Civility

As I mentioned in the first post, I work in in a local theatre.
To me the venue is an extension of my front room. You invite a few people round to have a few beers and watch stuff, and everyone should have a good time. As with your house you occasionally ask yourself who you have invited in?
Lets start with the acts. When did schools stop teaching people to introduce themselves? Over the years I've had; Stewart Lee, Kurt Wagner, Jason Peirce, Richard Herring, Lloyd Cole, Mark Thomas, and many many others walk into my pretend front room, shake me by the hand and tell me who they are. As if I didn't already know. Modesty and talent hand in hand.
The funniest was “carry that in for me, put that there, could you move that to there”. After a few minutes of this “Oh my God, I'm so sorry, I'm Glen by the way, it's so rude of me not to introduce myself and ask you to do all of this”.
But since it was Glen Tilbrook, one of Britain's best post war songwriters I was quite ready to forgive him.
And when you get the likes of Martin Carthy and Peggy Seeger introducing themselves, this really is politeness on another level.
Anyway, last week, we had a three band bill; the inexplicably famous, the unbelievably signed and the bewilderedly local. About half an hour after the time the bands should have arrived a couple of people walk in and sit on the stage. Myself and the sound engineer were evidently invisible.
“Can I help?” Is my stock question at this point. The sub text being – how dare you walk into this space and blank me, how would you feel if I was walking round your cheap and no doubt badly decorated house, ignoring you and passing comments on you revolting wallpaper, I've scraped better things off my shoes than you.
You aint got off to a good start.
Some of then get it some of then don't. They did, and I enjoyed their company more than I did their band. So about an hour after the next get in time more gear start to appear, this time with a shouting Scotsman. After about 10 minuets of shouting and swearing at me and the sound guy he mentions in passing that he is the sound engineer for the band. If he had told us this to start with we might have been friends.
He might have good “ears” as they say, but with that attitude he wont have a full set of teeth for very long.
So in conclusion, if you are in a band, walk in find out who's in charge, introduce yourself, be polite, ask questions, look like you are interested in the sorry plight that has brought them to this. Remember, it's not the technicians fault he doesn't know who you are, it's yours for not being famous enough. But I assure you, they will remember the next time you meet on your way down the slippery pole of fame.