Folkin' Good Times @ Happy, July 8th: The Gig Report

I thought it might be nice to do some blogging about my singer/songwriter-ness, as I'm having a fantastic time.

Well, it's been a fair well since I've done a gig, due to some health problems but last night I did my first gig in about a month and a half. I have got to say... it's good to be back into it. And I think I'm getting less nervous, which is very nice. All in all, I feel it was a successful night.

Things I quite liked about it:

#1) Venue.

I'm a big fan of Happy. Maybe it's because I did my first ever gig there. I don't know. But I think it's a really cute venue and I really, really like the lighting. Everything's all lit in red and it's pretty cool. There was a different set-up from my first gig - the stage was facing the bar instead of on the raised platform bit at the front like it was last time. There was still the issue of this massive pole in my line of sight but it didn't matter too much, as the majority of the people were seated to my left on the other side of the pole. It felt like there was less space but I kind of liked it anyway. It was a bit weird being right in the middle of the room with everyone looking at me -
but I think that's kind of the point of a gig. But yes. Venue was nice. I like Happy.

#2) Folkin' Good Times.

Okay, so I kind of love Folkin' Good Times. All the gigs I've done with FGT have been soooo much fun. Jimmy Stearn, our fearless ringleader, is one of the nicest people I've met in the Wellington music community. I was looking forward to meeting Nick Burfield and Jason McIver but unfortunately Nick called in sick and Jason was MIA. So it ended up being Jimmy, me and Jimmy's band Mushroom. It was a pretty rocking night. The guys from Mushroom were obviously having so much fun, which is really nice to see. So yeah. Good on FGT.

#3) Fans.

I have fans! The mind truly boggles. In all honesty, I am blown away by the support of my friends and family when it comes to gigs. It is truly very flattering and I really appreciate people coming out to see me sing in the thick of a Wellington winter (it is freezing, seriously). The really cool thing is that people brought people - my friend Stephen brought his parents and I think some of his flatmates, some people brought boyfriends, friends, etc... it's a pretty high compliment. I hope everyone had a great time - from where I was standing, people looked like they were having a lot of fun.

#4) "February 29".

Stephen wrote me some fantastic lyrics that I set to music. His parents were at the gig. I was very proud to be able to play it for them and pretty darn stoked to be able to acknowledge Stephen's talent in front of an audience. If I embarrassed him... well, that's really too bad. He did a fantastic job. And deserved a big round of applause. Which he duly got. Ah, MC. Your lyrical ways warm the coldest of hearts.

#5) Generally Not That Lame

Oh man, do I have trouble with the "talking between songs" thing. But I was quite proud of myself that I actually managed to say things without getting too tongue-tied last night. I love the fact that my criteria for a successful gig is more or less the following:

a) Didn't say anything too stupid
b) Didn't fall over
c) Didn't destroy any equipment
d) Didn't inadvertantly insult anyone
e) Didn't set fire to anything
f) Didn't pass out

I succeeded on all 6 counts. How fantastic is that?

If you want more info on how to have a Folkin' Good Time, head over to the MySpace page at www.myspace.com/folkingoodtimes - check out the other artists and see what you think.

Again, a big thanks to everyone who came. I had a great time and hope you all did, too.

Take care,
Rose