Salem MA..self proclaimed Witch City USA, and home (kind of) to the historic Witch Trials of old (the actual location of the original Salem settlement is not the same as modern day Salem). Why the history lesson?…Because it’s a city of great magick, energy and art/culture. A great little city for music, so what better place to host an event supporting musicians rights.
AB was the first band to land in town on Saturday. We spent the afternoon busking (a new term we learned in place of pan-handling). So basically we wandered town playing acoustic for tips while handing out promos for the show. And no such activity is complete without a friendly cease and desist order from Salems’ Finest..apparently one needs a permit to busk. We weren’t aware. So after the police chased us away, we found our way down to the wharf, where we were able to rock out without hassle.
Around 6:00 the other bands began to arrive.
Anne was set to kick off the night but we got a call from her that her car had been towed the previous night during or after our gig at Milky Way. So “Their Planes” took to stage first. They ran their set, again doing their awesome tune “Brazil”, and after them Anne (who had narrowly arrived) took to the stage. The room and atmosphere of Gulu added a real good accent to Annes’ performance..it is after all, more of an acoustic room, so her sound and energies merged a little extra nice than the full electric bands’ did. Mike Montrey Band went up next. This was their Scammies debut, as they hadn’t been able to attend the show in Boston. These guys were cool to watch; they have a little bit of funky, a little bit of bluegrass and a little bit of semi-jammy contemporary rock. An enjoyable show for sure. It was funny seeing all 6 of them crammed on that stage..it reminded me a lot of old school AB. We finished off the night, doing a rowdy rock set of originals and covers. We capped off the show with our vocals only favorite, “For The Longest Time”, as we conga-lined around the bar and outside with all the remaining band members and fans. It was really cool..till the turned the radio on before we finished..I guess the bar staff was a little eager to get cleaned up and out the door. Understandable enough. Still a great night all around.
AB spent the rest of the trip on Sunday roaming Salem, playing for tips wherever we were able to set up. We did the Seaport Café for a few hours, followed by the patio of The Beerworks. We sold a decent amount of cds, which was very helpful and obtained a few new contacts while playing, so next Salem trip we may be able to add a few new spots…we are also looking into getting a permit so we can play (legally) on the street of the walking mall. That is where the money can be made for sure..before we were chased away, we made a nice little stack of cash and in less than 30 minutes, so the permit will totally pay itself off fast once we have it.
So then the weekend came to an end..we got home just in time to grab some sleep before returning back to the work week, only to move towards Scammies weekend number 2.
amberblues 