I was out in the US last week with work and had the chance to go to a local music bar one evening. We went to Antone's, something of a legend in Austin, where a couple of bands were playing, the second of which was fronted by an old Muddy Waters cohort. We stood there, having paid our $15, listening to some fine blues, drinking our Lone Star lager, watching this virtuoso blues guitarist with a rich gravelly voice deliver note-perfect song after song.
And then my friend, the local who'd suggested the venue, asked me what I thought.
I wrestled with my conscience for a few moments, nodding appreciatively as I sought the right response, and then told him they were actually causing me to question whether I still liked blues as much as I'd always thought, since they were clearly a very good band. He smiled and suggested we go see what was happening at the Continental Club.
My immediate reaction was to think of the $15 we'd already paid to get in, and the half drunk can of Lone Star that was slowly warming in my hand, not to mention the fact it was a 'school night' and going somewhere else meant at least another couple of hours 'investment'.
But we went, and it was great.
The band, fronted by fiddle man, Warren Hood, was in full swing (and Bluegrass) and suddenly I was alive. The style of music was irrelevant; just like at Antone's, these were performers at the top of their game in a small venue, but unlike the sterile set we'd just walked away from, these guys were clearly loving what they were doing - and their personalities shone large on the small stage and made for an infectious evening.
I called out 'thank you' to my friend, for rescuing our mediocre evening, and said, "The other place was fine. But, you know what, I think I'm done with 'fine'."
And if you're wondering why I'm writing this in a Wordwatchers blog, it's because I'm currently on draft 3 of The Stationary Half of Goodbye, and with the words of a few good people lingering in my ears, telling me that draft 2 was fine and that I should be sending it to more agents, I can't help thinking I have a much better answer for them now.