The worst part about writing a blog is figuring out what to say at the start.
I don't know what to say and how to say it so I'll just type and let it flow.
So what is this performance I'll never forget?
Don't expect some crazy Hendrix Solo but I'll tell you what happened and show you the video!
It all started on Friday morning, I knew I had to meet my friend at the train station for a free lift to London at 12pm, NO LATES.
Now, if you know me, I am notoriously known for being late…
I woke up at 10am.
Brushed my teeth - 10:07am
Took a shit - 10:30am
Showered - 10:50am
Now I spent a good 20 minutes trying to figure out what outfit to wear.
Do I wear this Levis jacket? Do these blue jeans go with this top? I need new trainers…
Eventually I gave up trying and wore some black jeans and a t-shirt. My specialty.
It's like 11:10AM but I said it's fine! I got plenty of time to make it to the train station.
I seem to have a bad perception of time though, I won't realise how little time I have for something until its the last minute haha.
It's now 11:30 and I have to leave my house to catch the train to the train station for my lift.
No, I need to shave my beard.
It's 11:50am
I call the uber, catch the train at 12 and make it to the station for 12:23pm.
My friend is nowhere to be seen.
I call her, no answer.
I call her again, NO ANSWER.
I started to feel sad, maybe she left me?
Maybe she got annoyed that I was late?
I call her one more time.
“Gabe you told me to meet you at 1pm…”
I sighed with relief, and laughed hysterically.
Maybe I knew I was going to be late so I took advantage of my bad memory and told her to meet me at 1pm because I knew id forget.
5D Chess.
So I go to get a sandwich, cake and water and eat and wait for her arrival.
She comes and off we go to London!
The event we were going to was some Arab Open Mic Night. She was Arab, she speaks the language and she's known for her amazing voice and talent!
She was one of the main acts for the night and I was just going to go to support but she said that there's an opportunity for audience members to go up later to play.
I reluctantly agreed to bringing my guitar just in case I do decide to play.
But WTF do I know about Arab culture or music.
The only thing close to Arab is my 1% Egyptian genes from my DNA test.
Anyways, we're on the motorway and I'm just admiring the clouds.
Here's a picture:
Clouds are so pretty and fluffy. I think we often try to keep our minds stimulated with everything other than nature bro. Like even the grassy hills outside the city looked majestic.
All of it puts you in a good mood man.
Saw some cows, horses, sheep you know- and then we got to London.
Oddly enough, London felt like home to me. I don't know why, I know the rent is a ball ache over there but I'd really like to spend some time there eventually.
We'll see.
The driving was amazing though, the satnav saying one thing while the street signs were saying another. It was fun.
We had to find the venue though so, after sprawling through main roads and side roads, we finally got to the place, all we had to do was park.
But we got there at the same time school finishes.
So imagine a shoal of cars trying to get through a narrow road that is TWO way but is ONE way at this point because no one can fit and you're trying not to piss off the drivers behind you by reversing to let the other cars pass.
It was a nightmare but we made it!
We were earlier that expected but that was fine. We went in a met a wonderful person called Zara and since I wasn't one of the main acts, I wasn't actually allowed in the lounge area but she let me off lol
So we chilled, and I saw the acts come one by one. All speaking Arabic, I just sat and smiled and tried to not let my awkwardness get the better of me.
I conversed and got to know some peeps, the culture, some words and yeh time flied by, I got to hear the soundchecks which was really cool and it really opened up my ear to different sounds as a musician.
Fast forward to 7pm, it's the start of the event and it's performance time. My friend was the first act and she absolutely killed it. If she decides to upload the video I sent her of her performance, I'll link it here lol
You can find her on Youtube though:
One act after another, I'm blown away with the talent and inspired by all the different sounds I'm hearing.
It's like you can play scales to get a specific sound but it's different hearing it in person and seeing it applied by people actually from the east.
Fast forward to the end of the main acts, it's break time.
And then it's time for the Audience volunteer acts to come up.
I was having a good time until I remembered that I put myself on the list to go up.
I was 6th.
And I still didn't know what the hell I was gonna play.
I've never played proper Arab music before, I only know a few words in Arabic but I can't sing and I've never winged a whole performance in a completely different style that I'm used to before.
Especially Infront of a packed hall of people.
Forget thattttt
Sure I'm a good player but this is one of the things I wouldn't see myself doing unless I'm drunk or something.
So the first act goes.
Then the second
Then the third
Fourth.
Now the fifth act, I'm hoping deep down it's someone that can't sing or something. So that my act will sound amazing even though it sounds rap.
There's no worst feeling as a musician when the act before you blows you out of the water before you even picked a string.
It's demoralising.
The act was some little girl with spoons doing some crazy rhythms to a song.
It was amazing.
Thankfully the crowd was really kind and supportive.
But now it's my turn.
My hearts racing, I forget how to breath and I just want to jump off a cliff.
I tell myself, I never have to see these people again so it's fine.
“Next we have Gabe who wanted to Jam with the band”
I get my Guitar, walk up them stairs and say to the house band.
“D MINOR”
After that it's khalas bro.
It actually went very well.
I think I could move more though. I'm working on it.
I've titled this “A Performance I'll Never Forget" because it's one of those experiences I had where I'm now thinking “Damn if I can do this then what else can I do”
Sure, the band was super talented and there was good chemistry, it wasn't all me as you can see in the video haha
But I'd never see myself doing something like this. I'm usually the guy sitting the back noodling around the chord progression or holding a tight groove.
For this, I just gave the key and that was it. After that, some organic music was made, no rehearsal, no practice, just flow.
Now I remember why I love what I do and I can't wait to see what I do in the future!