Adam Kurtz

First, the set list of my virginal LA gig:

1. City Boy (2009 - Open Road)
2. Atmosphere (2008 - Devil is defeated)
3. An Offer I Can't Refuse (2006 - Halfway Rock)
4. Wasting Water (2009 - Throw Them in the Ocean - unreleased)
5. Sleep Walking (2009 - Open Road)
6. Zvezda (KINO)
7. Back On Your Feet (2009 - Throw Them in the Ocean - unreleased)
8. Burning Away (2008 - Devil is defeated)
9. Living It Up (2006 - Halfway Rock)

I had to narrow down my greatest hits from each album and that was tough. I know what you're thinking: who is this asshole who has never had even one hit talking about all the greatest hits? Well, it's me, and i'm just talking about my own personal favorite songs, so buzz off. Sure, there were songs I would have played had i more time: Slum Lord, Oxidation, Will You Won't You, The Funeral, Crossroads, Figure It Out, Survivor, Slo-Motion, Will of the Water, Illusion, I'm Comin' In, you know, songs like that, but I was limited to 40 minutes.

The Viper Room was everything it's cracked up to be. Small, intimate, red-glowing, noisy, expensive, impossible to park near. Granted, I'm talking about the acoustic lounge at the Viper Room, not where Skid Row or whoever made waves with their long hair and outrageous guitar solos 25 years back. But it's still the Viper Room, and it's still the Sunset Strip, and whatever was going on upstairs sure brought out the best of 'em. Certainly an interesting mixture or uber-hip dyed hair tight clothing tattooed party folk and the more down to earth lower key but still hip folks coming out to see me and the others on the bill.

There was a scare at first - the deal was my show was to be $10, but only $7 with this flyer you could print out. Well, turns out, the upstairs show was $15, so even though they stamped the upstairs people, and braceletted the downstairs people, they still insisted on charging $15 for the downstairs show. Bullshit!! I wouldn't even pay $15 to see me play! (not true: $10 for parking and $8 for my first drink, and i paid over that to hear me play). My scores of fans were arriving and not happy about the more than 100% admission hike. I even threw away the 10 'discount flyers' i'd printed out. No sooner had I done that than the booking dude said, actually, i worked it out so the flyers will work. Hooray! So i quickly fished the flyers out of the nearby trash can (something about a 5 minutes rule, right?) and my friends got in for $7. Except for Mike, who was the first to arrive, and with whom i've been crashing here in LA. He paid the $15 and they wouldn't give him a refund. I owe him. A lot. He gets to see me sprawled out on this own floor every morning for free, and then has to pay $15 to see me play out? Bon Iver played SPACE for $10 a few years ago!!

Well, I played for an audience of about 12-15 friends and 15 or so strangers. The KINO song was a big hit; my Russian scowl was in full force - i just can't help it, i'm sorry. I enjoyed playing Living It Up, an old classic, one of these songs I vividly remember writing (winter of 2005, in my first Portland apartment, sun coming in in the morning, sitting on the couch, struggling with the lyrics but eventually coming up with ones i like, with a progression through the day in the 4 verses: morning, afternoon, sunset, and mid-night, brilliant!). I also think Sleep Walking went over very well, people seemed to talk much less over that one. Actually, I kid, i was quite happy with, humbled almost (hard to humble me), that the audience talking was pretty modest. My friends were certainly listening, and i think others were as well. It was definitely a good vibe.

A great 'first' gig, and i look forward to others, both solo and with a band. Playing music is really the best.