A week ago, the whole band went down to the Coffee Gallery to meet Bob Stane, the owner, check out the venue and the sound system and drop off some CDs for Bob and his employees. Bob wasn’t there, but we talked to the girl working the counter, left some CDs and asked how many reservations we had. Her reservation sheet had 56 entries on it — not bad for a venue that seats 49.

As a side note, I should say that I’m obsessed with draw, house size, reservation numbers, what ever you want to call it, because independent music lives and dies by those numbers. The ability to play a venue depends directly on your ability to fill it. This goes for every venue I’ve ever played, Bogarts, Toe Jam, Galaxy, Coach House, El Rey, and, yes, the Renaissance Faire.

On the day of the gig, a little over half of the people who called for reservations made it to the gig. The packed house we were all expecting didn’t materialize. I kept waiting, with a pit in my stomach, for Bob, the owner, to come up and ask me where everyone was. I’ve hand more than one unpleasant conversation with venue management about crappy draws, and I really don’t want any more.

But at the end of the night, Bob was very pleased. Turns out our percentage of no-shows was pretty typical lately. People aren’t spending as much money, and they tend to stay home and do something free, rather than go out and spend money they’re not sure they can afford to spend.

Can’t blame ‘em at all. A certain percentage of people just won’t make a show, regardless of how much they intend to — even if they purchase ticket ahead of time, cars break down, days get double booked, emergencies happen, people lose track of the day. It happens and you learn to expect it.

But all was well. Bob was happy with our draw, he liked our music and he wants us back for another show after Faire. He was the coolest, most no-pressure venue owner I’ve ever dealt with. Guys like that are rare.

Additionally, we were approached by a gentleman who hosts a soon-to-be nationally syndicated folk radio show, and he wants to set up a date for us to come in and perform live on the air. How awesome is that!