CostaFonix wrote:
Thanks for the pics Deefstes, and thanks to all the fellow forumnites that came to support the performers.
To those that haven't yet played at TJ's its highly recommended, great venue, and a very supportive audience.
Indeed. But the thing is to get invited. TJ's works on this very decentralised basis. For the third I was host and I invited all the performers. The club committee had no idea who I'd invited until they saw the flyer I'd prepared for their mailing list, and even then they didn't know all the names (but they do now).
I make this point not to discourage, but to prevent people feeling discouraged if they don't get an invite. Because of the way that TJ's works it is a case of who you know or who knows about you.
One way to catch a host's eye is the open mic nights. It's no guarantee, but you can get your name in somebody's notebook that way. Some hosts never go to open mic nights. I go to most of them (but not all) and I look for people to "promote" from open mic night to the big stage. Tom Howden and Fingerpicker are also regular open mic attendees.
Anyway, the guitaring fates have conspired to keep me playing guitar (and owning at least one) - if only out of duty - until the last Thursday in November when I run the open mic night. So there's that one and there should be another on the last Thursday of October. Even if you have no ambitions to be on a bigger stage these are a lot of fun, with the supportive audience that Costa refers to, and no restrictions on genre. But no back tracks, and there's no time for swapping around amplifiers so you're pretty much forced into playing on acoustic instruments - but if you were there on the 3rd you'd have seen what a range of styles that can mean, which was part of the point of that show and that lineup. You could play a mandolin, a dobro, a whistle or even perform a capella - we've had all that before.
It's a good way to test yourself. As Fingerpicker is fond of saying, live performance - even in a modest, friendly venue - is where the rubber meets the road.
Talking of Fingerpicker, he made a major contribution to that evening with seriously good sound. This means that the surprise elements and subtleties of the performances got properly conveyed. I never get to see the whole show when I run the night as I have to run around finding performers and telling them they have 10 minutes and should tune up etc (and on Thursday there was an ad hoc meeting with the club chairman that meant I missed most of Gil Hockman's set), so I may have missed some key moments. But, amongst others, I recall a great display of flamenco rhythm playing from Conrad with percussion effects and also what I would call "rolls" in the case of a banjo player - very fast, very precise "rolls". Also the way he cranked up the intensity. That came through wonderfully. There was a moment in the last set when Tom Howden switched from guitar to low-D whistle (like a D penny whistle, but an octave lower) and that came through beautifully with a haunting sound, full of air and breath. I remember a little collective intake of breath from the audience when Tom hit that first note, and well deserved whooping and hollering as Conrad revealed his rhythm chops and built up to the climax of the piece.
It was a fine night that covered a wide range (flamenco, classical, Irish folk songs, classic rock...) and actually exceeded my expectations (and I had high expectations because I know what these guys can do). It's easy to have this happen when you have performers of the calibre that I had. Not just their chops but their attitude: Guys like Costa and Conrad who take the gig seriously but don't take themselves seriously. They have a great attitude, they want to do well, they come early and do a sound check (which enables Fingerpicker and I to know how everything must be positioned, and THAT enables us to switch acts around quickly)... just great people. Adds up to a great gig.
Get practicing for end November!
