The evolution of the Pub Sing:

In the beginning, there was the YTB. In the YTB was very little food or nonalcoholic drink (we could fight over a drop of water by Saturday lunchtime), but there was a beer keg on the dock that usually didn't run out until early Sunday morning. Also in the YTB were several performers, volunteers and guests. Early in the evening there was much raucous singing, which segued into quieter sharing of more obscure material. There were groups on the front porch, back dock, inside the building, even in the bathroom. The music could be heard throughout the night from the berths on the Conrad. It was not unusual for me, getting up at 5 am to make breakfast, to pass people on the gangway who were just getting off to bed. (And boy did I snicker when they were awakened not two hours later by Doug Allen's reveillee! Remember the year he sent a bagpiper through?)

As the festival matured, organizers decided a good way to boost daytime attendance was to send the performers out to several local bars on Saturday night (and sometimes Friday night) to sing. Folks were divvied up and sallied forth to damage their vocal cords by singing over the hum of crowds and air conditioners. The YTB was empty, because everyone was out on the town. Some folks had the energy to return to the YTB after the bars closed, and they had quiet sessions, but most were too tired or drunk to do this.

This went on for a few years before people realized that performers were getting plum worn out pubcrawling. It's a fun weekend, but performers need to be at their peak Friday, Saturday AND Sunday, and let's face it, the majority were getting on in years. They couldn't party all night, blow out their voices on Saturday and have nothing left for the Sunday concerts. It was not unusual for half the performers to be unable to sing by Sunday morning, or to pass out on the YTB dock from sheer exhaustion (or hangover).

In addition, attendance was up; the festival was well-established. People who couldn't get access to the YTB wanted to participate in the singing. Someone came up with the idea of the German Club. Thus, the after-hours singing was split into two venues: the general public and folks who wanted more robust sing-alongs went to the German Club, while folks who were more interested in sharing quieter material went to the YTB. This was a natural division, as the German Club served beer and the YTB keg on the dock had gone the way of the dodo.

It was always difficult to decide between venues, but I almost always chose to eavesdrop on what Louis Killen, Dick Holdstock, Alan McLeod, Jeff Warner, Jeff Davis, etc, were swapping in the YTB setting. Performers and volunteers alike wandered between the two venues (and sometimes ended up at the halfway point, the gazebo on the Village Green). People would stagger in from the German Club sing, join the quieter gang, and party on until 3 or 4 am.

This was the first year I didn't see anyone in the YTB. I'm glad it was such a great sing over at the German Club - I think it had a lot to do with the extroverted nature of most of this year's performers. Coupled with the fact that a lot of people were REALLY tired this year and didn't stay up late! Unless the policy has changed this year, performers are not required to attend the pub sing. They are encouraged to drop by, and many feel it's their duty to be there to get it rolling, but I don't believe it's part of their performance requirements.

This got really long. I hope you are all suitably eddified. ;-)