'Dr Stage' refers to the phenomenon known throughout the music industry (and, presumably, the other performing arts) whereby no matter unwell you are, once you hit the stage the adrenaline, public expectation, nerves and excitement will mean you can still perform with great gusto, in spite of how you felt moments before. There is also of course the famous adage, 'The Show Must Go On'. You just don't cancel a gig unless it is a physical impossibility. There are just so many people you would let down, it's just a no-go unless it really is impossible.
This wasn't the most Ill that I've been on stage either, that was at a Boxjam event a few years ago when I really thought I might collapse on stage at times.
Having done the previous gig with a sore throat and general achyness (see previous post), by this one the virus (assuming that's what it is) has developed into something really quite weird, while having general aches all over, in addition to this I seen to have one tendon somewhere that is so sore, I can barely use that part of the body, yet the next day it is completely fine and another area is afflicted... Well weird!
I'd so far had a left arm that couldn't even lift an empty bag, on gig-day it was absolutely fine but my right wrist really hurt on show-day. As I write now (the day after the gig, though technically it finished this morning) my right ankle is so sore it feels as if I've badly sprained it and can hardly put any weight on it, though my wrist is fine.
Anyway, this was the big city bar of Flanagan's Apple on the famous Mathew Street in that mega focus of music worldwide, Liverpool, with Rickety Wireless.
It was a long gig, 10pm until 1am but I like that, bring more like this on, and consequently we had rehearsed a whole extra bunch of tunes to perform, in fact the 'newest' ones seeming to go down best with this big, raucous party-mad crowd. The crowd were really, really up for it, even getting worryingly raucous at times with stage invasions and some (really bad) singing by uninvited guests on stage,
Great fun over all, thanks to everyone there!
Of course the second I stepped off stage I felt as if I'd just been in the ring for 3 hours with a selection of histories greatest heavyweight boxers, and even stepping back onto my floating home in the early hours was something of an agonised move.
One reason I do this though, is that every gig is something of an adventure, and long after the shivery skin, the aching bones, the waking in pools of sweat has gone, the memories of this great night will live on.
