>>raise the cultural tone of his new venue by sticking a lute player in
>>bottle-flinging range.
>
>I hope that is a metaphor. I thought that only happened in Blues
>Brothers movies.
Oh no. Such places exist, fortunately it didn't reach that point in
my case. Verbally delivered constructive criticism made all things
clear- but my country-rock guitarist lute student treated my wife
(who coached him on singing Elizabethan songs) and me to a tour of
his home town venue, the Pequea Inn, rural Pennsylvania. Outside of
town, next to the railroad tracks along the Susquehanna River. Floor
to ceiling chicken wire in front of the stage; Dave- my student-
informed us that the chicken wire was mandatory for protection; if
the audience hated the band, the Texas long-neck beer bottles would
indeed come flying- and if they really loved it, the bottles would
also come flying- sheer exuberance ruling the emotions, fueled by the
contents of said bottles. But the really big draw at the Pequea Inn
was the railroad. Any time a train went past, the whole bar emptied
for a closer view. Welcome to the country, Y'all.
"Well, it seems to me such aggressive disapproval is pretty transparent
hostility. It says way more about that person than you, for sure. If it
were me, even knowing that, I would still feel hurt, hurt that there
are people like that out there. Thank goodness you didn't let it
get to you."
I'll claim a small part of that sympathy, too, if you don't mind; but
of course the learned stab in the back definitely goes deeper than
the above slap stick. Many years ago, one of our famous colleagues
gave a concert at Carnegie Recital Hall in New York, and one of our
other learned colleagues* accosted him afterwards in the green room,
launching immediately into a detailed critique of everything he did
wrong, that could be improved, and how- but the performer shushed him
in mid-sentence and said "NOT NOW, damn it! Talk to me tomorrow, if
you must!" Even if the criticism is well meant, there is always a
proper time, way, and place.
*Neither one on this list.
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