Day 3, Tuesday - Dinner at Alcatraz and 1st Gig/Jam at Piper's

The next morning (Tuesday), I was definitely hungover. I remembered post-facto that at some point I had a couple of shots of whiskey, which didn't really mix well with the Tequila. Yech! When I talked on the net, it was all I could do to lay my head on the nav table and key the mic to say the boat name, RHAPSODY, when it was our turn.

Bill had gotten us a gig at Piper's Bar in Barra, and by hook and crook we came up with a plan to meet at the bar at 6:00 with our equipment. I spent most of the rest of the day drinking water and taking naps trying to shake off the previous evening. However, when 6:00 rolled around, and Frosty showed up in the water taxi, I was feeling good enough, so we piled all the equipment in and headed for Piper's. We actually had quite a bit of equipment. I brought my 5-string bass, an acoustic guitar, a small 50W bass amp, a 35W guitar amp, music and mic stands, and so on. Bill had a complete trap-set he was carrying on TICA, and Frosty brought his guitar and good looks!

As we were setting up and doing our sound check, the "girls" (Joanne, and Patti) headed over to a lagoonfront restaurant called Alcatraz for cocktails and snacks. After the sound check we "boys" joined them for a spot of dinner. Some friends of Frosty's, as well as some friends of Bill's, joined us at the ever growing table. The restaurant, the food, and the conversation were all great. Finally, at about 8:30 it was time to head back to Piper's and begin the gig.

Bill had booked us as "The Backsliders", a name of a band he plays with at home. It was short notice and all he could think of. Piper had put up posters all over town announcing the gig. As we started playing, people started digging it. Another guitar player named Steve joined us on stage and we all had a great time. Frosty sang most of the songs, letting me front a couple (I Know You Rider, Big River, U.S. Blues, etc), and Steve chimed in with a great version of Folsom River Blues. Patti even got up and sang some backup vocals.

I would say that a great time was had by all, as everyone was dancing, and, as if you couldn't guess, the tequila started flowing again! Since the drinks were free for the band, we took advantage of it, and all got just a little tipsy again. And when the dust had settled and we were breaking down at 2:00 am, we were pleased to find that the tip jar contained over $80. Not bad pay for a hard night of partying in Mexico!

Since Frosty and Bill had plans to leave Barra on the following weekend, as we were breaking down, we made a deal right then and there with Piper (actual name "Daniel") to come back in and play two nights later, on Thursday. For the second gig we would be billed as "Blue Agave", a name that Steve came up with. But the evening wasn't over yet, as we still had to get back to the boat. Bill and Joanne volunteered to take me back in their dinghy, so somewhat drunkenly, we all got into their dink which was tied up at the Sands hotel dinghy dock and set out for the Barra Lagoon.

About halfway there, Bill let out an exclamation, "We're stuck on something! We're not moving!", and after a bit of clawing around in the water and running up of the motor, a buoy popped up from under the dinghy. I mean a full sized 4' bouy! We had run over it in the dark, at speed, and in just the right way to drive up over it and get stuck. At the time it was a little amusing, especially since we were all drunk, but later we found that it had torn a hole in the bottom of Bill's dinghy, which really wasn't a good thing. Nonetheless, he got us all home safely, and later repaired the dinghy, so everything worked out ok.