Rant

Performing live meant……

On the negative side,

Useless equipment, amps that blew up, microphones that would not work, guitars that broke, strings that broke, bits of drums that would not work ( including drummers), Useless sound men who could not mix paint, crap roadies, managers, agents & promoters. all of whom had dollar signs in their eyes but no ambition. a lack of adventure, lack of vision, dressing rooms you would not use as a urinal ( many of them WERE urinals), going with the easy tried and trusted way. apalling venues, violent crowds, crap barstaff, aggressive bouncers, rival musicians. Crap promotions, amateur radio shows & presenters, journalists who knew nothing about music, photographers who were in it for themselves, people who just wasted your time. Compromise.

On the positive side,

Friends who stayed forever, collaborations with new people, fans who turned up everywhere, girls who asked you home, late night meals at the service station, that awesome feeling when the audience reacted, band “ in “ jokes, getting away with it everytime, supporting the stripper, innovation, originality, designing artwork for promotion, hitting the road full of anticipation, those 10 minutes before you go “on “, basking in cries for an encore, Taking chances, starting your own trends, not caring about tomorrow, white towels, elation when a rehearsed song goes well, looking in to the smiling faces of the gang on stage, those quiet 5 minutes after the show, beer, illegal substances, dressing room humour, retirement.

Listening to:

Old tapes of live performances ( mostly useless, you had to be there )

Watching:

The Script ( live )
Outrageous Fortune
The Godfather trilogy