I was bursting to let you know how it went, but couldn't access the 'cat all day - so I wrote it all down anyway & here it is cut'n'pasted :

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Thanks for all your help - it really made the difference to have a bit of background knowledge. The setup was very basic, but the sound was quite acceptable. There were 2 mics & 1 borrowable plugin guitar (which I used) and leads for people to plug in their own guitars. The guy running it was really approachable and welcoming, so that helped. Everything plugged into an amp thing with volume controls per plug-hole etc, and there were two large speakers either side of the 'stage' area. He advised singing about 1 inch from the mic, as he could then adjust the volume down if necessary.
It was an open-mic for music & poetry & stand-up comedy - so it was a pretty mixed night. I thought the format worked really well though, as the variety kept the interest going, and it meant that mostly everyone was following a spot in one of the other genres. We opted to go on first, which I think was a good choice as there is a lot less pressure that way (nobody is listening much at that point, and we didn't have to endure that stomach-churning fear of the approaching moment) The duet we sang was pretty naff really, and we both started off-key - but we corrected OK & got through it. My song went well-ish - there were some bits I was really happy with, and other bits were not so good, overall it was alright but not stunning. My friend's solo went OK - he said he was really nervous and that his leg was twitching uncontrollably so that he had difficulty playing guitar at the same time as trying to hold his leg down, but it came across alright & the leg wasn't noticeable!. The verdict from Mark was that the sound was fine, but the songs were totally wrong for the venue (and he was quite right - it was 'bohemian night' and we were singing middle-of-the-road [oops]). I completely agree with that (and its not my favourite music) , so the criticism didn't exactly sting.
My main object was to find out what it was like to sing amplified - to which Mark's verdict was that it was neither better nor worse than unamplified, and that amplification doesn't bring any magic additional ingredient. The only real difference being that when you are amplified people can chat if they want, whereas unamplified they are usually obliged to keep quiet & listen. I'm happy either way - so I'm really pleased I tried it and that I can do both.
The one thing I did find really different was the 'onstage' feeling. And I must admit that I completely loved it, especially when I was singing on my own - shameless!!!! So of course now I can't wait for next time (I'll give some thought to approprate material though). Next on the agenda is to learn the songs enough to do without the words in front of me.……

Cheers

Kris

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Anyways - some of the postings were too late for me to read beforehand, but they'll all come in useful for experimenting in the future. I think I probably sang slightly to the side of the mic just because I needed to keep my bit of paper in view.

Cheers'm'dears

Kris (KingNotTooTerrible)