell their going to play the song. So, they caught The Magaro Look of Death and I shook my head and worded DONT DO IT! Im telling you if they would have kicked into it I would have left the stage! Yes, that would have been unprofessional too, but there was no way in Hell I was going to have ANY part in playing that damn song again! Thats the way this thing goes. Every time someone has to be the bad guy at a gig it has to be me. I swear theres not a set of balls between the three of them when it comes to stuff like that. Finally we kicked into the next song and got back on track.

What do you think about it?

Dave