A DRAFT CHRISTMAS SHOW SETLIST...

Well, the Big Job in Lafayette—recruiting a new city administrator—is done, except for the paperwork. They picked one—and it was the guy from Alaska (thereby indicating the value of Skype). Now, I can work on the city’s money, which I haven’t had a chance to do much with since I got here. Today, however, I’ll do other stuff. A day off—and away from home, spent mostly at the computer, I’ll apply for jobs (I’ll be needing one), do the SOSA newsletter if I’ve got all the material, and write.

I haven’t got confirmation from the band that they can do a Christmas show, but I have a draft setlist anyway. It looks like:

SET #1 (12 SONGS):
Dead Things in the Shower—mod. fast two-step
Armadillo on the Interstate—slow & sleazy
Santa’s Fallen and He Can’t Get Up—fast bluegrass
Tillamook Railroad Blues—deliberate blues
Things Are Getting Better Now That Things Are Getting Worse (Gene Burnett)—fast two-step
For Their Own Ends (Southern Pigfish)—folk-rock
Eatin’ Cornflakes from a Hubcap Blues—slow & sleazy quasi-blues
Our Own Little Stimulus Plan (Betty Holt)—Buddy Holly-style rockabilly
Dance a Little Longer (Woody Guthrie)—country rock
Ain’t Got No Home in This World Any More (Woody Guthrie)—fast two-step
I Want a Man for Christmas—rock ‘n’ roll
Un-Easy Street (Stan Good)—mod. fast two-step

SET #2 (11 SONGS):
50 Ways to Cure the Depression—folk-rock
Hey, Little Chicken—slow & sleazy quasi-blues
When I Jump Off the Cliff I’ll Think of You—fast bluegrass
Even Roadkill gets the Blues—sleazy two-step
Duct Tape—mod. speed country
The Dog’s Song—rock ‘n’ roll
Free-Range Person—fast bluegrass
[NEW] Another Crappy Christmas (Don Varnell)—fast country-rock
Bungee Jumpin’ Jesus—mod. speed Gospel
I’m Giving Mom a Dead Dog for Christmas—slow & sleazy
Goin’ Down the Road Feelin’ Bad (Woody Guthrie)—fast bluegrass

Five Christmas songs on the list this time, 11 songs about the economy, and the rest just plain fun (and normal inclusions in Deathgrass’ setlists). Only one song the band have never played before. It’d be fun to enlist Indica, the girl who sang with us at the wedding (and this time, give her lyric sheets and a CD); if we could do that, we could substitute a couple of her Gospel songs and really give the audience a treat. Short potty break for the band between sets, which this time I want to fill with stuff to discourage the audience from drifting away; I want refreshments (my cookies, hopefully Jeannette’s cinnamon rolls, coffee and punch), and maybe we should have somebody at the microphone doing announcements. Could we film it this time? (We didn’t manage to film the two previous shows.)

I would really like to do a benefit concert for the food bank here in Lafayette; it could be a “Joe Farewell Concert” at the same time—an opportunity for me to thank everybody for a genuinely enjoyable gig as their temporary city manager. Yes, I’d want a band: bass, drums (unless we’re going to play bluegrass music), “whiny” and “non-whiny” leads—and if other people can sing, we can do their stuff as well as mine. I have a couple of folks, now, that I can ask, who may be or know those resources. It’d have to be in December, because I “go poof” December 31.

Joe