I saw a photo of Robert Belfour, possibly my favourite living bluesman, recently. He had a great tip jar – more like a tip barrel! – in front of him. It was like a beautifully decorated piece of junk: it actually added to his look. Made me think I ought to make myself one.

But, yeah,if you're playing a free entry gig and you're not getting paid, then why not pass round a hat? I can't think of any reason why an audience member could possibly object.. Increasingly I'm thinking that in this day and age it's almost a musician's duty to remind the audience in subtle or not so subtle ways that performing does actually [i]cost[/i] (time, effort, money).