GIGS
Monday 21st November 2011
The Jolly Anglers, Reading RG1 3EA
open-mic hosted by Tony Brown
When I was a secondary school teacher, there was always some nervousness before the start of the Autumn Term along the lines of "Will I be able to do this again?" And so it was last night, before I performed at The Jolly Anglers after having had a two week break.
I actually now approach performing as if I'm getting on a plane or having an operation: there's nothing I can do about it except have faith in the pilot / surgeon. I know, I know, planes do crash and people don't always survive operations but it's the best analogy I can think of at the moment and it does seem to work. Basically just having a little bit faith in myself and not worrying about it, not testing myself beforehand, not checking I can remember things. I try not to think about the performance beforehand and when the time comes, I get on with it.
And last night it went fine. I thought my guitar sounded terrible but on asking the audience they said it was okay, so maybe it was just me and I carried on regardless. I was however pleased with the way I sang. I feel like I'm hitting the "spot" with respect to these songs at the moment. When I say "I", I'm not sure I have much to do with it, it just seems to happen as I enjoy myself and focus on the moment.
It's quite gratifying playing songs that at times took a stupendous amount of effort and time to write, and then having people tapping accompanying rhythms on their tables, dancing, and applauding you. It feels like it's all being funneled through a magnifying glass and coming into focus. There's no doubt last night I was helped by the friendliness of The Jolly Anglers and it was good to see some familiar faces, in particular "The Dancers". There were also some very good other acts; if you want to be entertained on a Monday night, you should come along.
Don't forget the gig with Luke Paulo at the Global Cafe on 14th December. More details here.
songs performed :
