Open Mic Night

Ivy is home from Uni and last night, she and sister Taylor took part in an Open Mic Night at a local pub.

They have participated before and Taylor, having stood in for the regular drummer one time, is something of a minor celebrity.

Usually when they are doing their thing, I am at home looking after the babies and have to wait for a report as to how they got on. I can usually tell by the sparkle in their eyes and the volume of their voices  how well things went.

Last night, my eldest daughter and her boyfriend came round to babysit so I could witness it all first hand. They joked how as CRB checked, first aid trained professionals with lots of experience working with children, they were highly qualified babysitters. However highly qualified they might be, the rate of pay on offer remains as one Chinese takeaway. They seemed happy enough with that.

I don't remember the last time I spent an evening in a pub. I've done the "quick drink before moving on to something else" thing but a whole evening in one pub felt quite alien. We found a table far enough away from the speakers so we wouldn't be completely deafened and got the drinks in. As the pub got busier it did get very hot and airless but at least with the smoking ban in force, what little air there was remained breathable.

I love listening to live music. It doesn't really matter how many bad notes there are, or if the tone of someone's voice is a little harsh or if the harmonies aren't exactly spot on. I love the feeling of being immersed in sound, feeling the vibrations of it through the floor and your beer glass. Best of all I love when the sound resonates internally - the feel of the music beating inside your body. The volume wasn't pumped up loud enough to achieve that (the elderly residents of the sheltered housing across the road may have had something to complain about if it had) but it still created an experience beyond listening to a recorded tune on the CD player.

When it was my girls' turn to play, I was once again amazed that I had produced these confident and fearless young ladies. They played an eclectic mix of songs from Disney's "I Just Can't Wait to be King" to Florence and the Machine's "A Kiss with a Fist". I loved every second.

If I'm honest, their performance was far from flawless. Ivy has a habit of apologising if she makes a mistake on the guitar. If she carried on, no one would even notice but saying "Sorry about that" mid song makes it obvious even to the musically undiscerning. Taylor has an amazing smile and when she uses it during a performance she can connect effortlessly with her with audience. However, she mostly pulls her 'concentrating face' or looks glum.

Criticisms aside, my girls rocked out, filling me with pride and entertaining a pub full of patrons. 

I had a fantastic evening and my highly qualified baby sitters did a great job of taking care of my little ones in my absence.