Handshakes, Ribbons, Warriors,
and Cheese
Thursday, September 6th,
The Texas
City/La Marque chamber of commerce has asked the
trio to perform at a ribbon-cutting/mixer
event. The group is to play inside the
Mall of the
Mainland
in an
area that
appears to have once been a functioning restaurant.
Now the space has been converted for special mall events. Judging by
the décor, it looks to have formerly been a
Bennigan’s restaurant. All of the signage and
artifacts have been removed from the walls and
ceiling, but those booths and the bar are
unmistakable. George arrives early enough to tour
the mall and sets out to learn what he can about the
area.
The ‘no-name’ restaurant the guys will be at is directly across from a Tilt arcade game room. The pulsating neon light beckons to him like a siren’s song, and since George has an hour or so to kill, he easily gives in. He meanders around inside a bit, and then he sees it: “Gauntlet Dark Legacy”. It’s a modern version of the Gauntlet video game from the late 80s, in which medieval characters run about in a castle environment hacking up sword wielding skeletons and other undesirables. Not that George was ever really that good at the original game, but much of his courtship to his wife Sabrina took place in front of the game. And in truth, much of their marriage is reflection of how they worked together in the game world. George’s warrior character would unsuspectingly wander into a nest of evil ghouls with glowing red eyes, requiring Sabrina’s elf character to bail him out with her faithful cross-bow. Ah…Good times. The only problem was that the 80s game was programmed to work the players into a frenzy, and then demand more coins to continue or suffer elimination of their fighter, wizard, etc. “Warrior need food badly! Insert more coins NOW for more time!” This version uses the same tactics. Ah…but not today - George smiles as the game pleads with him to shell out more quarters. He ignores it and walks away.
He strolls past the food court, a nail salon, a You-Pick-It You-Paint-It place, a small bookstore. George suspects that one can learn a lot about a community by how much of the magazine rack is devoted to wrestling, tattoo design, or wooden-duck making. After a quick perusal of the periodicals, he determines that the trio is in good company for tonight.
Lee has arrives, and parks beside George’s car. Looking in the vehicle’s windows, he notices that all of piano equipment is still inside, but George is nowhere to be found. Lee has unloaded almost the entire the drum set, when George nearly bumps into him with his Subway sandwich in hand. The two encounter a wonderful man that they’ll be working with named Etienne. He explains that he is the Aesthetic Director of Mall of the Mainland. He is very helpful, though his overuse of the word ‘Fabulous’ secretly has Lee a little uneasy. A flatbed dolly is offered to the two, and they almost finished stacking equipment on it when Matthew appears. The three spend 5 minutes loading the flatbed, only to push it a distance of 45 feet and unload it again because the door is too narrow. (George is already laughing).
The boys set up on the stage – yes, stage (with lights, curtains, etc.) in a Bennigan’s. Their humor is lost on Etienne. He attempts to be accommodating, but it’s a lost cause with these three; Matthew and George inadvertently convince him that there will be a puppet show later, while Lee asks for the hors d'oeuves tables be moved into the band area so they can get started eating before the guests arrive and want some. Bewildered, he brings a white table cloth (for the puppet show) to the guys in time to hear Matthew and George contemplate how much sour cream dip Lee’s small drum tom could hold if turned upside down. GP3 is an A.D.’s albatross. But as odd as these three are, he finds himself endeared to them already, and decides they are, in a word…Fabulous.
As Lee and George continue to set up, Amy, one of the evening’s coordinators arrives to welcome them. She works with Kelly, who saw the trio perform a few weeks before in Galveston. They are excited to have George Poe Trio here, and the trio is excited to play in air-conditioning again.
