The confluence of events was amazing: It was our first St. Paddy’s playing Mainstreet Bar & Grill- a venue we’ve always loved and are always able to draw a great crowd here. Singer Beth and bassist Dale were coming off another show the night before in a different band. Lead guitarist Henry had broken his ankle and is days away from surgery to repair it. He needed to be propped up on a stool to play in a full cast. There were bachelorette parties, birthday parties… and oh yeah, did we mention it was St. Patrick’s Day weekend?
The good news: the crowd was our biggest ever at that venue. AND THEY WERE INTO IT… ALL NIGHT. We switched the batting order for sets but it really didn’t matter too much. People arrived early and very few left before the last encore. Self-described “Concert Bully” Bob boasts that he brought 40 people. And you better believe he did. One of whom was a familiar face : the beloved owner of the summer festival “Moondance Jam”, Kathy. She’s in town to help her daughter, Rose, celebrate her birthday. Kathy has never seen Sugar Buzz outside of her festival and is delighted to see us here in our native habitat. We are thrilled.
The bachelorettes had wigs, which several band members wore to the delight of the girls’ group. Happy Birthday to Rose on her 40th was belted out. And – almost every other song from late set 1 and beyond was a crowd-chant. One could barely hear the band in the videos as the people sang “whoa– we’re halfway there — whoa-oh! living on a prayer”.
The dance floor was packed. The bar was packed. But the people, although swirling in their reverie, were remarkable well behaved. Dozens chant ONE MORE SONG at the end of the night, and management allows us one more (even though we are well over stop time). As we break down the set, we get a round of drinks on the house from management. We are elated, exhausted and reminded why we love this so much.