Expectations minus Reality equals Frustration !

We kind of stole that quote from Corporate America. It is so true. As a band and as individual members of a band we all have high Expectations for our ourselves and our music. We Expect to be able to pick any song we like from the seventies Rock era and if we like it be able to play it as a band. We Expect to be able to show up to a show and not suck. We Expect our gear will perform as it is supposed to. We have been finding out that the Reality of it is that there are some songs we just cannot perform at a high level.......yet. We Expect to be able to sing and play like Geddy Lee on any given RUSH tune. We Expect to be able to play any of the guitar leads, bass lines, vocal harmonies or drum solo's. As a band we have pretty much been on an even keel or perhaps even flying high for the last 5 years but the last two Wednesday night practices before our July 15 Short Stop and July 22 American Legion gigs were FRUSTRATING !!! Maybe it was knowledge that the gigs were upon us and we were "out of time" as far as polishing any of the songs further. Maybe it was the fact we have been going at it pretty hard for the last 6 months. Maybe being in a band is a lot like being MARRIED!!! Somedays are better than others. We were having hardware issues. Channel #1 on the P.A went out. The CUZ's main vocal mic was losing it's punch. The CUZ was having tube problems in his amp. Kinger wasn't happy with the skins on a couple of his drums. The CUZ had recently spend thousand's on a beautiful GIBSON but dropped it TWICE in practice due to the strap not cooperating with the layout of the new guitar. (some minor damage by the way) We were all having issues in our "real life" with stress in our careers. After playing together for 5 years we finally have gotten to the point where we have MORE SONGS on our list than we can play in a single night. (when did THAT happen ????) We have been struggling to finalize which songs make the cut and which ones get the axe. Lonzo finally came to the realization that HE CAN'T SING "RADAR LOVE" worth a damn!! As a band during these two WED practices we lacked energy, disagreed on various things, got moody, got pissed at our gear, never got in any sort of groove, had NO FUN ! and generally just sucked all the way around. Maybe this is EXACTLY what we needed !!!!!!