I’ve mentioned ‘Threads’ before. I suppose it’s a bit like Twitter. A limited burst of an idea, a nugget of wisdom or a question blasted out into the ether for strangers to pick over. When I put it like that it sounds awful doesn’t it? But generally, it’s pretty good and people are supportive. One such supportive guy is called Chris, he has a duo called ‘The Long Shorts’ and we’re kind of at a similar place in our musical recording journeys. The Long Shorts have just recorded an EP, and have a single coming out in a few weeks.
I ventured to Chris a few weeks back that once the EP was over and they were gigging again, that attempting a gig together would be a nice idea. Kind of like strangers from the internet getting together in a positive way, for the good of original music. We agreed it was a good idea, in principle, and left it at that.
Music In The City 2024
Last weekend was ‘Music In The City’ in Southampton. It’s a weekend long festival with over three hundred acts playing in about fifty venues around the city. The Long Shorts, I discovered, were playing on Sunday, and I had the day off, so we decided to head over to Southampton and check it all out.
“Chris??” The man standing next to me at the bar turns to me and eyes me somewhat suspiciously, in the way that someone reacts when they’re either struggling to remember where they’ve met you, or are about to receive a summons. Neither of which is true in this case obviously, and the relief is somewhat evident when I explain who I am, and how I know who he is. We chat, mostly about stuff we've already partially discussed online via our posts, but also finding a fair bit of new common ground, and I get introduced to his partner in crime, Dan.
At 2pm The Long Shorts play their set. It’s a collection of catchy pop tunes, often humorous, with an insider’s nod towards some of the vagaries of being in a band, and all that that entails. It’s good stuff, and apparently somebody commented that they were the ‘find of the festival’ - I very much suggest you check them out.
Time to step up...
At about 2.45pm, the MC announces that the next act is a no-show, and that they are preparing to setup for karaoke to bridge the gap. I sidle up to Chris who’s packing his gear away and quietly ask if there’s any chance of borrowing a guitar.
This to most gigging musicians is no small ask. People wrongly often assume at gigs that gigging musicians love handing over their prized instrument to complete strangers to “have a go”, or enjoy people shouting “Check 1-2” down their microphone when they think they can get away with it. I think you can guess generally we don’t. If it gets broken, however genuine the accident, it’s a problem.
Fortunately Chris is a good soul, and hopefully appreciating the gravity of what I was asking, kindly loaned me his trusty acoustic. Very aware that nobody there was expecting me to play, perhaps even wanted me to play, I decided not to overstay my welcome and make nice with the audience, by going the old trusty old cover / original / cover / original approach. Even when people expect original music, being a listener can be difficult. Everything’s new. The brain can’t fill in the words you fumble or the missing guitar parts, it’s all just laid bare.
I go with ‘Sunny Afternoon’ by The Kinks, ‘All That I Do’ by me, ‘The Gambler’ by Kenny Rogers (with two key changes ;-) ) and ‘King Tide’ by me, before wishing the audience a pleasant afternoon, thanking the organisers and Chris, for the guitar. So, ‘Music In The City 2024’ is on the CV now. Right place, right time. Although part of me would like to think that by reaching out to discover some new friends and new music, I got a bit of good karma. Anyway - here’s a video of me playing ‘King Tide’, shot by Chris, whilst anxiously awaiting the return of his guitar ;-)
And here’s a recent AI video for ‘All That I Do’ which was the other original song I played on the day.
Comments