REVIEWS OF Peter Hammill with Stuart Gordon
Bath England 5 JUNE 1999 at The Fringe Festival
Thanks to Keith M in England for this
Just a quick note .
I caught the PH show last night in Bath.
Bit unsteady for the first few numbers but things started
to gel by "Comfortable"
Highlights
- Shingle song - Primo - Last Frame.
PH very relax throughout and allowed us poor rain soaked
punters to view the Soundcheck at 19.00hrs.
And more from Keith:
Set list as follows;
Sound check including:
My Experience
and Nadir's Big Chance
Piano:
Siren Song
Just Good Friends
Nothing Comes
Unrehearsed
Guitar:
Comfortable
Nightman
Shingle Song
Amnesiac
Piano:
Faculty X
Stranger Still
A Way Out
Bubble
Guitar:
Talk Turkey
Last Frame
Primo On The Parapet
Encore:
Patient
When we finally found the
venue it was well strange!
It was a round circus type marquee with an
old blackboard with the legend "Peter Hammill Tonight" written in
chalk.The Marquee itself was in the grounds of an old Victorian Park!
As has been commented before, it had been raining hard most of the day and
the surrounding grass by the tent was a mud bath.
Our arrival at the venue (19.00hrs approx)coincided with a massive
downpour, taking pity on us the organisers were allowing the punters into
the tent to view the sound check!
PH suffered with sound and equipment issues throughout which did little to
aid his concentration.
I was seated about 20ft from PH and for my money the guy was sober. I was
rather surprised to read some of the reviews on your site - maybe i`m just
naive!! From my viewpoint PH slipped and fell after "Primo" due to the
uneven and slippery stage, and not through alcohol abuse.(probably!)
Although it wasn`t PH at his best ( far from it ) my view of the man is
that he constantly challenges the audience and attempts to move and change
things - this time it was unsuccessful for a good proportion of the gig -
but it was by know means a wasted journey - we left fully charged with the
buzz of the gig BUT a bit thoughtful.
As a relative PH newbie with regards the PH concert experience ,I have
only one other gig to compare this with,Barbican Hall 17.05.96 (I have
though followed his vinyl exploits since 1977). My companion a trusty PH
soldier with 25 or so gigs under his belt still rated the gig as good in
general with a few high spots( the climax to Primo - gets me every time)
and a few low points ( unrehearsed - very unrehearsed!)
From Rolf:
All i can say: it was one of the worst
PH concerts I have ever seen and belive me I have seen quite some concerts.
FROM JOHN REIS:
-
Apologies to anyone else who was expecting a prompt 2.00 appearance by
ourselves and the scorpions. Lack of sleep the night before
tempted us back
to the B&B and the quick lie-down proved deadly. We did get down to The
Bell at about 4.00, and finally met some other people heading for the gig
(Hi Mark, Chris, Sean, Jochen and anyone whose name I've since
forgotten...oh, and Fred Tomsett, with newly trimmed hair and beard, was
there too).
My friends and I (very regal, don't you think?) arrived in the Bell rather
late - around 7-ish and scanned the bar for likely looking groups of people.
Which was more or less everyone, unfortunately. My guess turned out to be a
bunch of Swedish (perhaps) tourist types who, not unnaturally, responded to
my 'PH7?' enquiry with total bemusement. I suppose by that time, everyone
had left... but we thought, what the hell, 7.30 for 8.00. What we hadn't
reckoned on was the seating arrangements. We could see PH on the guitar
songs but not the keyboard ones... Which is probably why Shingle Song is my
personal highlight (having never seen it played live before). Despite the
idiot rustling his carrier bag and eating, rather too noisily, a packet of
crisps and subsequently pouring himself tea or something from a Thermos - we
had him down as a reporter from the Bath Evening Chronicle.
I don't think Charlotte's description of the gig, atmosphere and 'music'
could be bettered - or even added to, so I won't bother. Suffice to say, at
some points I thought 'how can anyone possibly listen to - let alone like -
this' and others, well, superb. About halfway through it occurred to me why
I didn't particularly like 'Typical'. In the Sofa Sound Newsletter, PH says
the performances are 'dramatic'. Well, perhaps. There's drama and then
there's emoting - and 'Typical' strikes me as emoting. In the space of a
single gig, you tend to find that some songs are overstated, some
understated. If all are overstated - in the case of 'Typical' then it
becomes wearing. You just don't need the same level of emphasis placed on
every song. And so albums of single concerts - dare I say bootlegs - are
preferable: there's a natural ebb and flow.... Now if the 'Skeletons of
Songs' could be made officially available...
