Vic's Buskers open-mic hosted by Vic Cracknell
"Make Those People Dance"
A girlfriend once said that I don't take compliments well. It's probably true. I suspect I've usually got some inner dialogue going: "What are they after?" and / or "They must be foolish". (Inconsistently, criticism usually conjures up an inner reaction of "F**k You!" and a "contract" being issued.) Hence, you'll probably not be surprised that when I get a great round of applause I'm wondering: "Are the audience just being kind?", "Was it really any good?", "Is it just my ego wanting me to believe that it was good?" But last night, I've got to say, it felt really good and perhaps for me approached what Abraham Maslow called, a "peak experience".
Maybe the break from performing has done me good (I'm definitely healthier) but I also think there's been a change in me. I think I've taken on board Eddie Izzard's words of "blanking your mind" and "having fun". It certainly seemed to work last night. Heck, I even felt "cool" (that doesn't happen often). Nay, double heck, I even had people dancing! It reminded me of the lines from Don McLean's American Pie: "And I knew if I had my chance / That I could make those people dance". (And can you believe, as I just wrote that last sentence, Don McLean appeared on BBC4 singing those very same words. Things like that seem to be happening more and more these days.)
