working- player

Drove in to play a solo set or two at a cafe in the Docklands. Listened to Johnny Thunders Heartbreakers and Bert Jansch and John Renbourn on the way. I had my 12 string acoustic and my six string and my acoustic amp. The Docklands is the new , well, built over the last decade or so, part of Melbourne by the river . I take the wrong turn off the freeway and drive around in a circle, past the Docklands stadium twice and then do an illegal U Turn to get to the right street. The address is a curved building. i walk all the way around it and the numbers keep changing. There is an incredibly evil, hot wind blowing through all the new multi storey apartments.
I make the gig and set up my gear. Its a funny vibe, lots of "downsized" retiree types. I feel like I'm in Miami or the Borscht Belt. Maybe even a new Canasta Belt.
I am ready for anything nowadays though. I sit and play my music facing the river and the newest skyline of Melbourne. My amp is singing and I just pick the strings and sing my songs. I'm down to my skills. People are inside and outside,eating. I figure its no place for a performance so I just run through dozens of songs as if I'm rehearsing. New songs, instrumentals, old songs, stoopid songs. Its a new society here. We're making it all up. People walking their toy dogs. The river in front of me is a forest of yachts and powerboats. I am getting paid. I have a couple of diet cokes and plough through the changes. I play for two and a half hours. I wish there were more gigs like this. For the lone wolves. The independents. If you were a precious artiste , this joint would smoke you. Same if you were an entertainer. I keep it suspended.
I have a cool time and sit around with the young fellow who is getting the gig together. His family have lived on the dock for six years. He has seen the skyline across the river get built. I ask what the tram is that I can see. He says its Collins street, now its crossed the river too. Its a whole new city.
I pack my gear and drive back to the hills listening to Grant Green, drinking some more pop. Here I am typing up a report. For the players.