It may not be folk-related, but it's close. Chet Atkins, the late guitarist, was giving a performance here years ago. He introduced himself by saying, "I know you folks think some of us in country music are hillbillies and lack some of the finer things in life. But I want you to know that, just last year, we actually carpeted our bathroom. In fact, we like it so much, we've decided to run it right on into the house."

Whether you call it patter, comedy relief or vamping, it seems to be an inevitable part of most performers' stage work. Just jumping from one song to the next might work for certain artists, but it would seem sterile and dull for most. Even the really bad stuff kills time while you tune up or change instruments, etc.