Yes, it had to come some day I suppose and it did two Sundays ago. There is a sort of open mic session every Sunday at a bar that I and friends frequent on a regular basis. I had played at a few parties in the weeks leading up to it and had been told about the night, which I was unaware of.
On the day I had a great deal of support from the French contingent here at the university (good bunch) and some other friends.
I played a selection of songs by Bob Dylan, Carlos Puebla, The Beatles, Ryan Adams and Four Non-Blondes. I didn't exactly put on a stunning performance for everyone. During my first song in particular my voice varied markedly in quality, the song containing some pretty high parts. I should have started with something else to get me in to it.
The actual performance wasn't too nerve racking but I did sweat buckets. After leaving the seat I lefta perspiration mark. The crowd was very forgiving, especially after I informed them that it was my first time playing live after the first few songs.
The first two pictures are from the first performance. The first is the best of a not great bunch of photos taken by my friend Christi. The second is just to prove that there were people in the room while I was playing.
The third picture is mearly to show that it wasn't just a one off as I played the next Sunday as well. This time I was accompanied by the regular player who sort of organises the whole thing. This seemed to help alot as well as being my second performance. He was able to put some fill solos in and so on and flesh out the vocals a little more. I am always envious of players that can just pick up the key of a song and join in whatever is being played. I shall endevour to pick this up. Anyway, the second performance was certainly an improvement on the first and I relexed alot more, enojying myself a whole lot more. I managed to look at the audience far more and therefore was able to see people tapping their feet along and so forth. One problem I need to sort out is my reliance on a song book, I need to insert that thing into my mind allowing more improvisation. In the second performance I moved onto some Buffalo Springfield, Rolling Stones and Townes Van Zandt. Having played 'Waitin' Around To Die' I looked to the audience for some form of recognition, you have to remember that this audience is full of muso types. However nobody seemed to recognise the song so I asked the audience did anybody know that song? Expecting at least one hand up in the corner but none was forth coming. Suprising hey! They all need a damn good education! So as it stands I seem to be the bit crap player that bangs out obscure songs in Spanish, about dying, cowboys and cups of coffee. Oh well, not bad. I shall continue to attend this evening most weeks as there are some good players and will probably jump onto stage for 3 songs or so.
For those in doubt, yes, that was the thing I was waiting to post.
The character Yapolis Triner is shown here wearing a miserable expression in the classic style of all misanthropic cinematic protagonists. This original photo was taken during the character development of the lead. We were experimenting with makeup in an attempt to make me look older and very tired. The effect was indeed very good and would have lookied good throughout the film. However, the time taken to apply the makeup each time meant that we quickly dumped the idea especially as we didn't have any plans for many close-ups. For those of you who have never wore makeup, it is a vile thing which makes you want to rub your skin and gives the feeling that you haven't washed your face in days without really feeling greasy as this would normally come along with. To be avoided! And a pain to get off.
