Greetings:

We have all heard the Gigs from Hell stories. Here's one about a Gig from Heaven. It was at Kingsborough Community College in Brooklyn, New York, yesterday, April 9, 2008. Hillel Arnold, Anne Price, and I were hired by the college to provide a one-hour daytime concert of Woody Guthrie songs, free to students, faculty, and staff. Everything was perfect. Well, just about everything. Read on.

• The campus itself is right along the Atlantic Ocean, with a beautiful view out to sea.

• It was easy to reach by highway, with free on-campus parking for performers.

• The concert site was a playhouse, with comfortable theater seating for the audience, a secure green room, and two dressing rooms.

• The sound engineer set us up quickly and exactly the way we had requested.

• There was a printed program.

• The concert began on time.

• The concert organizer, who also served as MC, did a wonderful job of introducing us. She said enough about each of us, and about Woody, without overdoing it.

• The audience of about 80 to 100 were attentive and appreciative. The students especially liked songs that referred to Brooklyn, and they sang along enthusiastically on the choruses of Mermaid Avenue and I'm Living in Coney Island 'Til I Die.

• We were paid well, or at least we will be once the college finance office cuts the checks.

Was there any downside? Yes, just one. The only place to sell CDs was in the lobby just outside the auditorium. We didn't bring anyone with us to handle sales, and by the time we were able to set up our wares at the end of the show, most of the audience had gone. Nevertheless, on a scale of 1 to 10, this gig rates a 9.5.

Anyone else with Gigs from Heaven stories?

--- Steve