So the Sunday before Stet Lab I did a 24 hour detox, it was tough going as I wasn’t allowed to eat carbs or anything and there is only so much fruit and veg you can eat!
Anyway what’s this got to do with Stet Lab? Well I found that January’s Lab was easily the healthiest lab yet: there was an electric atmosphere, there was a crowd and the improvisations kicked ass! Something just seem to click and after the mishaps of the December Lab it was definitely well rewarded. The Roundy cannot possibly ‘double book’ again because the ratio of punters between upstairs and downstairs was invertly proportional (i.e there were more people at the Lab than casually drinking downstairs).
I cannot quite figure out what was the key factor that made this months Lab stand out above the rest: Was it Murray? Was it the large crowd? The press release that constantly went on about a party? Whatever it was, it worked and I hope that we can learn from this Lab because it proved that Stet Lab can be a worthy event on the monthly Cork social calendar.
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I hope that we can learn from this Lab because it proved that Stet Lab can be a worthy event on the monthly Cork social callender.
I hope that Stet Lab, well before January, had already proven a worthy event on the monthly Cork social calendar 😉
My hunch is that the combination of OPKA and Vicky Langan brought some of the new crowd in… but (discounting December because of the date reshuffle) keep in mind that our turn-out for both this month’s and November’s Labs were pretty healthy.
I also suspect that last month’s audience isn’t sustainable (can I remind everyone of January 2008?).
Anyway, my concern: we probably need to watch out that our regulars (those that have followed, and will follow, us through some rougher times) don’t feel alienated if with the new audience…
Seems that the trick to a fun ensemble is one staggeringly healthy member, one staggeringly ill member, one should-have-been-on-the-other-side-of-the-planet member and one vibrant headliner. We’ve finally cracked it.
The layout of the Roundy seems to suit Stet Lab well. The crowd was great, no doubt. Hopefully, a strange, new audience won’t intimidate people so much that newcomers refrain from playing. But if new blood is to come into Stet Lab, I guess it has to happen. The crowd certainly didn’t seem to bother anyone in January, from what I could see.
Seems that the trick to a fun ensemble is one staggeringly healthy member, one staggeringly ill member, one should-have-been-on-the-other-side-of-the-planet member and one vibrant headliner.
Also possibly helps to have a couple of old-timers (you and Susan) returning to the Lab. If we’re after mutation, this is like a re-injection of a transfer group into the population.