May 20, 2020

Lockdown Blog 39: Live music on the horizon

So I'm currently listening to Kris Drever playing a live concert from his home in Glasgow. It started at 9pm but he needed to delay it for a few minutes as his baby daughter wasn't quite asleep. There's something really human about delaying a concert for such a personal and totally reasonable reason!Sitting here in bed (been lying on/in bed most of every day since I munted my foot ten days ago) and after a super busy day of recording it's an absolute joy to listen to high quality live folk music. It's streaming through Facebook and they offer listeners the chance to donate which I think is a great idea so I've done that. We've been treated to much free content over the past couple of months. At some point people will hopefully realise that that's not sustainable for the music industry and it's just a case of how we might create a platform for that to take place in the absence of concert performances. On Friday, Johnny and I are participating in a think tank / blue sky thinking Zoom call with our colleagues and friends in the industry to see if we can bump heads together and come up with some innovative ideas for when and how we might get back to 'normal'. I'm interested to hear what others think and will hopefully have one or two salient points of my own.But jumping back, I should probably explain what happened to my foot for those that aren't aware. [Fear not anyone who has seen some graphic photographic content on my Instagram account over the past week and a half, I'll save you the gory pics!] So, yes, I had run-in, literally, with a pint glass of water. I ran upstairs to get my iPad to play Ticket to Ride and ran back downstairs to the couch, forgetting that my water glass was right in front of the couch. With my full body weight I shattered the glass and lacerated my left foot in numerous places. Spent seven hours in A&E and now have a nicely stitched up foot although I'm not allowed to put weight on it for four weeks. Today was the first day I felt super frustrated with the time it takes to do basic things like have a wash etc. But even I can take a step back and realise that it's a long game and it's certainly a blessing in disguise that we're not touring at the moment...That said, I have a new found appreciation for people living with disabilities because my four weeks of inconvenience pale in significance to people living with this throughout their life. It's amazing the things you take for granted until they're no longer straightforward.The concert's finished and it was totally fantastic! Short but oh so sweet! He's got a beautiful voice that I could listen to for hours – I have in fact – and he played my favourite song of his, 'Scapa Flow 1919'. As someone whose ancestors came from the island of Sanday in the Orkneys, this song really resonates with me and the trundling, finger-picking accompaniment brings a real energy to the song. Have a listen and see what you think.Right, well, it's bedtime for me. Hope you're well wherever you are. Be good, be kind, be careful!See you soon.