Ship Notes: Without a Microphone

I’m not allowed to let anyone use a microphone in the piano bar. A mic is provided for me and that’s it. Any guest singer must do without both amplification and the electronic effects (reverb, for instance) which enhance the voice.

Despite these less-than-perfect circumstances, there has been a remarkable amount of effective guest-singing in the piano bar for the past four months. It’s actually been a revelation to me that an unamplified voice, with soft piano accompaniment, can command the attention of an entire roomful of people and draw a big applause.

To be sure, timing is important. Sometimes the crowd will contain noisy people who refuse to participate in the listening. This is their right, strictly speaking, I can’t tell them to shut up. What I can do is wait for a good moment and hope the singer will carry the day.

If the singer is sitting right at the piano, he’ll immediately create a hushed audience there. Then (usually) it expands as people nearby quickly put their chatting on hold to check out this “ordinary Joe” trying to perform over at the piano.

Soft piano, none of the bombast of Karaoke. The performer not so much performs “out to” the listeners, but more likely looking inward, maybe casually holding his drink, maybe an occasional loving glance at his wife sitting next to him. It is very personal, and raw quality of the voice is both endearing and fascinating, regardless of quality. Encores are rare -- most listeners’ curiosity is satisfied after the first song, and only an obviously wonderful singer should try a second song. Or, to extend an old adage, Quit While You’re Ahead, Wait Till Later On to Sing Again, Maybe Wait Till Tomorrow Night.

I wish I’d thought of it earlier, but I’m now remembering to take photos of people who have sung here, helped create magic moments, helped my nights out tremendously. Herewith is a little gallery.

Teresa was perhaps the showiest. An old pro, she wandered from table to table, winking at people and rubbing guys heads, while singing Cabaret, including the middle "Elsie" verse. While her husband beamed.

I think his name was Stan. Very soft voice, but an absolute encyclopedia and stickler for the intro verses to the Tin Pan Alley tunes of Gershwin, Berlin, etc.

The guy holding the camera is John from Alberta Canada, who I mentioned in the "Bum Darts" blog entry, with his renditions of Guess Who songs

Karen and John from England. He plays trumpet, can't sing. She plays trombone, sings just fine. "On My Own" from Le Miz, "You're the One that I Want" from Grease (with me being John Travolta), and "Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square"

The big guy on the left is Doug, a longtime pianobar fan with an index card in his wallet with about 40 Sinatra-esque tunes listed. The guy on the right is Brian, who did "Chances Are" and "When Sonny Gets Blue"

Guinda from Orlando Fla had a big booming soprano Broadway voice and knocked 'em dead with "I Could Have Danced All Night" and "Memory" from Cats.

The huge guy in the checkered shirt is Frank from Holland, with a huge booming voice, who did "Country Roads", "Top of the World", and "Leaving on a Jet Plane"