Yes, great story. Those awesome, fun gigs make it all worthwhile. These days we looking for brunches and outdoor shows that are 2 hours long. I love playing two hours. Three is work. Two is fun. We're finding more and more venue owners amenable to this scheduling as it fits their peak times and they pay us less since shorter. We also rarely take a break if only playing for two hours.
We still play a few 3-hour gigs but those we charge (and get) our full price plus food and drink. It's nice to be able to walk away from places we don't want to play. I think the farther along we go the more just busking appeals to me. No going out and getting dates in advance, no managers/venue owners. Just pick a nice spot on a nice day and play for as little or as long as you want and the leave.
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