It was almost dinner time, and I suggested we eat at the hotel. Everybody agreed, and we had a great meal.
When we returned to the lounge later, we silently set up.
I noticed that the lounge wasn’t that crowded, and the average age of the patrons was about thirty or forty. This confirmed what the manager had told me.
I decided to let Kristen start with Summer Wind. During dinner, she told me that this was a song her parents really enjoyed listening to. I made a mental note to put this song, with Kristen singing lead, into the list of songs that I intended to record as a present for the Swifts.
From there, we did the standard bosa-nova numbers with the cha-cha beat that Archy and the normal band played. I noticed that Archy and the drummer were playing almost as if by rote, except that they weren’t always used to my styling. Kristen was amazing in that she seemed to anticipate when I would go off on a tangent and take an unannounced solo and fade into the background, and when I thought a guitar solo was needed, she was there and ready to perform.
After about fifteen minutes, Archy seemed much more comfortable, and, like Kristen, he was able to anticipate when I thought he’d be perfect for a solo.
After playing a bunch of classics, I decided to go for some rock, albeit older numbers. First up was a number that Kristen sang lead on, Johnny Angel. It was an old number from one of the stars of a 1950s sitcom that I barely knew. I had heard the song, but never tried to play it before. However, Kristen gave me the key, and it wasn’t a difficult song. Unfortunately, it wasn’t a song where Archy or I could do a good solo.
Next, I sang a duet of Lollipops with Kristen. It was a number that Archy, Kristen, and I knew from her birthday. That number came out surprisingly well. Kristen definitely had a singer’s voice. I was actually surprised by her range.
I noticed that we hadn’t lost our audience yet. If anything, the place was starting to actually fill up. I announced that Archy, Kristen, and I were all from a suburb of Chicago and we wanted to dedicate our next number to our great city. I started the intro to Saturday in the Park and Kristen was actually cooking on the rhythm guitar! Archy was impeccable in his accompaniment and the drummer was smiling as well.
I could see the audience was getting into the swing of things. We took it back to Sinatra with Fly Me to the Moon, and then followed it with a rocking version of Elton John’s Goodbye Yellow Brick Road. As I was singing that song, I realized that the “Eerie” setting on the electronic keyboard would be perfect for another Elton John number, and made a mental note to add that one in our next set.
Finally, it was time to end the set with Kristen’s hauntingly beautiful rendition of Dream a Little Dream of Me and I watched, transfixed, as Kristen serenaded me with her beautiful voice. Everybody else in the entire room disappeared as she poured her soul out to me. Archy’s solo on the song was even more beautiful than when we rehearsed it.
In between sets, I walked off with Archy, Troy (the drummer), and Kristen. Archy told me that the next set was in an hour, but that John, the usual pianist, usually sat in the lounge and played for about twenty minutes in the middle of the rest time. I didn’t have a problem doing that; it was a good way for me to get rid of excess nervous energy from performing with the rest of the band.
Kristen gave me a big kiss before I left to do my piano serenades, and I felt fully recharged. I walked out to the keyboard to applause, much to my surprise. Kristen came out, and got a seat to sit next to me.
The lounge was nearly full by this time.
I didn’t know what to start with, so I did the old classic As Time Goes By. It was a song that sounded great on keyboard and didn’t need a vocal. As I played it, I saw June in the audience, sitting at a table with Lynette. June was smiling and wiping a tear from her eye. I then remembered my “We’ll always have Paris” conversation, and I felt the same emotion that she was feeling. I hadn’t played this song just for her, but once I saw her reaction, I made sure it would be special for her.
I decided to keep in the mood by playing Three Dog Night’s Old Fashioned Love Song, another song that sounded great on the piano. However, after playing the intro, I forgot that I was doing a keyboard only set and started to sing into the microphone, which was still turned on.
The audience started to clap as I sang the song. I was a bit embarrassed. With the exception of my own room in my house, and alone in the music studio in my apartment, I’d never performed solo in front of a large audience before.
I continued singing, and at the end, the song received applause.
The next song I picked was an old instrumental, Love is Blue. I looked in the audience and saw that Sam and Archy were both sitting with June and Lynette now.
I played Ipanema again, and then Sinatra’s Young at Heart. Since I had already started singing along with my playing, I sang the song, since I knew the words.
Once again, I looked at the table where June was sitting. I thought of the perfect song for her, and whispered quietly to Kristen, who was sitting next to me. “You have a beautiful voice, and I know you have the range. Can you sing a song for me?”
“Which song?”
“Over the Rainbow,” I said.
Kristen closed her eyes, and I could tell she was thinking whether she knew all the words. After a few moments, she nodded to me.
I played an introduction, and stared at June as Kristen sang:
Something within me told me that this song was special to June, my little Dorothy who found herself in the wonderful land of Oz with Kristen, Lynette, and me.
Once again, I saw moisture in June’s eyes as Kristen’s lovely voice sang the words made famous by Judy Garland. I sang a harmony to Kristen on the bridge, and Kristen smiled at me when I did that.
When the song was done, I had another brilliant idea for a duet between Kristen and me.
Without even telling Kristen the song, I played the introduction to Close to You. Kristen smiled at me, and she started singing.
We played the song through, and I was ready to repeat when I heard a trumpet play the famous repeat of the verse, complete with a key change. I turned and saw Archy playing the part flawlessly. He had come on stage as Kristen and I were playing together, and surprised us. His solo was perfect, and between the three of us, I think we did great. Maybe we weren’t the Carpenters, but we did Burt Bacharach and Hal David justice with the song.