Heigh-ho. Sorry to have missed you... (and the Absinth in the Bell - I felt
I ought at least be able to walk.)
>
>Ok. I'm going to try to qualify what I said about PH here, whilst at the
>same time avoiding any furious back-pedalling.
>
>First of all, PH may not be the monst photogenic of men but (or despite
>this) he *doesn't* look 65 in the flesh. He does look his age: he wears
>glasses and he's got wrinkles. But compared with, say, any one of the
>Rolling Stones he looks positively radiant with youth. Perhaps it's the
>grey (almost white) hair that ages him more than anything else. At least
>he's not sad enough to dye it, and he has still got plenty of it. And
>(female fan alert - good to see a few of those around on Saturday) he looked
>pretty damn good in that Drizabone (but then I do have a soft spot for
>those!).
>
>To the more serious concern here. PH is undoubtedly a heavy drinker - but
>then he always has been. He's a heavy smoker too, and it's highly possible
>that one or both of these habits could ultimately be the death of him.
>
>Or maybe not. It's a sad irony that at least one of his vegetarian,
>non-smoking, non-drinking contemporaries is recovering from chemotherapy.
>But that's really not the issue here - the accusation is that it's PH's
>talent that's being "slowly obliterated".
>
>Saturday night was undoubtedly a stressful experience, and as I said I'm
>sure he was drinking to try to relax a bit, what with the pressure of the
>last minute rush especially. I'm not going to attempt to defend that
>philosophy (we've all heard the crap from motorists who claim that a few
>drinks make them "better", "more confident" drivers).
>
>But at least he didn't snort coke, shoot up heroin, pop pills or employ any
>of the other common "performance aids" that, again, many of his
>contemporaries resort to. Yes, I know that alcohol itself is a dangerous
>drug... but he *wasn't that far gone*. His speech afterwards was as usual
>beautifully enunciated and his gaze was steady (he carried a lot of
>equipment through some very slippery mud while staying upright *and* walking
>in a straight line. Furthermore, the stage *was* extremely uneven, being
>just tarpaulin over bumpy lawn.
>
>I wouldn't joke about his drinking if it were an obviously depression-linked
>problem; if he were unhappy with life in general. He genuinely loves what
>he does and certainly isn't trying to willingly self-destruct. In the past
>he has sometimes performed while drunk; sometimes while sober. Sometimes
>it's been great, sometimes not so great. There's no necessary connection
>between the two. When he gets the balance of alcohol *right* it *can*
>produce a fantastic gig - often because like the drunk-driver he takes more
>risks (but it's usually pretty safe *physically* when the only machine
>you're in charge of is an electric guitar); and sometimes because it makes
>him relaxed and jovial, and thereby more "together" with Stuart Gordon.
>
>In summary, and apologies for this turning into a bit of a waffle, I can't
>make PH out to be something he isn't. Read the Come Clean lyric - that
>really sums up my ambivalent feelings (his as well, perhaps). I do think
>that if the next couple of gigs are like the Bath Circus then we'll have
>real cause to worry (not that I think it was a bad gig, in fact!). But I
>personally believe that the next couple of gigs will be unpredictable.
>Ultimately I think lots of people like it that way.
>
>Charlotte
>
>
>
>------------------------------
From Simon P Brader:
Well, Charlotte has already said most of it, but a few personal
experiences/thoughts from Saturday.
I finally hit The Bell at 6.30 having been delayed by my cousin (who will be
late for his own funeral) and a car crash holding up traffic on the main
route into Bath). I looked for the 3 cuddly scorpions and flashed my 'Fall of
the House of Usher' T shirt at anyone who could bear the sight. Standing at
the bar I heard a couple of guys mention '3 cuddly scorpions' and thus met
Martin (and his brother) who hangs out hereabouts.
We all decamped to the gig
at around 7.00 and luckily managed to park the car as close to the Marquee as
it was possible to get which, given the rain, was fortunate. If anyone found
themselves impressed with the number plate B13 YES, it was me!!
