The Canaries Reunite, Split Up

Em had been visiting from back east and we had taken Ma out for Em's farewell dinner. After dinner, someone had the bright idea to go to Coffee Depot to cap off the night. Ma doesn't get out much, so we took her there.

Lo and behold it was Open Mike Night. This duo was playing-one guy with dreads, the other curly blondish hair. They were ok. They were followed by a guy we'll call the Droner. He played and sang without much style or even feeling. I'd go into more detail about this if it hadn't looked so dismal. Very few people were there and fewer were paying much attention to the performers.

We got the idea to rush to Billy C's house and grab some ukes and a guitar and sign up as the Canaries. Liam Canary, our child prodigy lead singer also wanted to perform a solo number. I thought that it would be his rendition of Mr. Tambourine Man that he had performed at the Folk Music Center.

So, it took us about ten minutes to get the ukes and guitar. All the way, Liam, who had stayed at the Depot, kept calling to see where we were.

When we got back, I asked Liam if he had signed us up. He didn't. He only signed himself up. Billy c and I went out to tune up. I had his pineapple, which hadn't been played in awhile and was not holding a tune well. As I tightened the pegs, Billy C came out with his Bari and said, "Liam wants to do a song alone. Then he'll call us up and we'll do one with him. Then you can do one if you want to."

Ok. Not exactly what I had envisioned, but ok.

So we go in and Liam gets on stage and starts singng "Don't Think Twice" and I'm thinking "Hey, ya little creep! That's a Canaries tune!" But he sings it just the same and as he sings, people start moving towards the stage. Pretty soon, the stage is blocked and when he finishes, Billy C and I have to push our way forward and he forgets to even introduce us but we play anyway. We play "Maggie's Farm." Billy and I play our hearts out, but clearly Liam is just calling it in. He's already got bigger plans.

He stops the song short and says, "I just can't deal with you guys anymore. You're smothering me artistically." And he just walks off stage.

Billy, who by the way is his kindly old father, shuffles off, leaving me standing there alone on the stage.

So I plow right into my rendition of Bach's toccata and fugue in G-wizz and I'm playing brilliantly, but the crowd has left the stage and followed Liam Canary to the back of the Depot, where he buys a frappuccino and starts signing autographs.

At the end of the evening, as I sit in the back and console Billy Canary, the guy who runs the show invites Liam back. Then he turns to us and says "You guys were ok too."

Oh well, at least Ma got to hear it.