All systems go

Today There or Thereabouts will play its first show. It’s really weird to say that. For such a long time it has only been a glimmer of an idea, then a concept taking shape, then a dream - first whispered quietly then shared carefully - and today, God-willing, it will step out into the light. For most of the people who will be at the show, this will be their first time meeting it, but for me the joy will be both seeing it in the light and watching other people see it. I’ve been nurturing it and shaping it so I’m curious and excited to see what it does.

There’s still a lot to do before this afternoon. I have to change my strings and run through a couple of songs. Some of the lyrics haven’t quite set in my memory yet - in the case of one of the covers and one of my own that’s still quite new. There clothes to be ironed, setlists to be printed and notes to be made. Then there are all kinds of setup tasks to do - chairs to pick up, stools to transport, tablecloths to borrow, etc. I’m more involved in some aspects of the setup than I’d like to be at this stage but we’ll work with it and try to improve the machinery going forward. 

Strangely enough, even though I don’t feel fully prepared I’m feeling mostly calm and I’m looking forward to it. I’m really trying to enjoy this project from day 1 instead of worrying and obsessing over it in an unhelpful way. I’m trying to gear up to enjoy the show and relax on stage. So we’ll see how well I do.

Here goes something…