It makes me profoundly sad that I can't enjoy musical occasions because of secondhand smoke. There have been many events, casual and otherwise, which I haven't been able to enjoy because of an increasing intolerance. I guess it's my fate, though I do try to get around it as much as I can. However, watering eyes and irritated throat and nose (and lungs) are too much to pay for the privelege of playing as I'd like.

That said, I have had some pretty cool jams happen at open mic style gatherings. Played bass all afternoon and into the evening for several old time style musicians. Mostly songs I'd never played before. It seems they'd not been used to having a bass player around. Another time I was invited to play mandolin for a set with a singer/songwriter and she graciously let me take lots of solos. Based on those and other experiences, it appears to me that different instrumentation can be a welcome addition to the proceedings. It seems to me that people are generally open-minded and curious about open mics when they accidentally encounter them. Not everyone wants to listen to a human juke-box all the time, or a mechanical one.

Mooh.