h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

you check out guitar George, he knows all the chords

George Borowski, long time stalwart of the Manchester music scene played a small gig at a pub local to us the other day so we went to see the show. The pub was full, we were standing at the back with a limited view of the stage. What we could see and hear of the support act was good, an acoustic singer songwriter, but with all the noise qround us we couldn't hear that much.

Mind he's strictly rhythm he doesn't want to make it cry or sing

So with the rest of his band a bass player, lead guitar and drummer they take the stage and start to play. After about 1 1/4 hours the band stop briefly before a couple more songs of encore. From pub rock to blues to country to stadium ballads to punk. He plays them all very, very well and can show some of the young things out there a thing or two about songwriting and playing.

And an old guitar is all he can afford

A battered and beaten looking guitar is what he plays. If he wanted I'm sure he could have a new machine, but why change what works. What you know so well. What probably has as many stories to tell as George does about who and where and when, good times and bad times.

When he gets up under the lights to play his thing

Playing his thing. Doing what he wants to do and enjoying it. Playing and singing with a grin that could make the cheshire cat look like it's upset. Sometimes you go gigs and the band just doesn't want to be there or they've had a bad day. It affects the audience so when someone is so clearly enjoying themselves when up on the stage it's great. A great night out at a venue that's doing well at pulling in the bands and the punters and putting on a good show. One of the best value gigs I've been to in a while, the entrance price was nothing, it was free and the beer was good and priced reasonably too.
Maybe we should go and see him again when he's next in Glossop in may.

Inspiration for me to keep at this 'learning to play guitar', Phil. Thanks for the description. It sounds as if you had a real good time. I hope the music moved you, which it sounds as if it did, since you captured it in writing. With that little vignette, you've heightened my desire to achieve enough skill to be able to entertain--even if it's only for a small crowd of friends. I'll try to remember about smiling as I play, as opposed to concentrating with my tongue lolling out.

B4ifinallygetcomfortablemovingmyfingersfromchord2chord

If you can 'get comfortable moving your fingers from chord to chord" then you've done better then I have

Oh, and thanks for calling to mind "Sultans of Swing" by Elvis Costello.

B4UaccusemeofWatchingtheDetectives2spotthereference

Dire Straits wasn't it?

Urk! I stand corrected. And they (Dire Straits) are such a good band. How could I mistake them for the other? Popular about the same time-frame. I remember listening to "Sultans of Swing", hanging over the eaves of a house while painting, for the mother of my parents' friends. Gwen was a dear older lady who needed her house spruced up. She paid us much too well for the work we did, even though we did a right good job of it.

Um...some memories sort of crept into that replay...reply...oh, heck, replay is just as correct.

B4ilosemystandingasaworldclassartist&colorist

'Allo.

I just checked out Mr Borowski's website.

'FRANK BLACK of THE PIXIES - "I have never seen a rock'n'roll performer so completely connected with what he was doing onstage."

Crikey, that's some kudos!

I'm intrigued.

He's good, very, very good and clearly enjoys doing it (or at least he did when I saw him)