Its a comforting thing
To hear a stranger sing about the hurt you know so well.
***Adam Adam Belsky (from Maybe a Teardrop 
***https://kissmyblackass.bandcamp.com/track/maybe-a-teardrop)
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Back before I was a songwriter or even thinking about being a songwriter, I felt a kinship with songwriters. Not that I don’t feel a kinship now – I just mean that the feeling predates my membership in the group. And really I don’t think it has much to do with my becoming a songwriter myself. I think it has to do with how vulnerable songwriters make themselves. My favorite delivery mechanism for music has always been a live performance in a small venue. I’ve always preferred stripped down, underwhelming arrangements of original songs performed by the artist. Sometimes people use the word “intimate” pretty loosely to describe public interactions, but honestly, I have sat in the audience and felt what I can only describe as intimacy with a songwriter who’s never even made eye contact with me. I puzzled over it for years and came finally to this conclusion: when songwriters reveal their pain authentically and artfully, my pain becomes a little more bearable. It makes me feel known and less alone to hear a songwriter singing about a brand of heartache or disappointment or failure or joy that I know like the back of my hand.

Tom’s Tabooley is as good a live venue for that kind of experience as any I’ve ever been in. I’m not saying that just because it’s where our open mic is; it’s really a great room with a great stage, a great sound system, and comfortable chairs. And as far as authentic and artful goes, we’re Grand Central. Our last open mic on August 27 was no exception. We had fantastic performances by Mike Hidalgo, Nichole Wagner, Gregg Miller, Luke Nukem. Roger Edmondson, Magic Jack McCabe, Steve Baldino, Natalie Sun, and Rusty Nelson. On top of that three songwriters debuted brand new songs on our stage: Paul Jaguar Rising, Jim Adams, and Steve Callif all debuted brand songs on our stage.

We’re back again this week. Sign up at 6:30. Music is from 7 to 10.