Older, but no wiser
Andy Borrows' musings on life and all its confusion, contradictions, richness and opportunities
Sunday, February 04, 2007
Show's over
Several times today I’ve sat down to try and write something about the show, but each time failed to come up with anything coherent. Just a jumble of ideas which refuse to be tied down in words, or at any rate in words which form any sort of rational structure. Flashes of inspiration; dozens of partial sentences which seem as though they ought to slot together somehow, yet the edges don’t join, like a random collection of jigsaw pieces.
I’ll try the easy stuff first. This was an amateur production – we think the first, as the license was only released last autumn – of We Will Rock You, the musical based on the songs of Queen. It was a great success –sold out most nights, and several people who had also seen the west end show said they actually preferred ours. The standard was amazing, on all fronts – not only the on-stage performers, but lighting, sound, and stage crew also. The latter are real unsung heroes – the scene changes, often the Achilles heel of amateur productions, ran like clockwork.
In spite of easily being the oldest rocker in town, I’m also the least experienced in the band – it’s only about ten years since I picked up a bass for the first time – so I really had to push myself so as not to let the side down. Every time I do one of these shows, it pushes my playing up another notch. I guess it would be nice at this stage of life to have put all that hard work behind me and be able to relax and enjoy the playing a bit more – but I’m not complaining; I would never have dreamed ten years ago that I’d be performing rock songs to a paying public.
Right now I have odd mix of feelings. Relief that the pressure is off, relief that I have some choice back in my life, that every spare moment isn’t being spent practising or rehearsing; but also a sense of loss. No-one involved wanted it to end; we’d all worked so hard, with just 10 weeks from auditions to first night, and Christmas coming in the middle of that time Taking part helped to fulfil my personal need for purpose and achievement; now that it’s over, I’ll have to find something else to fill the vacuum.
I’ll try the easy stuff first. This was an amateur production – we think the first, as the license was only released last autumn – of We Will Rock You, the musical based on the songs of Queen. It was a great success –sold out most nights, and several people who had also seen the west end show said they actually preferred ours. The standard was amazing, on all fronts – not only the on-stage performers, but lighting, sound, and stage crew also. The latter are real unsung heroes – the scene changes, often the Achilles heel of amateur productions, ran like clockwork.
In spite of easily being the oldest rocker in town, I’m also the least experienced in the band – it’s only about ten years since I picked up a bass for the first time – so I really had to push myself so as not to let the side down. Every time I do one of these shows, it pushes my playing up another notch. I guess it would be nice at this stage of life to have put all that hard work behind me and be able to relax and enjoy the playing a bit more – but I’m not complaining; I would never have dreamed ten years ago that I’d be performing rock songs to a paying public.
Right now I have odd mix of feelings. Relief that the pressure is off, relief that I have some choice back in my life, that every spare moment isn’t being spent practising or rehearsing; but also a sense of loss. No-one involved wanted it to end; we’d all worked so hard, with just 10 weeks from auditions to first night, and Christmas coming in the middle of that time Taking part helped to fulfil my personal need for purpose and achievement; now that it’s over, I’ll have to find something else to fill the vacuum.
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