The thing about amplification in clubs is that some rooms do need it. Noise from other bars (games machines, pool tables, sky sports) can leak through, and that didn't used to happen in the old days. Also, the acoustics of many club rooms are not great. One common problem that guests face is that some organisers only ever do a short spot, so never realise how much strain their room can place on a singer's voice over a whole evening. Yes, we can sing quietly, but if you do songs where the words matter, you have to think of the people at the back - many of whom may not hear as well as they did.

If you get a few of these rooms on the trot it gets harder and harder each night.

Ideally clubs with this problem will provide a PA, and many do. The trouble is that PAs are not always terribly good, and singing through them can actually makes the job more difficult. Also as soon as you set up front of house speakers, you need to consider monitors. This is because you only get the low/mid frequencies out of the back and side of the cabs, and this makes it harder to pitch - so you tend to oversing to compensate. Monitors should solve the problem, but only if they are good ones, and it's all more work for club and artist.

I carry a small PA for these emergencies, and I'm happy to set it up. But if the club overruns - and many do - there's always the problem of packing it away, when the organisers are standing at the door and the landlord's jangling his keys. Plus you know a that lot of people feel like TheSnail, and you don't want to offend them with your horrible roack and roall black boxes. So the PA doesn't get used as often as it should.

Tom

(PS Any organisers reading this who haven't joined the folkclubs discussion eList, please do! To join the group send an email saying who you are to folkclubs-subscribe@yahoogroups.com. Thanks)