There are times when running the “Sing with the Band” night is an exceptionally smooth ride; after all Amras and I have this event down to a routine, we know how to run it and we know – usually – how to sell it. We have, on more than one occasion, kept the party going for a full hour and a half. On this same ship last season we had to turn people away.
Not so this time.
First, we had been under the impression that the event was going to be phased out; so we didn’t pack the supplies we normally do. Y’see, last Christmas I actually put together new lyric books and selection lists as part of Amras’ Christmas present. We’ve packed them with us ever since. Except this time, because we thought we wouldn’t need them and they’re a lot of extra weight in the suitcase. The problem is that without those books – particularly the master lyric book – the event has to be run via the iPads that hold the Band’s actual charts, which means the guests have to be able to read music, on a screen that’s barely bigger than a postage stamp. Needless to say it never goes too well. Thankfully I hadn’t archived my master files, so I was able to pull them off my laptop and have Amras send them down to the printer via the Event Manager (there’s a long convoluted story as to why I couldn’t do it myself), then we had to scramble to find a binder that would hold the whole thing and by the time we got it all put together I don’t’ really want to think of how much time we had put into the whole endeavor.
And then…
This was one of those times where trying to get people onto the stage is like pulling teeth out of a ravenous alligator.
Four singers, that’s it, four, not including me. For an hour. Lots of people sitting and watching, which is all well and good, but only four singers.
You need filler?
Sure, but I don’t have a mic luv..
Oh…dear…
Mamma Mia runs fine without Amras’ backup vocals, but I’ll admit it feels strange, I’m used to hearing him behind me after all.
In the end, the boys were playing to a nearly empty room, and I was sitting with the sign-up sheets next to me, sipping a glass of pineapple juice, waiting for the evening to be over.
Some nights, no matter how hard you try, you just can’t get an event off the ground…