Blog: Oi Mate! Give Us A Song!

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Lugging a guitar around is generally GRATE - people LOOK at you and think "Who is that mysterious MUSICIAN? He must be COOL!" [NB this only works if the guitar is firmly IN the case] and when you see other people with INSTRUMENTS you can NOD in a nonchalant stylee like two MGB owners either side of a railway crossing i.e. in a COOL way. The only downside of it is that if you walk near a crowd of >3 blokes (especially lairy looking blokes with shaven heads) one of them will ALWAYS say "Oi mate! Give us a song!" or words to that effect.

OK, this does not make for a TORTURED EXISTENCE for the TROUBLED ARTISTE, but it does get a bit annoying when it happens EVERY time you step out of the house with yr AXE, and ESPECIALLY so when a large crowd become first confused then ENRAGED that you have not EITHER collapsed in hysterics at this HILARIOUS remark OR whipped out said axe and laid down some funky chops. I don't understand where the compunction to make the remark comes from either - when we see somebody walking down the street with a LADDER we may think "I wonder where he's going with that ladder?" but we DON'T shout "Oi Mate! Get me something I can't reach!" Similarly when we see a couple of backpackers nobody shouts "Oi Mate! Pitch us a tent!"

ANYWAY, that is what usually happens, and it is usually a little GRATING... HOWEVER! This morning the whole thing was reinvented for the new millenium - EMERGING from the tube (gasping for breath as I'd stupidly walked up 134 steps rather than wait for the lift) someone shouted "Oi! Mate!" I turned round, ready for the baldy headed DENOUMENT, but was surprised to see a man weilding a SAXOPHONE, saying "We're in A MINOR! Let's GO!" He then proceeded to BUSK there in the street, it was ACE! I wish i HAD then WHIPPED OUT said AXE ... but then I'd've had to tune it up and everything, and the mood would have been lost. Also I am rubbish at the JAZZ.

Still, it was really lovely, a ray of SUNSHINE shone into Central London and I was on the recieving end of it.

posted 13/10/2004 by MJ Hibbett

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