Jake Shimabukuro finished his current tour with a dynamite performance tonight in Austin, TX. For most of the night, he let his fingers do the talking, ranging from slow soulful notes to a whirlwind of melody, harmony, and rhythm, but whenever he stopped to talk, he radiated a warm and genuine charm, both on stage and later when he was signing autographs.

I had expected him to be surrounded on stage by different ukes for different songs, but he only played a single uke the entire show. He creates an extraordinary range of sounds out of that one uke. Bass guitarist Nolan Verner added some low end on all but three songs, and Jake incorporated a looper in one song.

Thank you, Leta, for inviting me, and thanks to "thugs of TUG" (Tuesday Uke Group) who met at Tyson's Tacos before the show.

Paul and I had another fun gig at The Watercrest in Bryan, TX today. This was a "make-up" show for us because we had to cancel last month's show due to imminent flooding at John's house. With no photo to post, I created (yes, I'm an artist, too) this rendering. I think I'll use it on our "John y Pablo" business cards. 

Played in the little village of Walburg again tonight. It was a lot of fun, although an over-crowded schedule led to only two songs per act. I played "Don't Dallas My Austin" and "Friendly Bottle of Beer" with Kevin Marin backing me on blues harp on both. Kevin backed up Kaye and I during our shared "set," and several other acts invited him back on stage to play with them, too.

Great to have Kevin Marin back in Austin, if only for the week. Took him to an open mic in Round Rock tonight at Junior's Icehouse. Kevin played with almost every act. He had fun, and so did that of us fortunate enough to be there to hear it.

Tonight's open mic at B.B. Rovers was sparsely attended, and I'm not sure why. Perhaps everyone is still reeling over the terrorist attacks on Paris Friday.

Despite it all, we had a good time. Paul played bass for me at the start of the show and with David True later. David also let me blow some blues harp during a couple of songs.

Woody (not pictured) from the Austin Ukulele Society Ensemble came by tonight. He has a wonderful voice, and I loved his song selections. Jacob did his solo harmonic thing and backed-up Jim Cleveland on another song. Two BBR first-timers were there, plus regulars Overdue Bill, Kaye Reznick, David True, Paul Teneyuque. Diana Bordelon, fresh from Fischer Fest, came by, as did my old Texas Mutual friend, Jeremiah Bentley. All in all, a great night.

The Austin Ukulele Society Ensemble played at the Owl Wine Bar in Elgin this afternoon. We had a great time, and the folks there really seemed to like our stuff.

I had never stopped in Elgin before today. It's a beautiful town, especially its historic district.

Despite some initial monitor problems, Paul and I had a great 45-minute set last night. We played at B.D. Riley's Irish Pub on 6th Street.

I played seven songs from my CD, plus four news. Considering he only had one short rehearsal just before the show, Paul did an admirable job on bass. As usual, his back-up vocals were spot-on.

The set list:
1. Don't Dallas My Austin
2. All Hat and No Cattle
3. Daddy is a Cowboy Now
4. Hot Pepper Tamale
5. That Kind of Song
6. Grandma's Star
7. Waitin' at the Station
8. Folsom Prison Blues (minor key arrangement)
9. She Won't Rock My Wagon Wheel Anymore
10. Last Chance Tattoo
11. A Friendly Bottle of Beer

Only sold one CD, but had an exceptionally good tip jar. Probably could have been even better if I'd thought to ask Anna to walk the jar around the crowd.

Three nights in a row I opted to stay home instead of going to the shows I'd originally planned to see. I missed Folk Uke on Thursday (waah, it might rain), Kathy & the Kilowatts on Friday (waah, it's starts so late), and Gal Dangit on Saturday (waah, I'm too tired). What a crybaby. 

Definitely an off-week for me. Haven't performed in a few days, and I'm feeling antzy, as my dad would call it. Got to see my friends in Smiledon perform Tuesday in Round Rock. Weather permitting, I'll go down south tonight to see Folk Uke at Strange Brew. Hope to see Kathy & the Kilowatts at C-Boy's Heart and Soul tomorrow; Gal Dangit at Patsy's Cafe on Saturday; Clyde at the Lazy Lizard on Sunday.

Next week's schedule includes three "ukulele nights" plus a gig at The Legacy in Leander on Friday. Looking forward to it.