There are any number of folks at open stages that tend to use the venues as a sort of testing grounds for their new material, myself included. I applaud the bravery of those who can get up and offer their skills and talent in this way. It is a very challenging arena, where, because of the constraints of time, and so many folks wanting to perform, one sometimes has only enough time to perform one or two songs in any given night. The challenge then is to develop each song you may perform so that it can be presented in it's best light. The pressure of time limits can cause hosts or MCs to feel the need to quickly move you along from the stage, so, even stage patter offered before or after each song must be considered carefully. These pressures don't often mix well with my particular approach to playing. I enjoy having a more relaxed feeling when on stage. When an inexperienced or impatient MC or host nervously invades the stage area before I am actually finished with my performance because he feels pressured to get the next act up, due to his perception of possible time constraints or whatever the reason, it's always a little annoying, but I usually take it in stride.

This attitude can play havoc with those who may be less experienced on stage and cause all kinds of unintended results. I'm not certain, but I think general nervousness, on the part of one open stage attendee, may have been the reason for his song of three words, I Love You. His repetition of just these three words, and perceived lack of any strong melody pattern, made listening to this, probably self-penned rendition, an exercise in patience. I wasn't sure if the performance was motivated by some intoxicated state or if the fellow was making a point to someone in particular in the house that evening. While I'm certain that his intentions were all the best, sadly, from merely a technical point of view, his delivery could definitely have used lots more polish. By the sound of it, he may have never sung before, and perhaps his intention wasn't a show of any sort of skill or ability but rather to simply impress that certain someone in the audience with his message, honesty and boldness. Or, he could have been just some kind of raving lunatic. Come to think of it, love can often reduce one to that level.