I played a steel show and it is a whole new ball game.
I had the honour of playing at the Irish Festival this year
and it was lifelong dream coming true.I was nervous for
weeks before the event and I practiced as much as I could
on my best known instrumentals.I thought I could play them
in my sleep backwards and I wanted to give my listeners
a good performance.I rehearsed some of the parts with the
band the day before and all was well.When I took the stage
at the festival I became aware of the pressure I was going to
operate under.My main problem was being able to grip
my bar because my hands were sweating due to an onset
of performance anxiety.I have played hundreds of gigs in
front of much bigger crowds with very little apprehension.
I thought I was bulletproof in this regard but suddenly I was
in a different zone; an unfamiliar groove.Just like a gig on the Moon!
I felt unsettled but I had to play despite my discomfort.
The band was rock solid and
a great source of security and they willed me through each song
with their assured and confident backup.I loved them for the way
they kept me from falling apart and helped me through the intros.
They read my confused mind for the tags too.The festival crowd
sat through my set and applauded after each song and this gave
me much needed encouragement.Without all this love and support
I would have caved in, so if you were in the band ,or in the hall I
would like to say thank you for helping my dream down the rocky
road to coming true.
[This message was edited by Phil ONeill on 23 October 2005 at 06:10 AM.]
