Shhh!

It is usually a quite night with just a select few performers and a regular audience but unusually there was a little tension this evening.


Jason was in charge this and he had his PA arranged as usual. However, Gordon remains determinedly unplugged. Jason and Rachael were on good form,and Harriet and Jason have reached a very high standard of prformance together making it a joy to listen to them.

MDF was a bit short of members so I was seconded to stand in as first guitar. I think I was at the bottom of quite a long list, but circumstances conspired to make everyone else unavailable. Jason thought I was only with MDF but as I protested loudly as the chips came out I got to perform and watched hungrily from the music stand while everyone else tucked in.

Other regulars such as Howard added to the mix.


I did get volunteered to provide some accompaniment, but when I saw that there was no chord notation on the music sheet I declined.

 Madonna tells fans to shut up during her sound check

It is always tricky just how much background noise is acceptable at an open mic night, and what kind of behaviour is appropriate amongst an audience, particularly an incidental audience that hasn't come specifically to listen to the music.

I hope that the minor fracas at the bar didn't put Frank off too much. As a member of the audience at the time, I was far more distracted from the performance by the prospect of a fight at the bar than the murmer of voices in the background. That Frank kept going, apparently unaffected, is testimony to the concentration being applied as he followed the score and kept the tune going. If he noticed, he didn't say.


I had the privilege of closing the evening, with a little bit of help from Ross.