We got in to hear the end of the soundcheck (which turned out to be one of
the aural high-lights of the night) and waited, shivering, for the gig proper
to start. It was cold. When PH came back on you could see his breath and
throughout the performance there was a drop on the end of his nose.
Charlotte's thoughts on the quality (or absence thereof) of the performance
were pretty accurate. Overall I was pretty disappointed to be honest.
'Nightman', 'Primo' and 'Bubble' in particular were really bad (not helped by
the fact they they rank amongst my least favourite PH toons) although I did
enjoy 'Unrehearsed'. I quite enjoyed the fact that he was singing this with
the kids 3 rows away.
The playing was patchy at best (on Primo it was outright pathetic. I'm no
guitarist, but are they difficult runs to play?) I often found myself sitting
there with a mild feeling of embarrassment, wondering what the hell my
cousin, who had never had the 'live' experience, was making of it all).
I got the distinct impression of anti-climax.
Whether it was the delays in
starting, the weather, performing in front of family and friends or whatever,
Peter seemed distinctly 'flat'. Surprisingly little dialogue with the
audience. When the string went in the encore (and coming after the
unscheduled dumping on his behind), he was furious. The look of dark anger on
his face when he finally managed to remove the offending string was priceless.
'The Voice' was not in good form. Again, it could have been the weather or
the nerves or the lubrication but with the exception of a couple of high
points (including a wonderfully echo-enhanced ending to Stranger Still), he
was well off melody on a number of occasions. I also thought that the miking
for the guitar pieces was less successful than that for the keyboard.
I didn't have time to hang around post-gig unfortunately so I didn't get the
chance to say hello or look out any other list members. After trudging across
the quagmire I somehow managed to cover myself in mud. If anyone saw a
lunatic hopping around on one leg trying to clean his boots by the light of
his headlamps, it was me.
One last thought.
Peter, please, please, please change the set-list and the
presentation. I really don't know if I am prepared to go and listen again to
the (fundamentally) same set-list I've heard for the last 4/5 years.
Likewise, I find myself being increasingly dissatisfied with the violin.
Never my favourite instrument in 'rock' music, it gets very wearing song
after song.
FROM JIM BROWN:
any wild ideas
anyone might have had about PH being sober after all were rather dispelled
at the ending. >>
I think that is sad. As much as I have always admired PH, the thought of him
doing a show in that condition (perhaps I'm being naive here, but I've not
yet seen a PH gig,
and perhaps that is the rule and not the exception) makes me wince. I've
seen recent pictures of him on various sites, and the man looks to be about
65.
I guess
the caveat "recovering" in the expression "recovering alcoholic" is very
true, since you
can fall down at any opportunity. Please understand, I'm not judging anyone,
it's just so sad to consider the great talent that is being diluted and
slowly obliterated.
Jim
-------------------
FROM MARTIN:
The reactions to Saturday night seem to be remarkably similar from two or
our correspondents, well three now if you include me. Thanks to Simon for
the lift from the strangely scorpionless pub which saved us a wet walk. Now
if he could have been on hand to get me from the marquee to the toilets it
would have saved that muddy path ruining my shoes (at least I went. I heard
the Hammill clan complaining that Holly had crossed her legs all night
rather than risk it). It was a slow start.
I'm not sure whether it was our
position in the tent or other sound problems, but his voice seemed way too
low down below the piano and fiddle. Things only began to pick up for me
from Amnesiac. Then it all began to come together and I remembered all the
good things about being there.
I'm not so sure about Simon's comments on the set content. I haven't seen
him play for a couple or more years and my brother for longer and there were
new live songs for both of us (in different quantities). Perhaps it's a set
list that evolves fairly (too?) slowly and so the more frequent visitors
don't see the changes as much. Unrehearsed, Amnesiac, Nightman, Gift of
Fire, Nothing Comes are new or infrequent appearances so that's about 25%.
There were also some notable absences like Comet and Again.
As for the fiddling. I thought it was less intrusive than other times when
I've seen them, but it can get wearing. I sometimes get the impression that
you could transplant the fiddle piece from one song to another without
noticing much difference.
Yes, the ending was a tad (!) shambolic. I hope the Washburn wasn't
mortally wounded after being fallen on, but it's going to need some work,
there were definite problems by the sound of it.
Cheers
Martin
From: "Rene M. Finkler"
.
