The inaugural open mic at the Book and Record Bar – lots of fun. I took the thinline-strat-with-humbuckers, which is a lovely guitar but a the sound is a bit unwieldy. Also, plugging in the fly rig and getting the sound right was a bit fiddly. Or perhaps that’s just an excuse. All the Things That I Don’t Know went very slowly, I thought. It doesn’t seem to have been much of a problem, but when I realised I thought “Oh, well, that’s the speed it is tonight”. Some times you don’t have control over these things and it’s more comfortable than playing things far too fast, which is what usually happens. For the second time round, I borrowed Tom’s 12-string to play Apples and Walnuts, which seems like a good idea at all times other than the moments I’m trying to hold down the strings. New bits in the introduction, too, which surprised me. I hadn’t planned that.

Anyway, lots of lovely acts, and already looking forward to the next one, which will be in March. I don’t drink during January or Lent, and I’m not sure whether that one (which seems to fall on Good Friday) will be a drinking day or whether I’ll have to wait until the one in May to have a beer while I’m playing. Writing that down, I wonder whether I might not be overthinking beverages.