The first gig of the tour is a house concert in the Tarrytown district of Austin, 5 minutes west of downtown. It's an affluent area with wide tree-lined streets and large houses with neat shady lawns and pools out back. Jessica, my host has never held or attended a house concert before, and neither had most of her 50 or so friends and work colleagues who made up the audience. The point of view of an outsider is often much clearer than those who live right in the heart of it and that's certainly the case here. I find myself explaining the history of house concerts in America to airline pilots and accountants and even Austin musicians.
The event is an instant hit. People bring food & wine and beer. tables are laid outside with buffet style food and the folks spread out in deck chairs or on the lawn to witness their first genuine internationally flavoured house concert. a couple of unruly kids in neon arm and leg bands whirl around dangerously like giant fireflies for 20 minutes or so until someone convinces them that they will both fit neatly into a canvas butterfly chair. Within minutes they are asleep and last seen being carried, still entwined in the chair, bedward.
Jessica decides not to charge her friends but to pass around some plastic containers for donations. This works fine and I sell around 20 cd's at $15 a time.
Every one appears to leave happy. Some are obviously fired up by the experience and are talking about organising their own house concert. I remind them to be sure to invite me. Jessica is pleased, the event has been a success, her friends are still friendly, nothing got broken and all it cost was some extra groceries. I get to sleep around 2am, 8am UK time, and the rest is sweet oblivion.
