Open Mic Nightmare (Norman Blake)

[Mr. Jelly]

What if you were at an open mic night and had to follow this guy?



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vQg4VJqFXpo

[lowrider]

Toby Walker sometimes shows up at our jam group on Long Island. Toby is the nicest guy and is not intimidating at all, but man can he play and sing!

I'm the weakest player in the group and one of the guys told me that we are all in the same boat. He's really good and he told me that he came to the group and played for a couple of months before he got up the nerve to sing. On that night Toby was there and sat right next to him, so that he would have to follow Toby. He was crapping bricks and he's good!

But Toby's the best and I'll bet Norman Blake is the same way.

[Backcountry]

Or showing up at the Freight and Salvage open mic night and noticing that Shawn Colvin is up at the coffee bar waiting to go on. Gulp...

[rokdog49]

Wouldn't bother me. I would just bust out my awesome rendition of "Somethin' More Than Free" by Jason Isbell and mesmerize the crowd like I do everywhere I play it.
...and I'm humble too.

[pjmacd]

Originally Posted by lowrider

Toby Walker sometimes shows up at our jam group on Long Island. Toby is the nicest guy and is not intimidating at all, but man can he play and sing!
.....
But Toby's the best and I'll be Norman Blake is the same way.

I participate in both the Open Stage (open mic) and Song Circle (jam group) activities at the Lake County Folk Club in Illinois. Folks, these kinds of events are NOT, or should not be, competitions. I go there to share the joy of making music with others, to hear some new songs I've never heard before, and to join in on some of the old favorites. I'm not there to impress anyone with my (limited) vocal skills or guitar chops, nor to compare myself with other participants.

I've met Toby and had the privilege of having him as a teacher this summer over a weekend at Fur Peace Ranch. I agree that he is among the nicer people you could ever hope to meet, and yes, he sure can play and sing. But remember, he does this for a living, every waking moment. It would be darned surprising if he wasn't "better" than most of us who have other distractions in our lives, like a day job that doesn't involve music.

[frankmcr]

Ol' Norm can open for me any time.

[Earl49]

Well, I lived that, sort of. I was at a guitar camp once where Laurence Juber was one of the instructors, and I was taking his advanced finger style classes. At the big jam in the dining hall that night there were about 25 campers and a couple of instructors playing in the circle. I sat down in the open chair to Laurence's left. And shortly thereafter realized that the circle was coming my way. So I would have to follow him live. And he played his arrangement of "Little Wing". So I chose one of my flashier tunes in Open G tuning. Really nerve wracking, but I survived. I like to think he took just a little pride that one of his students handled it well, but he is just a classy guy.

There were many congratulations at breakfast from fellow campers about not running away. The phrase "big brass ones" was used repeatedly.

[RustyAxe]

I'd just get up an play my set. I might play "Green Light on the Southern" if he didn't

[macmanmatty]

If Norman Blake was at an open mic , the mic would not be open! The crowd would most likely not let ol' Norman step down after his set . I was at an open mic where a semi famous blues band band showed up. After they got up the mic was no longer open as the crowd would not let them get down. The establishment might try to let others get up but remember the customer is always right...

[Tahitijack]

It should never be a nightmare. If I were following Norm, I'd play "My Girl". A while back someone told me to take an entirely different road when following someone. Just have a few different genre in your head and play on!

[leew3]

Originally Posted by rokdog49

Wouldn't bother me. I would just bust out my awesome rendition of "Somethin' More Than Free" by Jason Isbell and mesmerize the crowd like I do everywhere I play it.
...and I'm humble too.

Go ahead on with your own bad self! it's the mandolin player that mezmerizes the crowd on this one though :-)

and I'm more humble that you'll ever be!

Lee

[songz]

I played a show with Norman at Falls Creek Falls state park a few years
ago, but luckily I played before him. He told me he was going to quit
booking out - he was tired.

Ron

[Br1ck]

My second or third open mic, when I had set a goal of never repeating a song for a year, and half would be original, I had the experience of being sandwiched between two pro acts. Turned out they were there playing a folk festival the following weekend. Though I'd been in bands for years, I'd never been the front man, never played guitar live or solo.

The first duo went on. I said after that I wished I had an A game, but I don't, and just did the best I could. I'd written two songs that week, and the third was original too. Got through it OK.

Watched another pro do a set. Was feeling like I wanted to crawl under a rock.

Then one of the pros came over said how much she liked my songs. Salvaged the experience for sure.

Now I can follow anyone without a problem. We all do what we do as well as we can do it. Very good musicians show up. There will always be good musicians show up. It makes for a better experience for everyone.

[Nymuso]

I would encourage the previous player to keep practicing and then do my set.

[Scootch]

I went up after this guy one time.



And I’m just a first four fret cowboy chord guy. It was my first open mic ever.