My first show of 2002 and I'm back at The Coffee Company, home of slow service and the worst acoustics I've ever experienced. I'm trying yet another combination of equipment (one vocal monitor, one guitar amp--close, but I'll try again next time) in an attempt to deliver the perfect FBF sound to the masses that have huddled to hear me. Which is pretty much why I continue to play here. Not sure why, but this place is always packed on a Friday night, as opposed to the other coffee houses, which tend to be, how should I say....less populated.

I start out playing Listen Close for a three-year-old, who positions himself exactly 24 inches from me. I screw up the lyrics, intimidated by his ruthless stare. I play a couple of other songs (California, Run Free) roughly and predict that the night is going to suck. Pretty soon I find my groove and things turn out pretty well. Lots of people show up, including friends I hadn't seen for awhile, so it was a fun night all in all.

The regulars have requests, of course, and I end up playing the first ever "Color Block" (or "Space Block" if you're so inclined), which includes Yellow Lasers, Red Robot, and Black Hole. How charming, my first gimmick (*sniff sniff*). Later.