Linda Stout

After driving back from being in Rochester for a gig (and to see my baby niece, Megan Elizabeth; yay) I got to see Vicki Genfen, www.vickigenfan.com, Saturday in Ithaca. She is a supreme guitarist, incorporating tapping, all manner of strumming, finger picking, fingerstyle, picking with a pick, and she even tried a slide for part of a song. The bar was teeming with estrogen, martinis and even Pabst Blue Ribbon in martini glasses, and some unfortunate souls were too busy talking to their girlfriends or future girlfriends to listen to this amazing musician, a great guitarist who can also sing well. I was already annoyed enough about loud crowds as a musician myself, but had, at the advice of my inner agent, and knowing what I was getting into, taken a party gig. But sometimes, and more and more, they all go quiet. Eric Clapton could have been playing in that bar, and loud voices would have bounced off the hard walls. Some people don't care that much about music. Well, some of them were, I think, her friends, and maybe so used to her they couldn't shut up. Still it was fun, and I was talking, but between songs.