HoS Take Two
Last night I went to Jack's second Head of Steam Open Mic. It was a rush to get down there after a cycle ride home in the cold dark, but I made my way there; helped by the anticipation of a few pints of the Thornbridge/Neptune collaboration American Brown Ale ‘Beacon.’
Was a different crowd than the first one and probably a bit busier. The position of the musical gear was the other side of the room from last time. So I ended up, after moving from one table to another, sat in my usual corner of the pub to watch and listen to the music.
There was top music from multiple guitarists and singers. And then I was asked if I was going to play. I agreed that I would. It was after all my initial aim: even if everyone else was more accomplished than me. I’d said over the intervening month since the first Open Mic that I would play different songs than I did at the first one. Not sure it was an entirely good idea. After all it was an entirely new crowd from the first one so I could have played the same songs and (other than Jack (the host)) no-one would have been any the wiser.
Anyway – as promised – I ended up playing different songs than the previous Open Mic with:
‘Somewhere Down the Road’ (Chuck Prophet)
‘Down By The Water’ (Decemberists)
‘The One I Love’ (REM)
‘Whiskey In My Whiskey’ (Felice Brothers)
It largely went okay with the exception of fooking up Down By The Water. Need to ensure I play and play these songs at home so that they become almost muscle memory. I ended up messing it up a little and instead of playing through the mistake I got a bit flustered. I could have tried again from the start but made the decision to move on to a definite muscle memory one (The Swan Song).
I considered playing another song but volunteered to leave after the fourth. There were better people to follow after all.
Later on two Americans told me as they leaving that they really enjoyed my set. It was nice to hear, even if it was just down to my Americana choices. I’ll take that.
Oh and the Beacon was lovely and flowed very easily.
Of course this morning I got up and played Down By the Water straight through a few times without even trying. C'est la vie.
Was a different crowd than the first one and probably a bit busier. The position of the musical gear was the other side of the room from last time. So I ended up, after moving from one table to another, sat in my usual corner of the pub to watch and listen to the music.
There was top music from multiple guitarists and singers. And then I was asked if I was going to play. I agreed that I would. It was after all my initial aim: even if everyone else was more accomplished than me. I’d said over the intervening month since the first Open Mic that I would play different songs than I did at the first one. Not sure it was an entirely good idea. After all it was an entirely new crowd from the first one so I could have played the same songs and (other than Jack (the host)) no-one would have been any the wiser.
Anyway – as promised – I ended up playing different songs than the previous Open Mic with:
‘Somewhere Down the Road’ (Chuck Prophet)
‘Down By The Water’ (Decemberists)
‘The One I Love’ (REM)
‘Whiskey In My Whiskey’ (Felice Brothers)
It largely went okay with the exception of fooking up Down By The Water. Need to ensure I play and play these songs at home so that they become almost muscle memory. I ended up messing it up a little and instead of playing through the mistake I got a bit flustered. I could have tried again from the start but made the decision to move on to a definite muscle memory one (The Swan Song).
I considered playing another song but volunteered to leave after the fourth. There were better people to follow after all.
Later on two Americans told me as they leaving that they really enjoyed my set. It was nice to hear, even if it was just down to my Americana choices. I’ll take that.
Oh and the Beacon was lovely and flowed very easily.
Of course this morning I got up and played Down By the Water straight through a few times without even trying. C'est la vie.
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