More news from the rock and roller front.
The Lark Tavern open mic last night. Coming off of what was far from being a good performance at the Bayou the night before, I wasn't really feeling it. There was next to no one there, not even the jam band who promised me they'd come back this week.
I was ready to do something different from the night before, in the hopes of giving Jason a little better idea of what I'm capable of, but I also wanted to stick with songs that I know I can play, so I chose them based on genre/style and ease of chord changes. Also, after Mike's comments about my intros, I have decided to go back to rehearsing the intros as well. Honestly, I'm not even sure why I stopped doing that. It makes having intros easier and I feel more at ease, generally, when I can tell a story about what I'm about to do.
So I was ready.
And then I had a CRAPPY CRAPPY CRAPPY evening. From the moment I walked into the house the whole day took this sudden turn and went straight downhill. I'm not even going to get into the details. This is not even something I want to try to remember down the road.
So fast forward to I get to the Lark Tavern. Very few people there, but the sign-up is well populated. I don't entirely understand how that happened. I'm already in a foul mood and almost as soon as I get my first beer, I manage to spill half of it all over the table... and the floor... and my wallet... and ME.
But I move on, and I get accosted by the annoying little man. This time, though, I finally found a way to make him go away and leave me alone. Basically, all I had to do was show him up... without even trying. He's standing there talking about how he doesn't feel comfortable without a band behind him and how he needs to find other musicians to play with so he can record and do shows (he's done one, back in July).
The thing about this guy is that he's pompous about stupid things. He seems to want me to believe that he's a lot more successful in his music than he actually is, that he's wiser than me somehow and that couldn't be further from the truth. He was stunned when he started asking about my mother and I started listing off her accomplishments. I think that he *wanted* her to be more of an amateur, and totally was not expecting to be floored by the fact that my mother has been pursuing a musical career longer than he has been alive. He was also certainly taken aback when I mentioned that I have known Mother Judge and several of the regular performers (some of whom he "uses" in his own performances) for over 20 years.
His eyes started to turn green.
*Then* I told him about the open mic on Tuesday. I didn't even really talk much about the performance, but getting invited to perform with the Galway Garage Band and getting some free recording out of it, well that pretty much shut him up. I know, I know, it was kind of a snobbish move, but I'm kind of a snobbish person and I had to get him off me. I think that once he figured out that I have more connections than he does and that I'm moving faster on this than he is, he lost interest in the (apparent) idea of "taking me under his wing". Or something, I don't even know.
So he's up first and it's the same exact thing that I've heard from him every week. Every week he says "I don't want to play the same song(s) that I always play" and every week it sounds exactly the same. He says he has a good number of songs (a couple more than I have - braggart!), but I swear I just keep hearing the same, maybe THREE, over and over and over again. But I digress. Second performer goes up and is also, not very good. Not exactly bad, but not good either. This was about the point where I was seriously considering taking my name off the list and just going home for the night. (Keep in mind, at this point, I now had confirmation that none of my friends were coming out for this one.)
As the second performer starts his second song, Mother Judge comes up to me. "This is painful," she says. "These guys aren't very good tonight and Albie" (the performer scheduled to go on next) "isn't here. You're up next. I'm relying on you to make things better. Make it pretty, ok?"
Yeah, no pressure, right?
Well, I did alright. Like I said, I chose songs I KNOW. Ones I've done before and don't generally screw up on. First song went better than the second, but I can't feel especially good about it, only because I was in such a foul mood all night long. So I split. Sadly, I split without even so much as a goodbye and didn't even stay to see one of my favorite regulars there. I was just too wrapped up in the negatives and felt like I was... I don't know, like other people were feeling my bad mood. I don't like to be that, so I went home.
Tonight will be another rock and roll night, but I won't be the rockstar, I'll be in the audience. Three in a row is rough, but I can do it. I feel way subdued, though. Not in my rock and roller mode so much right now.
~FG };^>