Song Memory #2

Roadhouse Blues
by The Doors (live bootleg performed by Pearl Jam)

I played Roadhouse Blues to a crowd of over 30,000 people in 2007. No, it wasn't on a stadium tour; no, I'm not that big in Japan (yet) - this was at the 2007 ING New York City Marathon. According to their website, this is the World's Largest Marathon (killer!), and in 2007 was won by Martin Lel, of Kenya. Most of the hardcore American marathon runners were away, since the trials for the US Olympic Marathon team were to be held the next day.

Anyway, I had been out late at a friend's house in Brooklyn that was fortunately right near our meeting place to set up and perform. I met up with Joe and some friends of his who play the Marathon every year - on keyboards and drums - and we set up, tuned ourselves in the cold (not easy with big ol' steel strings) and started playing as soon as the first "wheelers" came in sight. We led off with Roadhouse Blues, mostly because it's a great tune, easily recognized and fun to improvise on - and were greeted with grins and thumbs up from the passing athletes.

This was a very last-minute band, and as such we hadn't practiced anything - our repertoire was limited to less than a dozen songs - but since the audience was constantly changing, it didn't matter. We played for maybe two hours, even enticing some of the spectators to start dancing. One little boy was a particular fan, and jumped up and down arhythmically each time we came to the chorus.

Roll, baby, roll.