God, this is depressing ! Are we here to analyse and criticise or justify a
persons private habits ? Are we even here sinking to the level of a group
of manipulators of public opinion and their hordes of followers who try to
tell Clinton where he can and cannot stick his willy or the "Prince of
Wales" if his re-incarnatory fantasies are appropriate ?
Do you (not YOU, Charlotte - I appreciate your defensive efforts, but do you
have to have your back to the wall ?) like Peter Hammill's music ? Do you
enjoy his performances ? If so, if you are sympathetic, you have a certain
right - within the limits of his openness - to interpret the significance of
his output within the body of knowledge about the powers of the effects of
his personal habits. If not, just go away, because there's not much you can
contribute which might be of interest. Pat Robertson is waiting.
This of course is MY personal opinion, and if a multitude of pH7ers will
tell ME to go away, I will certainly do so.
Sorry about the harsh tone, but that's what it takes at times.
Rene
Jim wrote:
I think that is sad. As much as I have always admired PH, the thought of
him
doing a show in that condition (perhaps I'm being naive here, but I've not
yet seen a PH gig,
and perhaps that is the rule and not the exception) makes me wince. I've
seen recent pictures of him on various sites, and the man looks to be
about
65.
I guess
the caveat "recovering" in the expression "recovering alcoholic" is very
true, since you
can fall down at any opportunity. Please understand, I'm not judging
anyone,
it's just so sad to consider the great talent that is being diluted and
slowly obliterated.
Saturday night was undoubtedly a stressful experience, and as I said I'm
sure he was drinking to try to relax a bit, what with the pressure of the
last minute rush especially. I'm not going to attempt to defend that
philosophy (we've all heard the crap from motorists who claim that a few
drinks make them "better", "more confident" drivers).
But at least he didn't snort coke, shoot up heroin, pop pills or employ any
of the other common "performance aids" that, again, many of his
contemporaries resort to. Yes, I know that alcohol itself is a dangerous
drug... but he *wasn't that far gone*. His speech afterwards was as usual
beautifully enunciated and his gaze was steady (he carried a lot of
equipment through some very slippery mud while staying upright *and*
walking
in a straight line. Furthermore, the stage *was* extremely uneven, being
just tarpaulin over bumpy lawn.
I wouldn't joke about his drinking if it were an obviously
depression-linked>problem; if he were unhappy with life in general. He genuinely loves what
he does and certainly isn't trying to willingly self-destruct. In the past
he has sometimes performed while drunk; sometimes while sober. Sometimes
it's been great, sometimes not so great. There's no necessary connection
between the two. When he gets the balance of alcohol *right* it *can*
produce a fantastic gig - often because like the drunk-driver he takes more
risks (but it's usually pretty safe *physically* when the only machine
you're in charge of is an electric guitar); and sometimes because it makes
him relaxed and jovial, and thereby more "together" with Stuart Gordon.
In summary, and apologies for this turning into a bit of a waffle, I can't
make PH out to be something he isn't. Read the Come Clean lyric - that
really sums up my ambivalent feelings (his as well, perhaps). I do think
that if the next couple of gigs are like the Bath Circus then we'll have
real cause to worry (not that I think it was a bad gig, in fact!). But I
personally believe that the next couple of gigs will be unpredictable.
Ultimately I think lots of people like it that way.
Charlotte
From Simon P. Brader:
Well, Charlotte has already said most of it, but a few personal
experiences/thoughts from Saturday.
I finally hit The Bell at 6.30 having been delayed by my cousin (who will be
late for his own funeral) and a car crash holding up traffic on the main
route into Bath). I looked for the 3 cuddly scorpions and flashed my 'Fall of
the House of Usher' T shirt at anyone who could bear the sight. Standing at
the bar I heard a couple of guys mention '3 cuddly scorpions' and thus met
Martin (and his brother) who hangs out hereabouts.
We all decamped to the gig
at around 7.00 and luckily managed to park the car as close to the Marquee as
it was possible to get which, given the rain, was fortunate. If anyone found
themselves impressed with the number plate B13 YES, it was me!!
We got in to hear the end of the soundcheck (which turned out to be one of
the aural high-lights of the night) and waited, shivering, for the gig proper
to start.
t was cold. When PH came back on you could see his breath and
throughout the performance there was a drop on the end of his nose.
Charlotte's thoughts on the quality (or absence thereof) of the performance
were pretty accurate. Overall I was pretty disappointed to be honest.
