A Friday Night Of Blues At The Gourmet Gallery
Posted by Musician | Filed under Performances, Photos
On Friday night we had the chance to play for the new owner of the Gourmet Gallery in Abbotsford. Deception has been playing at the Gallery for many years, but Kimberly Arthurs has only owned the coffee house/art gallery/antique store since November. This was our first time playing there since she took over.
Photo by M. Margison
We played to a packed house of patrons who seemed to really “drink in” the electric Blues sounds that Deception is known for. Speaking of “drinking in”…
Kimberly has found out that she needs to buy more of certain brands of beer for our fans. She had been given a list of fan favourites to buy, and thought she bought enough. But the number of people there that night, surprised even us, and the supply in the cooler didn’t quite go far enough. However, people do adapt, and were quite happy with their 2nd choice. They did come for the music after all…
Photo by M. Margison
…And the music didn’t disappoint, despite both Art and Gary struggling with a viral infection that was effecting their throats and their vocal chords. Art and I just did slightly longer solos than normal, and we just had to be more selective in our song choices.
For us, playing the Gourmet Gallery, is like coming home. It is a great place to play music. The ambiance, the crowd that actually comes to hear the music, and the staff, all blend together to make this a very comfortable and pleasurable place to play.
Abbotsford has so few venues for live entertainment, that we really owe a big ”thank you” to the establishments that host live events. If it weren’t for places like the Gourmet Gallery, the performing arts in this town would have even fewer outlets then they do.
So “thank you” Kimberly for carrying on the tradition that Diane established, and continuing to have live acts at the Gourmet Gallery. We’re looking forward to playing there again in ’09.
Deception is the Abbotsford-based blues band formed in the mid-90s by guitar player Art Panchishin.