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| the author on stage, September 2013 - in front of an AUDIENCE and everything - credit: Vinnie Ransome |
- it's been ages since my wife has had to find an 'I'm with the band' outfit - she had no idea what to wear!
- the indie-pop world is considerably LOUDER and much more MUSICALLY PROFICIENT than it was "back in the day".
- bass guitars are heavy. And playing a gig with one round your neck is quite tiring.
(I swear I've rewritten that sentence
You may remember I mentioned it last year. Anyway, the event was fine and we've had no adverse comments or complaints YET, and if anything it was even better-attended than last year.
*pats self on back*
Anyway, it's paid for by public money so we have to have a launch event with drinks and speeches and THE LIKE (I'm not important enough to make a speech myself, obviously, but still - CULTURAL ELITE).
Because the events on Friday involved a lot of walking, I obviously took my walking stick.
Which meant that I had FIVE instances (within 30 minutes) of people coming up to me and asking me what had happened.
Now regular readers will know that I'm not exactly shy about it (rightly or wrongly) - if people ask me, I'll tell them. Let's see how it went:
#1 - representative of the major funding body for the festival
HER - so what's happened?
ME - oh nothing's happened, as such. I've got Multiple Sclerosis, I need to use a stick every now and again
HER - [quite nervy and unclear way of asking the same question again]
ME - like I say, I've got Multiple Sclerosis...
HER - [changes the subject]
ENDS
#2 - artistic partner in the festival
HIM - so what's happened?
ME - oh it's nothing new! I've got Multiple Sclerosis...
HIM - [looks a bit teary, gulps for air]
ME - It's ok. Well, it's not, I guess. It is what it is...
ENDS
#3 & #4 - (seperate but pretty much interchangeable) artistic partner in the festival / ex-councillor
THEM - so what's happened?
ME - oh it's nothing new, I just need to use this every now and again [translation: all the time]
THEM - are you sure?
ME - yeah, yeah, it's FINE!
THEM - are you SURE?
ME - it's FINE.
ENDS (NOTE - this conversation is probably still happening right now in a parallel universe somewhere)
#5 - partner who I've been working with off and on for the past 10 years
HER - you alright Steve? What's with the stick?
ME - oh I just need to use it every now and again... And it's really great for pointing stuff out [points into middle distance with NHS-regulation walking stick]
HER - cool!
ENDS
Man oh man.
I don't know if I'd go so far as to say that "Hell is other people" but surely one circle of hell has to be:
"genuinely nice people being concerned about your health in social situations where you don't want to completely bum them out but you also don't want to feel like you're lying to them"
But then - as is increasingly obvious - I'm not much of a writer.
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do you know, I was just telling someone the other day that I know a member of the CULTURAL ELITE.
ReplyDeleteNo, not really. But very cool that your gig (can a non-music person use that word, or is it like "jam" -- as in, "We are going to jam" -- and off the table? Please advise). Lord, must start that sentence over. Very cool that your gig went well. And people. Sigh.
gig and jam are both fine - and most of the people playing (and even a good proportion of the audience) were very-much loitering around the big FOUR-OH line!
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