Thanks ... I think

Magenta

Platinum Member
Fab gig last night. I knew when I saw the demographic of the audience (old) that they'd love us, and they did. It was a charity do, with cocktails and posh frocks, so it was right up our street.

We had some wonderfully appreciative comments, but the funniest one was an elderly gentleman who said to me "If I hadn't seen you playing, I wouldn't have known you weren't a man."

Your latest funny remark?
 
...but the funniest one was an elderly gentleman who said to me "If I hadn't seen you playing, I wouldn't have known you weren't a man."

Your latest funny remark?

He should have gone to Specsavers...




Congrats Madge, another good one under the belt :)
 
He should have gone to Specsavers...

Congrats, you veteran pro, you!

Ahahahaaa you just reminded me of something else! As I was tearing down, wearing normal clothes and my usual hair, a lady said to me "Oh, you're the drummer! When you were playing, you looked about 21!" I declined to ask her how old I looked now ;)

Madge, you must have been slapping those puppies! Liam would have been proud :)

Thank you - I think he would have been :) His mum was there, she'll have given him a full report.
 
Not me, but our guitarist. A guy came up to him and said, "Man, you're amazing! You look like you have arthritis when you're playing!"
 
Ah a missed opportunity for a snappy comeback.

Something along the lines of..."and if I didn't hear that comment, I would have thought you were an enlightened person!"
 
TBH Madge, as this was an elderly man, I think you did the right thing by letting that one slip by. He comes from a time of pronounced & accepted role segregation, probably thought there was nothing wrong with his comment, & almost certainly thought he was delivering a compliment. Old guys & girls from that era certainly don't entertain modern PC stuff. If that comment came from someone in their 40's or 50's however, a retort something like "thank you, if you weren't drinking beer, I wouldn't have known you were a man!"
 
Not me, but our guitarist. A guy came up to him and said, "Man, you're amazing! You look like you have arthritis when you're playing!"

Haga, that's really funny! What a bizarre thing to say!

Larry, Andy: He was an elderly man, who certainly intended to be complimentary, and when he found out that we were only being paid expenses for the gig, he gave us a few £ because he'd enjoyed us so much! I'm hoping that the way I played challenged his presumptions better than anything I could say. But that reminds me of another thing:

Singer to audience: Do you remember the 80's?
Lead guitarist: Remember them? Most of them are IN them!

For me... When i had long hair quite often i had:
"Your really good for a girl!"

#sharpintakeofbreath
 
We had some wonderfully appreciative comments, but the funniest one was an elderly gentleman who said to me "If I hadn't seen you playing, I wouldn't have known you weren't a man."

In his and most males' mind, that unfortunately is a compliment.

Imagine a male drummer hearing the same line... he'd spend the rest of his life trying to figure it out! :O

When I compliment someone, I avoid any language that might qualify their playing in any manner. I don't make age/gender/disability references, such as "you're really good for a 10-year-old." Someone can either play well, or they can't. Sure I notice if they're young, old, male or female, or have a disability that makes drumming a special challenge. But in the end, they have to play well in order to get a compliment from me. That's not to say that I don't encourage a young player, or can ignore "Legless Joe" Hardy's ability to play. But that's different than just saying "you're really good... for a____"

Bermuda
 
I'm not going to denigrate the old guy for his statement. I'm sure he meant it sincerely and there is a generational difference there.

I'm absolutely with Jon on this though. If somebody can play then it doesn't matter if they're old, young, able-bodied or in-between. If somebody is at a real disadvantage then I will notice, though! Jon's got this covered. If you qualify praise it can comes across as patronising. No need to qualify, they're good or they're not.
 
A child once asked me during a show, "do you know any good songs?" Ha adorable kid.
 
They come with deep-fried fish but they are not, I repeat not, French Fries. French Fries are thin and relatively crispy. Chips are much thicker and are not usually quite so crispy (although when they are, it's wonderful).
Let me apply deft definition to this - French fries are shit - chips are great (& no, not the US meaning of chips (crisps in the UK, or alternately a motor cycle themed 80's US cop TV show) )
 
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