Recently Redwood

The band had a couple of fun shows at Mission Ale House and the Sonoma Chicken Coop this past weekend. Mission was interesting. We had a good size crowd that started with a party of San Jose State Student Affairs folk. We were background music for the party, but a couple of attendees told us that our music was well liked. Personally, I think they didn’t have as many cocktails as one should when enjoying a beautiful night on Mission’s patio. Thank goodness we were rescued by a few regulars to Mission and Redwood shows. The Sonoma Chicken Coop was rockin’ all night. A couple of birthday parties, friends and regular patrons made this a fantastic gig for the band. I think there was a general vibe going on, as the manager is getting married on Maui this week. There was a good vibe all over the place. As a result I and guitarist Kit Bragg didn’t feel compelled to have quite as many cold beverages for the sheer sake of entertaining ourselves, as was the case at the previous night’s gig. The weekend was a reminder that downtown San Jose is struggling in the current economic climate. I personally believe that recent renovations to downtown Campbell have put the hurt on downtown San Jose. Coupled with Santana Row, people aren’t flocking to downtown San Jose. Poor planning? Perhaps. We’ll continue to support our friends at Mission Ale and Smoke Tiki, and hope that music listeners will eventually return en masse. Robonzo