San Francisco Busking Area, Day 2 by Taylor LaFlam

Taylor very kindly agreed to write me a guest post for my gig in the Bay Area. I am very impressed with his brevity so I won't ruin it with a long preamble :).

On Friday evening of June 17, I was glad to be able to meet up with Terrence at Cafe Zoë in Menlo Park. The cafe, a narrow, deep venue with dark wood decor and artwork for sale displayed on the walls, proved to be a good setting for some low-key music at the end of the week. The main act was Sean and Scott, a father and two sons trio that are well known to those at Café Zoë, and the event was also simultaneously a birthday celebration for one of them. The father and one of the sons sang, and it was interesting that even given the significant age gap it could be difficult for me to know which one was singing if I wasn’t looking.

Both Terrence and I arrived, within a couple minutes of each other, a little after Sean and Scott had begun playing, delayed by greater than expected traffic and the tucked-away location of the café. At about 7:30, Terrence was able to head to the front and begin his set, beginning with “From Dawn to Busk” and then playing a few covers and another original. Having not heard Terrence play or sing since before he began this busking adventure, and having never heard him play in public, I enjoyed discovering his amiable stage presence and liked how he introduced each song with a brief story to help provide some context for its meaning to him. Sean and Scott then took the stage again and Terrence also had a bit more opportunity to play later. Terrence emerged less than thrilled with his performance, citing his allergies, but I thought that even if less than his best it was still well done.

The manager of Café Zoë was very welcoming, and, in addition to providing us with a couple free sandwiches, bought one of Terrence’s CDs with a nice tip.

It had been a little bit of a drive down from San Francisco but well worth it. I was really glad to finally hear Terrence perform in person again and to have the chance to catch up a little bit before he headed to his next destination—my native neck of the woods, Seattle.

Earnings: $64.00, 40 minutes
Song of the Day: Collide - Howie Day