Open-mic hosted by Roger "Splodge" Watson
Slaying Demons
Although it's an amusing story to tell, I'd be lying if I said my last visit to The Crown hadn't knocked me a little. The subsequent open-mic experiences for my part have been willful, determined, and at times, stressful. However, fewer wild horses are now required to get me on stage and once I'm up there, I don't really want to leave. Although the fear of going "blank" hasn't completely left me, I am now more confident to just concentrate on trying to do good by the songs rather than being preoccupied with not forgetting them.
To be honest, I'm grateful for this recent hiccup because it's made me consider "trusting myself" more and indeed there is something of "The Water's Edge" about all of this, particularly the part of "letting go" when trying to float in water etc; i.e. you have to have a certain amount of faith that the water will support you. I've discovered that when I keep internally testing myself just before a performance, it doesn't actually help but more panics me and muddies the waters (to mix a metaphor), and is analogous to keeping on grabbing hold of the sides of a pool. There's a point when you just have to let go and believe in yourself.
As such, considering the previous time, I was remarkably relaxed going to the Crown last night and I think I probably turned in my best performance. It was good to get this one under my belt. It was also great to see some of the supportive encouraging faces from the previous visit and get a chance to have a quick chat with them at the end of what felt like a successful evening. That's something else I've also realised recently whilst I'm on this adventure: I'm getting to meet some very nice people.
My Set:
One other piece of good news that I've learned today is that I'm doing a 30 mins set for Reading Arts Week on the 29th June in Caversham Court Gardens at 2.30pm.
