dan may – nixon park concert series

with dan may, we’ve had strangely solid luck with outdoor shows. musikfest, rose tree park and the like have almost always panned out for us. even the festival we did last summer in somerset held out for us in the face of odds that it wasn’t gonna happen.

the show in kennett square at anson b. nixon park wasn’t gonna fly, though. it rained before, during and afterwards for this one. but – the gig was rain or shine, so of course we soldiered on.

dan giving some pre-gig instruction to drummer mike beeson...

in ideal weather conditions, this must be a great gig. the stage sits aside a calm body of water that serves as a backdrop for the performing artist, and a narrow access road trails through right in front of the stage (which makes for convienent loading in and out, i have to say), and the audience sits on the slightly pitched hill opposite the road…there’s a small picnic table pavillion roughly a hundred yards from the stage, and this night they were selling refreshments from there (which also made for a convienent place to hide from the elements…but not so good for enjoying the music).

i felt bad for the handful of folks who showed up for the gig, as the entire series is rain or shine…and i’m not a big fan of playing electric instruments in the rain, but the band was under cover from direct rainfall – it was the runoff from the front of the stage that we had to be careful of, as there were a couple of streams that were running right underneath my feet (and, more of a concern, right underneath my pedals). nothing ventured, nothing gained though – and, in the end, nothing fried.

this gig was mike beeson on drums, alan sheltzer on keys, anthony newett and myself on guitars, plus dan and heather – and while the weather had an obvious effect on us, we played a tight set and had some fun.