Two Fridays ago was my last show in the United States.

Ok, well for 9 months anyways.  #melodramatic

I had this show at Red Rock booked for a couple of months now; it’s my favorite venue to play in the Bay Area, as it’s got a really nice, chill vibe and cool patrons.  If I was going to bow out from the U.S. for a while, I might as well do it in a space I love playing in.
The evening started with the melodious music of Erin Cole-Baker.  With a floaty Joni Mitchell croon and a disarming sincerity that came across well in her songs, her set was a real treat to listen to.  And she’s a swell person too!
And then came my set.  There were a lotta people in the crowd, which was good but also a bit (a lot!) terrifying.  At least the majority of them were familiar faces, which is always good.
A few songs in, it felt pretty good; I even played both Jerusalem Syndrome and Where Do We Go live for the first time.  Although it’s terrifying to play songs that are brand new, it helps immensely with thinking of lyrical/melodic changes I can incorporate when going into the studio.   
And Toxic seemed to go over well.  Yay 90s pop!
Jon deciding to mix it up by switching between percussion and bass kept the sonic pallette varied.  His walking basslines really invigorated 16 and filled out the haunted spaces of ‘Avalanche’ and ‘Where do we go.’
And of course, there was plenty of improv.  I bastardized Bob Dylan’s “blowin in the wind” as part of a request, as well as an emo take on Outkast’s “hey ya.”. Some bits fared better than others, as you might’ve already inferred :p 
Sometimes I just get hit with all sorts of the unexpected during a show.  I managed to kill a battery and break my 4th string of the day (broke the other three during practice), but the crowd was very gracious and good-humored about it. 
I made it out of ‘London’ with the remaining 5 strings and change guitars for ‘Last of the Cowboys’ and a major nostalgia closer in ‘I can’t win’.  That song is four years old now;  I wrote that song just before college started, frustrated with the mess I was and unsure about how to tackle the life ahead of me.  Funny how some things never change.
Hands down, my favorite part of the night was getting to catch up with friends.  Seeing all of the great people that I’ve met throughout the years all together in one place was pretty validating — I’m lucky to call each and every one of them friends :)
-Andrew
P.S.  To watch videos from the show, visit my YouTube channel!  
setlist:  Believe16 —> no scrubs#Jerusalem syndromeToxic*Where do we goHey ya^(improv - blowin’ in the wind@)AvalancheLondonLast of the cowboysAfternoon spoon - free falling$I can’t win
@Bob Dylan cover#TLC cover*Britney Spears cover^Outkast cover$Tom Petty cover