'Nightman', 'Primo' and 'Bubble' in particular were really bad (not helped by
the fact they they rank amongst my least favourite PH toons) although I did
enjoy 'Unrehearsed'. I quite enjoyed the fact that he was singing this with
the kids 3 rows away.
The playing was patchy at best (on Primo it was outright pathetic. I'm no
guitarist, but are they difficult runs to play?) I often found myself sitting
there with a mild feeling of embarrassment, wondering what the hell my
cousin, who had never had the 'live' experience, was making of it all).
I got the distinct impression of anti-climax. Whether it was the delays in
starting, the weather, performing in front of family and friends or whatever,
Peter seemed distinctly 'flat'. Surprisingly little dialogue with the
audience. When the string went in the encore (and coming after the
unscheduled dumping on his behind), he was furious. The look of dark anger on
his face when he finally managed to remove the offending string was priceless.
'The Voice' was not in good form.
Again, it could have been the weather or
the nerves or the lubrication but with the exception of a couple of high
points (including a wonderfully echo-enhanced ending to Stranger Still), he
was well off melody on a number of occasions. I also thought that the miking
for the guitar pieces was less successful than that for the keyboard.
I didn't have time to hang around post-gig unfortunately so I didn't get the
chance to say hello or look out any other list members. After trudging across
the quagmire I somehow managed to cover myself in mud. If anyone saw a
lunatic hopping around on one leg trying to clean his boots by the light of
his headlamps, it was me.
>One last thought. Peter, please, please, please change the set-list and the
presentation. I really don't know if I am prepared to go and listen again to
the (fundamentally) same set-list I've heard for the last 4/5 years.
Likewise, I find myself being increasingly dissatisfied with the violin.
Never my favourite instrument in 'rock' music, it gets very wearing song
after song.
>
>
FROM MARTIN
The reactions to Saturday night seem to be remarkably similar from two or
our correspondents, well three now if you include me. Thanks to Simon for
the lift from the strangely scorpionless pub which saved us a wet walk. Now
if he could have been on hand to get me from the marquee to the toilets it
would have saved that muddy path ruining my shoes (at least I went. I heard
the Hammill clan complaining that Holly had crossed her legs all night
rather than risk it). It was a slow start. I'm not sure whether it was our
position in the tent or other sound problems, but his voice seemed way too
low down below the piano and fiddle. Things only began to pick up for me
from Amnesiac. Then it all began to come together and I remembered all the
good things about being there.
I'm not so sure about Simon's comments on the set content. I haven't seen
him play for a couple or more years and my brother for longer and there were
new live songs for both of us (in different quantities). Perhaps it's a set
list that evolves fairly (too?) slowly and so the more frequent visitors
don't see the changes as much. Unrehearsed, Amnesiac, Nightman, Gift of
Fire, Nothing Comes are new or infrequent appearances so that's about 25%.
There were also some notable absences like Comet and Again.
As for the fiddling. I thought it was less intrusive than other times when
I've seen them, but it can get wearing. I sometimes get the impression that
you could transplant the fiddle piece from one song to another without
noticing much difference.
Yes, the ending was a tad (!) shambolic. I hope the Washburn wasn't
mortally wounded after being fallen on, but it's going to need some work,
there were definite problems by the sound of it.
Cheers
I'm not sure that Charlotte was being totally serious with her remark
(although she might have been) and later in her message does accept that the
tent was on a slope and the ground was rough. I think the falling down was
purely an accident. I think if the man suffered from anything that night it
was more frustration (the weather, the venue, the sound, the ground, the
guitar) than alcohol induced.
Cheers
Martin
FROM CHRIS HUMPHREY
whatever the effects of the alcohol, it looked to me that as PH finished the last
song and stood up, his mind was comming back out of the performance and what with the small
sise of the stage resulted in the spill (back with a bump?)
it certainly took me a while to come down after the gig, and I'd only had one pint at about half
two that afternoon and presumably the performer has to be in deeper than the audience.
MARGA T
Hello,
Still floating on memories of Saturday night and also literally in this
*scary* little cityhopper from Bristol to Amsterdam I decided to
scribble down my experiences of the Bath concert, the business man
sitting next to me wasn't in a chatty mood anyway.
Initially this _was_ a pretty long story but not really interesting
for you anymore since most of it appears to be quite similar to
Charlotte's version. :) So I omitted all that.
