I went down to listen to a few buddies of mine playing a straight blues gig at a local bar, mainly to hear their harper whom I hadn't heard play in about 20 years. The lead guitar player owns the music store I use, and the bass player bought a van from me a couple of years back. I had never played with any of them.
When I got there, the harper was playin' rhythm guitar and keyboards, and occasionally pickin' up a harp. I could tell he was a little rusty and was not really playing well, and he didn't seem to be enjoying it. At the first break he asked me if I wanted to play harp the rest of the night, so I got my case outa the car.
I had to ask what key every time, 'cuz nobody would offer it up. About 6 times in a row, the answer was "A". I guess I was really surprised that a bunch of accomplished veterans would stay in the same key for so long. I've never been a big fan of doin' that at a gig... I always thought it put the audience to sleep.
No harm though. I knew every tune they did and it was fun to play with guys who knew me but who had never played with me. We had an absolute blast and it was ass-kickin'.
Veterans are great: I didn't miss one double-stop, turnaround, or ending (I know; I got lucky).