Performance

Tonight one of Dan's friends was running a fundraiser at the village hall in Arkholme. And as he was playing, well, of course I went along.

It's at events like this that I realise that whilst I love socialising with my friends, I'm not mad keen on making conversation with people I don't know that well, if at all. I think that, in some respects, I'm naturally quite shy. So I grabbed a glass of wine, found a seat, took out my book, and had a read while I waited for the show to start. 

To be honest, if I'd known it was going to last three hours, I might have been a bit daunted by the prospect - I always think that one and a half hours is a good length for most things apart from church services - but, as it was, ignorance was bliss and I enjoyed every moment (although the intermission was a welcome break, primarily due to the presence of the bar).

Although various bands and ensembles played, Dan was on stage most of the time, playing with each of these outfits. Tonight he was almost exclusively playing bass guitar, which is his third instrument after guitar and piano. I could tell he was having to work at it - I recognise his concentrating face - especially on a couple of tracks where, it later transpired, he was sight reading the parts. 

The photo, though, is the one time of the evening that Dan picked up his guitar, accompanying his friend, Imogen, while she sang (beautifully) a couple of songs. Look at him! What a pro. 

All of the bands this evening were from the school, and two of the teachers put in sterling and characteristically 'extra mile' efforts to support the students. And it meant that whereas I normally see the jazz band - my favourites - play three or four songs at school concerts, tonight I saw then play fifteen pieces, all of which were excellent. 

High points for me were:

- watching Dan and four of his friends playing Miles Davis' 'So What';
- the way the trumpeters, who always seemed to come in after everyone else, would stand around and then, with a handful of beats to go, would, as one, lick their lips, raise their instruments, and come in bang on cue;
- one piece, played by an ensemble called Charleston, which contained three or four bar-long breaks in the music. Each time the break arrived, all you could hear was ten feet tapping out the four beats of silence in perfect unison.

All in all, it was a fantastic evening. It was so inspiring to see all these young people playing together and it made me wish I could still be part of something like that. 

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-13.6 kgs
0 words
Reading: 'The Descent Of Man'.