Part 2, A funny thing happened at my first open mic performance

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neverfoundthetime
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Fri Oct 21, 2011 4:27 pm

Magnificent Dennis!

No matter what is going on in the inside, the outside has it all bought and sold... you have that magic ingredient every performer needs to stand up and pull it off.
My hat is off to you.

I especially like the way you handle the slides... and I'd love to be in the same room as that Taylor one day... great sound.


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skaladar
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Fri Oct 21, 2011 4:45 pm

Geez Dennis, give yourself a break. After reading your description of the distraction, you “losing focus”, “hitting a wrong note” and then “flailing” (really?) I STILLl thought it might be hard to spot so I cranked up the volume and made sure it was quiet when I watched your performance three times until I think I may have an idea of a clue to where this happened. Or maybe I just blinked :-)

That being said I have to applaud a really great show. Performing for others, especially solo in an open mike setting clearly raises the difficulty level exponentially but one wouldn’t know it by watching you. You looked right at home, on stage entertaining.

Great job on a super performance. Thanks for sharing your experience

♫ Ken ♫


sbutler
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Fri Oct 21, 2011 5:44 pm

Again Dennis, I mirror what everyone else said. Your composure works. At least from the outside looking in. Sometimes we tend to be our own worst critics, but others that know and respect us, are always going to show us the up side.

You my friend have a lot of ups.

And don't worry, if I or Tony see Mick Fleetwood walking towards you with a candle, we'll surely let you know he's coming, before we smell something burning that is.


Scott


dsmarion
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Fri Oct 21, 2011 5:54 pm

WOW!!

Scott


jayswett
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Sat Oct 22, 2011 5:39 am

That lady at the end said it well when she said "Wow." What a lovely song that is, and your rendition of it was great. I have been working on it for a couple of weeks and making progress slowly. Filming yourself at an open mic requires both confidence and courage. Congrats to you for having both.


dennisg
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Sat Oct 22, 2011 9:08 am

Thanks again, everyone, for your kind and thoughtful replies. Regarding the disparity between the description of my screw-up and what you actually saw in the video, I was trying to describe what the incident felt like to me at the time. I'm pretty sure that, as a totally inexperienced performer, any mistake made during a public performance is going to feel much larger than it actually is, and that was certainly the case with mine.

Willem: Yes, I spoke to the audience. I dedicated Autumn Leaves to my brother who taught me how to play the guitar, but would never be able to hear me play this song.

Mark: Is it just me, or does anyone else smell something burning? Thanks for your support, Mark.

Chas: I suppose I could get used to a latte foamer if I did enough open mics, but I sure wasn't ready for it the other night.

Tony: While Jamie (as you know) is a hugely supportive spouse, it wasn't her who said Wow. It was a lady sitting in the back of the audience. And, yeah, you're right that my flubs felt magnified on the stage. As I was going through it, my brain said, "Uh, oh!" And I'm pretty sure that the moment your brain relays that type of message, you're sunk.

Hydro: Thanks very much. At some point, I stopped drifting away on the ice floe, and my brain told me that the F7 chord would get me out of the jam. You can see me stumbling around for a couple of seconds until I hit that chord.

MJ: That's really nice of you to say. Are you inspired enough to try an open mic yourself?

Cori: Hahaha, I hope you're right about very few people noticing it.

Buddy: Thanks so much, both for your support and your observations about doing open mics. Yes, I absolutely needed to slow my brain down to stop it from becoming flooded with unnecessary sensory input. If I'm going to do open mics in the future, I'd better get used to people talking, doors closing, and latte foamers.

Michele: You're so sweet. I'll say this at the risk of it sounding weird: among the many things I thought about, while I should have been concentrating on the song, was to picture you sitting in the audience, next to Tony and Suzi, big smiles on your faces. Hey, next time, you three need to keep the noise down. You're right that I seemed to be calm while the screw-up was happening, but I can guarantee you that there were snakes twisting in my gut.