I must say it was a miracle to me that the rather weird venue we'd
inspected earlier that day was still there in the evening. I was worried
it might have been either blown away or fallen apart during these
British rainstorms; I certainly didn't have a good feeling about it from
the start. At 6.30 pm we slipped inside the *bar* to have a drink and
listen to the sound-check. There weren't many people yet. This is the
only advantage of PH not being a popular musician: you can always get a
front row seat when you arrive just before the opening time.
The night was full of surprises and I started to see the words of many
songs in another perspective.
e.g. in "Unrehearsed"; they were indeed unprepared and unready for the
gig, this was so true because they hadn't had enough time to do a
*proper* sound check. What's more, there were too many of us watching
them and making remarks. Not a very relaxing situation for them to do
this job, I realize that now.
In "Nightman" PH seemed to be very focused on words like clay and
water:
* the night's full of clay, ice and water
* by day I'll have clay in my hands
He used those words just so often where he shouldn't that I couldn't
help getting the impression he sang that on purpose. And yes, not only
did I have clay on my hands, all we needed was five minutes in that tent
and the clay was already everywhere, on my shoes, jeans, backpack,
umbrella and beerbottles.
The song "Patient" had to be the encore. Ofcourse. After the *little*
accident he had before this was just the right song to sing. The line:
"Waiting for the docter to come" sounded more impressive tonight than it
usually does. Only at this moment did I realize the seriousness of what
had happened. It was very nice of PH to do any encore at all.
Even though a lot of mistakes were made and many peculiar things
happened this night (PH wearing two socks of the same colour), I still
think the concert was a good one; it had many touching moments. Too many
to remember exactly, but I know that Stranger Still was better than any
of the versions I have on CD, he went on and on and on; very inspired. A
Way Out moved me to tears (something that rarely happens at other
people's concerts). And Last Frame was loud and clear. :) Wow.
When the concert was over I was more or less convinced Peter would go
straight home. And if it weren't for the guy who was sitting next to me
who insisted we (Charlotte and me) should hang around, I still wouldn't
have met him by now.
Thank you Tony :) You were right.
Peter did make another appearance and since it was the first time for me
to ever meet him I felt so embarrassed that I completely forgot most of
the questions I wanted to ask. Shame. Next time I definitely have write
them down on a piece of paper. He was very kind and even took the time
to sign my CD covers. Three funny signatures; unrecognizable really
compared to the one he did on Tony's CD before the show. But that's what
makes mine special.
This weekend in Bath was beyond expectations.
Bye now,
Marga.
SP BRADER
Hi
I can't remember how or where it was decided that his fall was drink related.
It certainly did not look like any such thing to me. He was taking the
applause, backed into an amp which was seated on top of either its case or a
table. Whichever, it had a high centre of gravity and tilted backwards to
rest on the tent wall. As it moved, Peter's balance went and he slipped.
Could have happened to anyone (and if it had happened to me, I certainly
wouldn't have handled it with such good humour).
Can we please stop with the accusations and assumptions. I spoke to someone
today who wasn't at the gig, isn't on pH7, yet has heard this accusation. It
is offensive and wholly unfair speculation based on the flimsiest of
so-called 'evidence.'
I do *know* there were far more obvious cases of inebriation amongst the
audients.
,
Simon
JEAN-MICHEL
Even though a lot of mistakes were made and many peculiar things
happened this night (PH wearing two socks of the same colour), >>
an excellent comment, Marga !
I hope Joseph André will post an answer :)
Bye, and thanks for your post !
Jean-Michel
-----------------------TONY EMERSON
Excuse the lame joke, but I really feel a few things are being taken out of
proportion with respect to Peter's gig in Bath.
First of all, I really don't believe it was a bad gig. Certainly it was not
Peter at his best, but from an outside viewpoint I enjoyed it more, and took
a lot more away from it, than many other gigs I have seen. Including ones
where the acts on stage were performing at 110% of their 'ability'.
The conditions surrounding the event were ones that no artist should have to
go though. It's hard enough getting things together to perform without
having to worry about the size of the swamp outside or the leaking roof
inside. Musicians have endured harder, but it's not what they should have to
do and it doean't make the job any easier. Home-town gigs are a strain
enough anyway... no man makes a profit in his own land and all that...