A great night all round I thought.
Thank you @TheMadman_tobyjenner @adi_mrok @Rossco01 and @DavidP for pulling it all together for members of the community to share our passion for playing guitar.
Bumper turn out as well, which is nice.
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For those out there coming back to read replies, be advised that I have updated the first post in the Topic with links to the event recording and transcript of the chat.
Since the event, I have had the opportunity to read the comments about my performance which I missed on the night when dropping off and rejoining on a different device.
thank you all, the encouragement and compliments are greatly appreciated.
Can only say again what a privilege it is to have such a wonderful opportunity. This truly is something special, made so by the participation of audience and performers alike.
For those thanking me, thank you, but for this one I sat on the sidelines and just joined in like any other person. This one was all Toby, Jason, and Adrian.
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Hi all,
Thanks to reasonable phone coverage on the North Wales Coast railway last night, I had a chance to catch up and watch Saturday nightâs extravaganza 
Jumping straight in, Grandmaster Jason puts all at ease with his confident intro/housekeeping, before attempting to propel Mrs. Bush back up to the top of the charts by running up that hill again! By gum, I think he might succeed⌠Stranger things have happened 
No sign of long Covid with our trusty mod DavidP , lifting a rolling stone and turning a ruby Tuesday into a sapphire Saturday. No leaps and bounds here, Mr. P, but even better- steady progress.
I thought the picking was on point, your vocals were in tune throughout with good phrasing.
Bravo 
I would be interested to hear what you would sound like if you put the capo on the 2nd/3rd fret, as I thought you lost some resonance when you went way down.
@grayal Short and sweet, but well played throughout. Clean chord changes with nice little embellishments thrown in. Love the look of your guitar and lovely sound. Youâre looking comfortable doing this now, Al. Could it be time to start pushing yourself into a âdiscomfort zoneâ?
@liaty Oh I really enjoyed this one. Lovely bit of delicate picking intro with the gentle vocals that heavy metal heads so love to specialize in, the build up in waves till it all breaks up in an overdriven scream, leaving us a bit dazed in the soft sandy outro⌠Pity the sound couldnât keep up with the performance, but fantastic job 
@eric.lennon another Lazarus-lad 
Legend! I loved this song when it was a Steelerâs Wheel hit in the 70âs and loved itâs canine reservoir renaissance in the 90s. No danger of any ears bleeding here
Well played, and I especially enjoyed the vocals. Youâre a good singer lad. If you slowed it down just a touch, I think that might give your singing even more expression 
@Malz Wow, what a competent and effective demonstration of strumming and picking⌠and complemented by competent vocals. Expect a âcease and desistâ order from the âlegal Eaglesâ any day now, buddy 
@Notter Youâve done me a favour, mate. You made me realise itâs not Oasis music I dislike, itâs the guff that comes from the Gallagherâs brotherâs orifices when theyâre offstage that puts me off Nice song. Well performed. Well done. Wasnât to hard, was it? Nothing stopping you now, mate
@martzon
From Dublin?
How did that slip under my radar?
Where have you been hiding? What part of Dublin?
Well, I can see why you might not want to mention it, with eejits like me blathering on, so letâs cut to the chase
Thatâs a lovely combo of pick/strumming you have going on there, anâ begorrah the lad can sing. You did so well, not fussing when you tripped a bit, and just incorporated it into the performance. Truly a wonderful debut.
I was swimming off Killiney beach yesterday, looking up at Chris de Burghâs and Bonoâs residences. Iâd prefer to watch you in Whelanâs one evening than either of them
Stefan Iâm not sure you realise it, but you are a born performer. Iâve been envious of your strumming for a while, (although your recent conversation with JK about having played the drums provides some explanation).
Standing, smiling, not getting fussed with minor stumbles.
Wait- what was that?
Did he just throw in a âHuahâ after Mercedes Benz?
Rewind⌠Yes he did
You rock man!
Oh, yeah, expect the lawyers on this one too (U-boob removed my attempt 
)
Ah, the mad one What can say that I havenât said before (even if always ignored). It is good to see how comfortable you have become with the whole singing while performing saga. I have kept too much bad company in the past to want to listen to a band of that name. Nice rendition. Good to see the acoustic get a workout again. Sound was on point, although I canât say itâs worth your near-meltdowns in the prep dept.
Too many folks have already lauded your trojan work, curating the lists of performers and audience, so I will not add to your burden. (esp. as you know my thoughts on âaudience applicationsâ). I am coming around to the idea that itâs as much your enthusiasm and willingness to engage/participate that is more important than exactly what form that takes. Youâve been here longer, and have given more than most, by a long shot, so take an extra bow.