Chris: That's an incredibly nice thing to say, and I really appreciate it. If you ever happen to wake up one day and find yourself in America, I'll be more than happy to put you in the same room with the new Taylor. It's a pretty sweet guitar.

Ken: Thanks so much. For anyone who likes to periodically step off a ledge just to see what it feels like, I highly recommend trying an open mic. I think it's the kind of experience you'd pay for at an amusement park -- you know it's going to be a terrifyingly wild ride, but you feel totally alive at the end of it.

Scott (sbutler): So nice of you to say. It's funny to me that you (and other people) refer to my composure, when what I really wanted to do while it was falling apart was to scream like a little girl.

Scott (dsmarion): Thanks for the Wow, Scott. By the way, there's a woman I want you to meet who was sitting in the back of the audience. You two have a lot in common.

Jay: Thanks, pal. Knowing how hard you work on songs and the perfection you bring to them, I can't wait to hear what you do with Autumn Leaves. Gorgeous song. And so sad. It's a fitting tribute to a death or the end of a cherished relationship, both of which I've experienced recently. As Chris has mentioned, it's a difficult song to sing without bawling in the middle of it.


NKenny
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Sat Oct 22, 2011 9:54 am

Den....your story behind this one made me smile (again!) and actually brought up fun memories!

I very well know what that feels like :blink: :S and the greatest thing that you've achieved here (as a performer) is, I'm probably not saying anything new here, that you managed to not let it take over and to just continue what you were doing. All musicians experience such moments, but it's how you deal with it that separates a performer from a good performer. I've learned that lesson a long time ago and it's a very good one as well! ;)

In any case you did just great, it is soooooo very cool that you did this and so well as well!

And I would have absolutely LOVED to have been able to sit there next to Suzi, Shel and Tony and cheer my heart out for you!! :P

Ness


dekotaj
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Sat Oct 22, 2011 11:49 am

Bravo!! D

Look forward to seeing a lot more open mic from you.Maybe Jammie could join in on the next one?Loved your song you two did for all of us here.Whats the old saying(Its not a f$&# up if you can fix it)I got to go with no one noticed.(OF COURSE BESIDES YOU)!! I did my Nice's wedding about a year and a half ago.Opening number was to be time in a bottle.I started playing,and sure enough I was playing the wrong song.I was doing these dreams,starts with the same chord.And when I got done the sun was still shining and no one was throwing anything at me so I guess It work out.So I guess,when you got done if you had a good time with it all,what the heck!!

I sure did enjoyed It.BRAVO!!

Kev


dennisg
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Sun Oct 23, 2011 11:30 am

A response to two more comments, then we can mercifully let this thread die.

Ness: I'll bet, with all the performing you've done, that you have some great stories to tell about people experiencing brain-freezes on stage. I'd love to hear some. That might make a fun thread. As always, thanks for your very sweet support -- it means a lot to me. If you ever make it out to Seattle, let's do an open-mic together.

Kevin: I had to laugh when I read your story about playing the wrong song at your niece's wedding. I guess as long as the song you played wasn't something like "Fat-bottom Girl" or "The Acid Queen," no harm was done. By the way, Jamie's totally up for doing an open-mic with me (for a non-musician, she has a lot of courage), so you may see a video of "The Difficult Kind" soon. Thanks for your support, Kev.


cosmicmechanic
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Sun Oct 23, 2011 11:40 am

dennisg wrote:
... A response to two more comments, then we can mercifully let this thread die. ...
Dennis, since I have very little mercy to spare, may I add the following.

Nice job, of course (gush !). Not to take anything away from this recording, but I can imagine the actual sound in that room, rather than the thinner sound of the YouTube version. So the lady's reaction: "wow" does not surprise me in the least.

Just thought I'd mention I've been playing mostly standing up since you posted these open mike videos, something I almost never did before. ;)

Well done !
Pierre


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