Cafe Zoe 5-22-26

Phew, what a night, am I right? We had an amazing time playing the back patio at Cafe Zoe in Menlo Park on Friday night. The joint was a jumpin', as they say! We hadn't really ever played here in this particular configuration; way back in the day, Willy and the Four Boys got their start here; we played our first ever show here back in, I think, 2018. We had to go from the three songs we knew to a full set of 20, over the course of about a month. And we somehow pulled it off! I'll never forget Rod's bass nearly taking out a swinging light during a rollicking cover of Social Distortion's 'Ball & Chain.' 

Fast-forward a few years and, after the Vida Blues Band had formed, we had a chance to play a few more shows, including one on a Saturday morning that included mimosas and coffee and perhaps an angry phone call from a neighbor who may have been surprised to hear rock 'n roll so early in the morning. And then again at our beloved Kathleen and Zoe's 'going away bash,' after they had decided to sell to our friend Matt the Neighborhood Pizza Guy. 

But this was our first show since, and the entire back patio area was brand new to us. We had to do this show without any practice on the setlist, as Rod & Julia were focused all week on their son, who is now home from the hospital and feeling better. I debuted an electronic Alesis drum kit and the sound seemed pretty solid, other than a couple of times when the kit literally fell apart because I hadn't properly tightened it. It was also the Friday leading into Memorial Day Weekend, so we weren't quite sure how many people would actually show. 

Still, things went swimmingly, for the most part! And toward the end, they started to move into 'electricity in the air' mode. I think the song that started to pick things up for us was Johnny Cash's "Folsom Prison Blues," which was one of a few that we hadn't played in months. As usual, we need to thank our friend and superfan Payve, who not only got up and started dancing, she got THE REST OF THE PLACE up and dancing. 

Then we moved into one of our new favorites, Simple MInds "Don't You Forget About Me," which apparently connected with every 80s kid in the place. The 'na na na NA' sing-along at the end now ranks as one of my top five moments on stage ever (along with a version of "Smells Like Teen Spirit" from the aforementioned first Zoe show, where people were jumping up and down so hard, the floor was shaking). And, although we may have been SLIGHTLY past the 8:00 show-closing-time, we figured everyone needed one more, which happened to be The Outfield's "Your Love." Wild dancing continued. And you couldn't wipe the smiles off our faces if you tried. I guess the 80s are back! 

We want to thank Matt for giving us another shot to play, and we'd love to come back again! And, of course, we'd like to thank our usual crew of fans for being amazing. (and Leigh Wilson for all of the photos and videos you see here!)