for me, it depends on the audience, and maybe the event, but I really do have a short list of 'first songs' - If I need to address an "hey, I've heard that tune before ... " need in my audience I might play Kris Kristofferson' s Bobby Magee. If it's a quiet night and a folky crowd, I might play an early Jackson Browne tune These Days. If it's a Celtic crowd I often start with one of my own Fighting Tigers of Ireland - a rousing tune that tells the story of the Confederacy's 6th Louisianna Regiment (70% Irish born). If it's a quiet Celtic crowd,I have started with Wild Mountain Thyme.