I write this having done a full day’s work after getting four hours sleep last night. More on this later, it’s just a slightly better intro than ‘I did a gig the other day…’
I did a gig the other day. Monday, actually, and I am utterly ashamed with myself for being far too harsh on a heckler. He was a drunk old man, who clearly wasn’t all there, but was harmless.
He had interrupted the first act on in the second half and I was up next. I could have had some fun and engaged him, as is my normal way for dealing with hecklers, but instead I chose to just be rude without being funny or charming with it. I won’t repeat my words, as there is a chance my mum or dad are reading this despite being told not to.
Anyway, what I did say to the heckler did make him go quiet, though. Unfortunately, he was joined by most of the nine audience; I lost them and never properly get them back. With hecklers, you can be rude to them but first you have to earn the right when the audience can see that you’ve tried every other means to shut them up.
But it is far better to learn such a thing at a free open mic gig instead of at a pro-bill where the audience have paid good money to be entertained. However, I already knew about but foolishly chose to ignore my own knowledge and wisdom.
My new material bombed, mostly because I’d already lost the audience. The night got weirder as it went on, which is normally my element, but my set was a lethargic with no energy, I was simply poor.
I had a gig the other day. This day was Tuesday. It wasn’t much better in terms of audience reaction, but at least I didn’t slap down someone who didn’t deserve it. I was trying out a new bit I started doing last week. I think there’s something there, but it needs honing. As it’s such a potentially sensitive subject matter, I really need to get it properly written out and develop it instead of having a scrap of an idea with some rude words.
Now, onto the bit I mentioned in the intro. You’ve read this far, it was obviously enough to reel you in. Hey, where are you going?
Last night I went to see The Darkness in Brighton. They were brilliant and did an excellent cover of Queen’s Tie Your Mother Down I’d not seen before, but I had to keep checking the time so not to miss my train and consequently miss the last tube, then have to get a night bus, get in about 2am and get four hours sleep. Oh, you know how this ends. That’s right, I decided to stay for the last songs and missed the train I was meant to get back on. The rest has just been mentioned.
I wasn’t feeling totally with it when I woke up at 7am this morning, but I made it into work on time and didn’t feel too bad apart the rock-enforced partial-deafness. My tiredness caught up with me with an hour and a left to go, though, but I managed to make it through the day and was actually the last member of the editorial team to leave the office, mostly because my tired body didn’t want to leave the chair.
Tonight I will be getting an early night. The rock n roll never stops with me.