Your chance to get on a stage and show what you can do (or just have some fun)

Bob-Dubery

The last week of the month is upon us, and thus on Thursday it'll be open mic night at TJ's.

Venue: Press Club bar, Marks Park Sports Club, Judith Road, Emmarentia, Johannesburg

Time: First act goes on at 20:00 (get there early so you can pick a slot that suits you)

Charge: R20 per head.

Food and drinks can be ordered from Marks Park staff.

TJ's provide a PA. You need to bring yourself, an acoustic guitar. Sets are three songs or 15 minutes.

The audience is always supportive and friendly.

Bob-Dubery

X-rated Bob wrote: TJ's provide a PA. You need to bring yourself, an acoustic guitar

Or dobro, mandolin, cittern, mandola, ud, bozouki, lute (one of these actually does turn up from time to time) etc

PS: Bump

Bob-Dubery

A curate's egg of a night.

One of the most interesting sets was by a guy known as "Stash". He started playing late in life (later than me! Believe it 'cos it's true.) and started from a very low base. He improves each time he gets up on the stage, his vocals get more confident. It's quite interesting, he seems to be figuring things out all by himself, has nobody else around him who knows anything about guitars (I had to explain to him last night why it's a good idea to change strings from time to tiime). It's easy to poke fun at the Stashes of the world, but he's working at it, improving and he gets up there and does it. Oh... and in the last 6 months he's written 30 odd songs.

There was an act billed as "two fiddles". Confusingly there were three of them and one played the flute - a wooden flute, the sort of thing you see in Irish or Scottish folk music. They did a great set of jigs and reels. It was interesting to watch the audience response. There's something about that kind of music that gets toes tapping and smiles on faces.

John van Nierop arrived with mandolin player Scott Baldauf. They did a lovely set that included a great arrangement of "Bonaparte's Retreat" and John soloing up a storm on "Sitting On Top of the World."

Some charlie went on early and did a set of covers that included Gilbert and Sullivan, Loudon Wainwright, the Bee Gees and a music hall song from the 1860s.

Bob-Dubery

PS: Not that "Sitting on Top of the World". I refer here to a song originally performed by Big Bill Broonzy and covered in the 60s by Cream.

Sean

X-rated Bob wrote: Some charlie went on early and did a set of covers that included Gilbert and Sullivan, Loudon Wainwright, the Bee Gees and a music hall song from the 1860s.

I'm sure he was fine.

singemonkey

Sean wrote:
X-rated Bob wrote: Some charlie went on early and did a set of covers that included Gilbert and Sullivan, Loudon Wainwright, the Bee Gees and a music hall song from the 1860s.
I'm sure he was fine.

My psychic great aunt read this and said she had a vision of a thousand pairs of shoes crying out in terror.

Cleric

Is this on the go at the end of every month?

Bob-Dubery

Cleric wrote: Is this on the go at the end of every month?

The last Thursday of the month MOST months. Never anything in December, for obvious reasons, and other times depending on public holidays. There is one this month - and I already posted a notice on GFSA.

Same time, same place. TJs have had to put their prices up, so it's now R25 a head.

Best to get there early (there'll be somebody there by 19:30, often earlier than that) so that you can book the slot that suits you. It does get oversubscribed sometimes.