Jonathan Coulton

As I mentioned in my last post, I’m trying to shake up the set list a bit. Last night in SF it got shook up a bit too much – I blanked on The Presidents lyrics and had to bail out TWICE. you know that I make mistakes constantly at live shows, and I’ve gotten pretty good at ignoring them. For whatever reason this one really rattled me. I was off my game for quite a few songs, sort of hanging suspended over the deep black hole of total think shutdown. Of course the audience was very supportive despite my rough edges, and as usual, seemed to take particular delight in getting to see such a spectacular meltdown in person – that’s what live music is about after all. I forced myself to come back to it later in the set and got through it, which felt great. Take that you stupid song.

SF again tonight, some tickets still available last I checked. I promise I’ll make some big mistakes tonight too.

It’s taken a long time for me to get here and now I wish it had happened sooner – had a very pleasant 36 hours here and a great show last night. A lot of newcomers in the crowd, I could tell because they laughed at the sad parts and looked confused during the first verse of First of May.

This was the first gig in a couple of months, so I was a bit rusty. Also I have that perpetual parental head cold so my voice started out a little ragged. But I took requests during the day on Twitter, and that gave me a set list with some challenging choices, kept it interesting for me. I’ve fallen into a rut lately with set lists, so I’m trying to shake it up and bring in some newer stuff, maybe some of the Thing a Week songs that haven’t been done live yet.

Also I met Craig Robinson (Darryl from The Office) when he and I were both guests on the channel 7 morning news. After I did Code Monkey (on this NEWS SHOW) he claimed during his interview to have written a song called Pin Number Orangutan, which doesn’t even make any sense, but is still funny.

And now I’m headed to SF for tonight. Still tickets for Sunday I think, but Saturday is sold out.

Note: I wrote this on my phone and forgot to post it until right now…

Man, seems like I never blog anymore, I think because I’m spending all my talky energy on Twitter. In case you haven’t already joined the fray, that’s where all the action is these days, at least for me. Mostly I complain about things, but once in a while I might say something “funny” (or not).

I’m back in NYC and already behind for the year, which is no longer surprising to me. The good news is, I’m hitting the road again for a few shows in January and February. Paul and Storm and I could use some merch help for some of these too (Seattle, Portland and the Birchmere are all covered, the rest I need peeps). Just email Scarface if you’re interested.

Friday January 16 at 9 PM
The Soiled Dove Underground (Denver, CO) with Paul and Storm
Tickets: tinyurl.com/967oq8

Saturday January 17 at 9 PM
Great American Music Hall (San Francisco, CA) with Paul and Storm
SOLD OUT!

Sunday January 18 at 8 PM
Great American Music Hall (San Francisco, CA) with Paul and Storm
Tickets: tinyurl.com/4r25ns

Friday January 23 at 8 PM
Moore Theatre (Seattle, WA) with Paul and Storm
Tickets: tinyurl.com/8cqfjw

Saturday January 24 at 8 PM
The Aladdin Theater (Portland, OR) with Paul and Storm
Tickets: tinyurl.com/6upo6l

Friday February 20 at 7:30 PM
The Birchmere (Alexandria, VA) with Paul and Storm
Tickets: tinyurl.com/9xn4ue

Saturday February 21 at 8 PM
Rams Head Tavern (Annapolis, MD) with Paul and Storm
Tickets: tinyurl.com/86qvbu