A few moments after the ladies leave the stage, George gets a call on his cell. “Matthew?” looking around, “Where are you?” “I’m in the bathroom.” “In the bathroom? Is everything alright - are you sick or something?” Matthew replies: “No-no, I’ll tell you later.” “What are you talking about...why are you whispering? Are you sure you’re okay?” “I’m okay, nothing’s wrong…do you know Lee’s cell number?” “Yes, Matthew, I do but…” “Nevermind, nevermind”, <click>. In the time that it takes Matthew to look up Lee’s number and call it, George and Lee discuss what could possibly be going on with Matthew. “Was there a Senator Craig from Idaho in there or something?” “I have no idea what he’s doing, but I’m going to check on him” But before George can make it down the stairs, Lee’s phone rings and the routine begins again. However, Lee finds out a little more than George did. Matthew has found a phone on the lavatory in the men’s room, and is checking to see if it belongs to either of them. Matthew soon discovers that it belongs to one of Etienne’s fabulous workers and the 'crisis' is averted.
It’s almost time to start and the crowd is trickling in now. Matthew has purchased a new mic that is actually designed for the upright bass (see previous blogs). It sounds-Fabulous! Not to be outdone, George has brought a compact keyboard module that allows him to play piano and string sounds (and organs) simultaneously. These modifications to the bass and piano add an entirely new dimension to the group’s sound. Oh, and…uh, Lee’s haircut looks nice too. Though as good as the bass sounds, Matthew is more transfixed on a huge block of cheese that Etienne has placed on a table to the left side of the stage. (Matthew has secretly named the object of his desire ‘Harold’).
The trio quickly launch into the set list. The first tune of the evening is Simply Red’s HOLDING BACK THE YEARS, and with all of the new audio embellishments, it sounds great (or if you prefer, Fabulous). Many compliments are given to the guys, to which they acknowledge with a smile and nod of the head.
The guys burn through the ‘core’ set list. These are the 'primo' songs from George Poe Trio – the cream of the crop. After an hour or so in, a man named Mayer introduces himself to the guys. A very pleasant fellow, who turns out to be the owner of Mall of the Mainland. Matthew quickly picks up on Mayer’s dialect, and the two begin to speak in Farsi to each other. (Dumb looks from George and Lee). Mayer asks if he can use a mic to announce the ribbon cutting. After multiple attempts by Mayer to mobilize the crowd to go outside for the photo-op, Matthew clears the room when he threatens to lead a group prayer with anyone who stays behind.
Once everyone’s out of the main area, the guys descend on the food tables. But all of the plates are gone!!! Where’s Etienne??? Matthew has made contact with Harold, the giant block of cheese and it was worth the wait. George and Lee are feeding on two different types of chocolate cake. The threesome are good to play for a few more hours now; and just in time, as the chamber members are headed back in. George offers up a jazzy rendition of I’M LOOKING THROUGH YOU, followed up by the debut a number of new songs to their repertoire including the HONKY TONK WOMAN, MAGARITTAVILLE, and others.
Then an elderly couple approach Lee and George. They request that the band play a cha-cha for them to dance to. Not having anything that resembles a cha-cha beat song but wanting to please, Lee and George heartily agree to do one. “Just put down a cha-cha beat, and Matthew and I will lay something on it.” says George. So Lee starts it up, a few measures in, George begins singing I’LL FOLLOW THE SUN. And to George's surprise it works! The trio cha-cha these two sweethearts ‘till the couple is worn out. Everyone enjoys it; these two lovebirds steal the show with their charm for each other.
A young man asks if the band can play the Randy Newman song YOU GOT A FRIEND IN ME. George and Matthew are astonished that they actually have a relatively obscure song like this in the songbook. It's a great tune, in fact Newman received an academy award nomination for it back in 1995. It's just a shock that a gen x'er would ask for this. Matthew and George look to see if Lee is pranking them. He's not - and the tune comes off flawlessly. Matthew suggests the trio ‘slow things down a bit’ and play the ‘Men at Work song’. At which the band unloads a stellar version of OVERKILL which is arguably the finest song of the evening, (Matthew’s harmony is second to none).
A few up tempo songs later, Kelly and Amy thank the trio, and the evening closes with a soulful version of Eric Clapton’s song WONDERFUL TONIGHT. As the area empties out, tables are bussed by Etienne’s fabulous crew, mic and speaker cables are wrapped, and the only thing left to say is…”Warriors need food badly.”
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