Tonight's (Solo) Setlist: 9/20/13 Twisted Thistle, Leechburg, Pa.

Tonight's set had a bit of a Southern gothic feel to it...

Lots of voodoo, alligator swamps and strange moons...

After nearly a year of pretty much just playing full-band gigs with Charlie Hustle & the Grifters, it was fun and maybe just a little nerve-wracking to jump back in the solo seat for a night at the Twisted Thistle. It's always a blast to dig back into the songbook, but I also end up picking stuff I haven't practiced for months.

On top of that, my regular acoustic guitar is in the shop — apparently it needs a replacement jack that can only be procured from a rare metal found in the center of the earth, or some other ridiculous sh*t that's causing a simple one-day repair to enter its third week. So I borrowed a beautiful old Gibson from one of my fellow Hustlers. Rarely-practiced tunes. Unfamiliar guitar. All things considered, it was a pretty good night.

Click here to download/stream the set courtesy of Archive.org:

Early set:

Lou-Easy-Ann (J.J. Cale)

Mother's Meth Head Blues*

Garbage Man (M. McKinley)

Dauphine* >

Whiskey River (W. Nelson)

Midnight Special (Leadbelly)

Dark as a Dungeon (M. Travis)

New Mexican Shuffle*

Rain Song No. 3*

Lodi (CCR)

Mystery Train (J. Parker) >

Statesboro Blues v1 > Mystery Train

Late set:

Me and My Uncle (Dead) >

Gris Gris Gumbo Ya Ya (M. Rebennack)

She Wore a Wreath of Roses (T. Bayly)

Third Street Woman (J. Willie Reynolds)

Strange Moon*

It Hurts Me Too (E. James)

I Like It*

Factory*

Magnolia (J.J. Cale) >

Alligator (Dead) > Jam >

Berta Berta (Trad.) >

Slow Train (T. Bruno) > Jam >

Dark Star (Dead) >

Slow Train >

Junco Partner (H. Byrd, var.) >

Deep Elem Blues (Trad.)

*Original

Tonight's Setlist: 9/13/13, Pittsburgh Abides (Lebowski-Fest), Artist Image Resources, Pittsburgh, Pa.

"I'm the penthouse pauper, baby, I got nothin' to my name..."

What a fantastic night. Scores of folks dressed up as 'Big Lebowski' characters including a very convincing Viking Maude Lebowski, Yinz'N'Out Burgers from the Lomito food truck, maybe the best print I ever bought for $10 of the event logo, and us laying down an all-Creedence set in honor of their prominent place in the film of the evening.

On a side note, that John Fogerty is one high-tenor-yellin'-sumummabitch. There are a couple points where my voice just won't do it anymore, on "Graveyard Train" and "Born on the Bayou." He gets waaaaaaaaay up there.

Best sights of the night:

• The guy who took second place in the costume contest dressed as Jackie Treehorn's notepad with the giant dick drawing.

• Me finding two bottles of Sioux City Sasparilla at, of all places, Stanford Home Center.

• White Russian popsicles!

• The best lightshow we'll ever get as a band, a running loop of naked-women-on-trampolines at Jackie Treehorn's house.

Click here to stream/download the set courtesy of Archive.org.

One set:

Run Through the Jungle

Lodi

Bad Moon Rising

Cotton Fields

Fortunate Son

Penthouse Pauper

Feelin' Blue

Graveyard Train

Travelin' Band

Born on the Bayou

Lookin' Out My Backdoor

Saturday's Setlist: Charlie Hustle & the Grifters, 8/31/13, Rosedale Beach Club, Penn Hills, Pa.

We jam. People dance.

Tonight's set continued our burgeoning tradition of taking slight steps outside our comfort zone. We jammed our way through a couple of unrehearsed segues, skipped a mid-suite song on the fly and had to cut our second set short because of lightning in the area. But all in all, it was great fun and an excellent way to celebrate two band members' birthdays.

Click here to stream/download the set courtesy of Archive.org.

Early set:

Jam > Feelin' Alright (S. Winwood)

Nobody Knows the Way I Feel This Morning (D. Van Ronk) >

Me and My Uncle (Dead)

Jam > Stealin' (Trad.)

Soul Serenade (C. Ousley) >

Good Morning Lil' Schoolgirl (J. Lee Williamson)

Come On In My Kitchen (R. Johnson)

Rain (Lennon-McCartney) > Jam >

Friend of the Devil (Dead) >

Whiskey River (W. Nelson)

Late set:

Garbage Man (M. McKinley)

Magnolia (J.J. Cale) >

Jam >

Don't Let Go (J. Stone)

Gentleman of Leisure (J. Winchester)

New Mexican Shuffle*

Big Bad Blues (Furthur) >

Jam > Stone Soup* > Jam >

Dock of the Bay (O. Redding) >

Jam//**

*Original

**Set cut short by lightning strikes in the area