I booked in to do Luton Head Jam on 5/11/2008. I practiced the same songs as for
Bedford and didn't have a problem with them, so I thought I would try
again. I reached the venue at half nine, thinking I had 10 minutes before going
on. However, Phil's guitar batteries had run out and he hadn't brought
it. I decided to fetch my guitar, but on the way back remembered that my pick
up was on Spon's acoustic. So I went straight to him and explained the
situation. He lent me his guitar so we did not need to fiddle about removing
the pick up and fifteen minutes later I was on my way again!
I reached the venue five minutes before my turn, but on opening the case found
no strap on the guitar. Undeterred, I got on the stage, and decided to chat
to the audience, explaining that I would be sitting down! Phil set everything
up for me and I played Dancing in the Shade without a hitch. I warned the audience
before going into Cut Me Down, I didn't take it so seriously which took
the pressure off. I told how Terry had written this song and I would try to
do it justice. I played it, and there wasn't a mistake in it - so different
from the week before! I think it may be down to the angle I hold the guitar
' sitting down for that song is definitely easier!!! The third song was
Fearless and Wild, which is an old band song. I explained to the audience that,
as with so many of our songs, Terry had half written the song and I had finished
it.
The audience really seemed to appreciate knowing a little about the songs '
I didn't think they would be listening that much, but it seems this added
to the performance. It was unplanned, but it made me feel more comfortable and
in turn warmed up the audience.
Later,I joined Acoustic Stage on My Space and booked a space at open mike night in
Cambridge. I was a little worried as my voice had all but disappeared earlier
on in the week. My boss had brought in a bunch of lilies, and although they
were beautiful flowers I suffered a pretty severe reaction as they opened up
and their pollen filled the office. My throat was painful and closing up. But
that had been Tuesday and the music was on Sunday. I rested my voice up until
Saturday, and then tried it out. It was strange; I could get the low notes and
the high ones, but mid range was out! On Saturday night I spent an hour playing
every song, talking through the lyrics in the Lou Reed way that I use when I
have a cold.
Sunday 16th November was a rainy day. I spent the day listening to Transylvanian Folk Music. I knew my throat was still not really up to scratch, but we set off anyway to the Corner House Pub in Cambridge and arrived to a very pleasant welcome.
The crew from the pub and Acoustic Stage were very friendly and told us that
they had hosted open mike night for only the last three weeks, so everyone was
new to it.
It was perfect for practicing at playing live, and I had already talked with most
of the audience. I tried explaining about my throat and my allergic reaction
to pollen. Spon told me later that this had been mis-understood as apparently
'pollen' is another word for hash, so someone asked Spon if I smoked
a lot. That's the funniest thing ever!!!!
I thought I would try out a song to test the levels, but the audience was really
listening, so I had to do a proper performance. I had actually begun my set
without realizing, and did my second song first! Cupboardful of Friends is an
old busking song that people keep reminding me about. I wouldn't record
it, but its fun to do live.
I had to carry on, so I sung 'Anytime' and completely surprised myself, because
when the moment came I sung it when I had intended to do a more talky version
to save my throat! (still a bum note or two!) I finished my three songs with
Can't Happen ' explaining to the audience that Terry had written this about
Chenobyl. I had worried about the end as I leap up the guitar neck at the end
and Spon had put a chalk mark on the side of the guitar so that I could gauge
my way. That bit went fine and I was so surprised I lost concentration and lost
the chord sequence. All I could do was laugh. I am learning not to take it so
seriously! The audience seemed to enjoy my spot and as there were only a couple
of other acts I said I would go on again as it was great experience.
Droome
The guys on after me were called 'Droome' which is kind of Dutch for 'Dream'. We
really liked their stuff. The bass player was excellent and the singer had written
the songs and performed them enigmatically. They entertained us with lyrically
rich Gothic style songs. It is so good to hear songs that tell stories. They
were delivered in a very original style; the singer put his quirky personality
into the material, while the bass kept the tunes interesting. These guys had
a lot of fun and were tight. They passed on the open mike phone number for Hitchin
to me while another guy sung with a drummer on bongos, didn't catch their names,
but enjoyed their material as well.
When it was my turn again I scanned through my songs. I chose Diamonds Don't
Go and by some sort of miracle got to the end without a hitch. Then I played
Crossing over and realized my voice was going! I decided not to worry about
it; I was already on the ride! I was doing this second set sitting down as the
previous guitarist had, and finished up with She's Gone, deciding to really
open my throat and see how far I could get. I survived and realized not be afraid
about my throat. My singing lessons with Char are teaching me that breath control
is what makes the voice flow, not stressing the throat.
Droome gave another performance after this, and seemed even better. They used poetry from Edward Lear's Owl and the Pussycat and gave a unique performance
of their only cover, Born Free. Spon filmed it on his camera, covertly of course,
so as not to put them off. I hadn't heard the song since I last saw the
film on a British Airways flight from Bangladesh. It was somewhat of an epiphany
for me as I had been stuck in Dakkar airport for two days after becoming stranded
on the way back from India. I was too tired at the time to see the irony of
the situation.
We watched Droome do Born Free on Spon's phone afterwards, but Spon hadn't
pressed the stop button so he was unsure if it would be ok for U Tube which
is a damn shame as these guys have a strong theatrical presence.
I really enjoyed meeting all the people that night and hope to return to the Corner House again soon. I found performing easier, probably because experience is
building up and I was using my own guitar. I also made it clear from the start
that I was there to practice. Most of all I got over my shyness about playing
in front of Spon.
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