JHW

"Why Did We Let Them Get Away With It?!"

Just wondering JHW. Who is the "We" you are referring to? And come to think of it who is "Them", and how were/are the "We" going to police/enforce their wishes on the "Them"? T-shirts with broken music stand logos? Placards with "I won't stand for it!!" Turning of backs to performers using stands? A special shelf with warm beer for anyone using prompt cards? History shows that manufacturing false "us and them" divides, tends not to be very useful? Isn't one of the blessings of music that it is a unifying thing?

I have seen plenty of long established musicians using teleprompters (Springsteen, U2, Elton John etc.) and closer to home I have seen "crib sheets" used on more than one occasion by some well known Folk Musicians, and on the likes of The Transatlantic Sessions etc. Personally I don't feel it stilted the performances in doing so, and I would rather have those performances "out there" rather than not performed for the sake of a sheet of A4.

I personally find it more than a little irritating when the usual suspects start a rambling, disjointed introduction to a tune/song that is sometimes longer than the piece itself. But I don't sit there making my displeasure known, or suggest to the committee a system of TUC style green, amber, red lights.

Thankfully it really does "take all sorts"; that's why I like folk clubs. A random gathering of misfits with a common interest!

ATB, Lavengro