(but donât take the hat off again )
@jestersea How cool. Most of us allow for mistakes/ poorer performances with live performances. You just went and upped your game in front of everyone. (Not sure if it would sound even better a tad slower. I donât think of it as an upbeat song, but thatâs just personal.) Well done.
@rodreilly
from Scotland,
in California,
playing music from just across the Mersey?
Gotta love The Mighty Wah! And all the Liverpool bands from that era. Great tune.
Dude has even great taste in clothes.
All round top performance
Other Rod, aka @Rod58
Every time you appear on my screen, man, I think surely this guy does this professionally.
You have such a natural way of interacting with the camera/mic, Iâd listen even if you didnât play. Look, no training wheels indeed and in almost a perfectly straight line! And playing a tune from one of my last favourite REM albums.
Win, win, win
Mark and Jen @TheCluelessLuthier
One of my favourite performances of the evening. I love to see folks playing together and my, do you guys play well together.
Absolutely loved those harmonies. Iâm glad Iâve matured enough to go from loving this song initially, to deriding it as the uncoolest thing during my post-punk-progressive era to my âI donât care, thatâs just greatâ stage now.
I want more of this!
@ philsmith Youâre a credit to the Community, man.
Unflappable in the face of technical difficulties. Having a Trio and watching you, in my head I could imagine exactly how everything sounded on your side and it was good.
This kind of performance has added value, demonstrating to others signing up that nothing can really go wrong.
Bravo. Look forward to your next one already
@ John_in_Dot
Nice relaxed demonstration of picking and strumming, unflustered by a restart. Well done.
My only positive criticism here would be is, now that you have all the basics sorted, perhaps experiment with some dynamics/embellishments/ more picking later on to keep the listener even more engaged?
Gorgeous sounding guitar
JK Thatâs an blistering performance man
You have come a long way baby-
Superb stage presence.
Excellent, balanced sound, guitar and vox.
Awesome playing with dynamics to die for.
Balls to the fore.
I know you have expressed reservations about your singing previously, and you deserve more respect than to be bullshitted and told you stuck to the original tune. To be honest I donât really care about that. We get better at the things we do. Keep doing whatever youâre doing. You need to join a band.
Shane, Weâve got to find a way of stopping the Aussies from headlining all these gigs, although they do such a good job of it
Great job mate. I really enjoyed that. Guitar & vox well balanced and performed to a cool song from a band only vaguely registered on my horizon.
Encore!
What?
No encore? 
Ok then, I shall leave whoever has read this far with an au revoir/auf Wiedersehen instead of goodbye.
I was so looking forward to joining in that when I realised I wouldnât be able to attend due to family commitments, I decided to record a dress rehearsal and share it over in AVOYP for any of you saddos who have not had enough amateur antics quite yet.
Wheel keeps turningâŚ
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Just watched the OM through. It was awesome. So encouraging to see so many putting it out there and playing and singing. Wonderful stuff.
Thank you all for a great show.
I will try and join you in a future OM.
Cheers
Ron
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There were some wobbles but i just kept peddling brother and thankfully i stayed upright! Thanks for the kind words and taking the time to watch. We missed yaâŚâŚ Rod
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Thank you for the kind words sir. Looking forward to the next one, if the eagles do not swoop.
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@brianlarsen thank you!! I agree fully that when theyâre not performing the pair of them are pretty grating but theyâve got some good tunes in their gig bag!
Massively enjoyable experience that was over too quickly but itâs one under the belt and Iâll be looking to build on it in OM X 
Appreciate you taking the time to watch and give your comments! Now where did I put my sunglasses to continue watching your âMy Missing OMâ video, thatâs the loudest wig Iâve ever seen on YouTube!
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Brian, Iâm not sure whatâs better - the OM or reading your synopsis. Ok, the OM 
. But your run through is a close second!
I was waiting for it! Never change.
Such a good overview of everyone.
Yeah I did try to put on a bit of a performance this time. Now that the nerves were less. Glad you enjoyed it my bit, hope the others did too.
Lol. I couldnât do the original tune at all live if I tried. Could maybe get a bit closer to it if I just sang⌠so I reckoned what I lack in talent Iâd just make up in enthusiasm .
Iâll join a band one day⌠maybe run through that vocal course first 
.
Thanks for the write up dude.
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Brian, wow I am impressed by your critique. What an effort you put into this. I certainly appreciate it. I struggled through this one song much more than I would have believed, COVID has not been just like a bad cold as some have described. My voice was on the edge of breakup all the time and I was tuned down a half step from where I would normally sing this one !!! I think your analysis is brilliant , did you do this type of work before ? In my case your perception is spot on, rushing things ( not just music) has been a common theme for me. Thanks for the kind words and pointing out this aspect , I will certainly be working on this. Cheers Eric
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Brian in da house!
Your observations are always spot on Brian and very enjoyable to read, so thank you for your feedback and the watch.
Yes, I did contemplate not doing it but it just popped out.
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Cheers Brian, love these deep dive reviews.
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@brian, if only you knew what was going through my head. I was cursing the Trio for upstaging me. Then I remember Jason, saying do you want to start again? My response was sure (sounded rather casual), but my brain was trying to make sure I pushed the first segment button to get the count in, rather than the sequence button that has wiped out my song sequence several times in practice. When I started playing I heard people saying it was better, then that they were losing the sound, and I realized I was reading the comments, and trying to make it better. It did teach me that I knew the song well enough to focus on other things, which I have heard in lessons, but never thought I would do.
Thanks for the positive comments, definitely felt like a duck paddling like crazy under the surface, once again a great learning experience.
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Probably the cheapest, too
Haha, I think this is only the second time I donât bother if Iâm playing them
Haha, I gave up âworkâ 25 years ago⌠I have been known to blather on about many things though Glad you enjoyed it and are recuperating.
Thatâs my catchphrase!
When I was a teenager, I collected songs with impressive 'Huahâs. Relax by Frankie Goes to Hollywood featured prominently
Haha, probably exactly the same thing that went through most of our heads the first time we performed/fumbled our first performance
Paddle on, Sir!
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Thank you Brian, as ever both supportive and encouraging and never ignored.
Just a fact of life, in that these events rely on technology, so the 
will always be hitting the fan at some stage. Anyway I blame Microsoft for most of my woes. The candle gets blown out every now and then but its never melted away yet !
Shoot thatâs good, as we are ringing the changes ! So get ready for the OM X CFI, coming soon. Donations of cents n fourpence will no doubt be contributed. Go see How It Works, published yesterday.
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Delightful to read your review, Brian, thanks for that and for investing precious hours in watching the show. Always missing a certain something when you are not around.
I may print and frame that, given all my butchered pitch and phrasing in the past.
I was consciously fading off on the low note for creative dynamics
Seriously, trying it with a capo is a good idea as I think that low note, whatever it is, is right on the edge and pitching it a tone higher may work better. Might also have interesting impact on the higher notes in the song.
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David - with your extended range, I think you could capo on 2 or 3 and be fine !
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Thanks Brian for listening back and enlightening commentary as always. 
Was a fun night and was nice to get out the way early in the running order as watching back I did look more relaxed than I was! While my mind was relaxed there were a few distractions that made getting to the end more challenging than outside a live context, not least my leg bouncing my guitar about!
I definitely have some ideas for pushing more in future performances but those songs currently need lots more work!
Looking forward to seeing you perform next time! Thanks again, Al 
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@brianlarsen wow what an incredible synopsis - agree with others that itâs almost as entertaining (and educational) to read your synopsis as watching the OM itself!
To your feedback about slowing it down - I totally get it. One of the things I noticed about the original recording of Nowhere Man is how propulsive the rhythm section is throughout the entire song, like a chugging locomotive. So I was trying to replicate that energy with just the single instrument - Iâm sure there are some other tricks of the trade I can employ. I listened back to the original recording again last night and realized that yes, while the rhythm section is propulsively chugging along, John is super chilled out with the vocal (and I assume heâs adding the licks that are also laid-back). So itâs the contrast of those two seemingly at-odds approaches that is part of the magic and genius of the song. Will keep tinkering with how to pull that tension off when I play (the message is right there in the lyrics: âNowhere man donât worry, take your time donât hurryâ)!
I wasnât sure what you were referring to about allowing for mistakes/poorer performances so I ask for clarity because I think thereâs a wisdom nugget youâre landing that I may be missing - is that a nod to my earlier version of the song 4 weeks ago that was posted to AVOYP?
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Now that could be a runaway train ! One thing I always notice, is that I speed up at the OMs, I think its the adrenaline. I never use a metronome, click track or BT but keep telling myself to do so. But every time I go into freefall. I think a simple drum track would keep things steady. Do as I say not as I do
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For those interested OM9 was a record breaker for attendance so far, scoring 46 unique users so well done everyone! 
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