Bardelous Social Lounge Brunswick, GA

Last night we walked ( I LOVE that we can walk to places here) downtown to attend the Open Mic Night at Bardelous Social Lounge. Bardelous opened recently and is quickly becoming one of our favorite spots. I plan to do a more in depth review at a later date but in a nutshell it is a “social lounge” designed to encourage interaction between patrons. There are pool tables, dart boards and not a single television. Instead there are shelves of puzzles and board games guaranteed to bring out the child in everyone. We usually bring a deck of cards and play Spite and Malice in honor of my mom (who was not spiteful or malicious but was a shark when it came to this game) while enjoying a glass of wine or beer.

Last night was the first open mic night.

There were only two souls brave enough to step up to the mic and showcase their talents.

They were amazing; and I am not just saying that because “Ain’t No Sunshine” (my favorite) was on the roster.

They each displayed a level of confidence and bravery I wish I had.

I tend to stumble over my spoken words, even if they have been scripted and rhymed and metered in advance. I tend to get tongue tied and nervous and say exactly the wrong thing at exactly the wrong time. I walk away from every verbal encounter analyzing and second guessing everything I said and did.

As much as I wish I had the talent and nerve to step to the mic, whip my right leg out, ala Angelina Jolie Oscars 2012, and belt out “Black Velvet” that is just not me.

That will never be me.

And that, I am learning, is OK.

For all of my bravado and big talk, for all of my mortal fearlessness, I would die of embarrassment before I could ever span the distance from my table to the “open mic.” In the brief time it would take me to walk from point A to point B I would play out every single possible scenario, along with a few impossible ones, and then I would just shrivel up, die and blow away.

I work best behind the scenes. I trust the letters of my keyboard to be where they belong and I trust my thoughts will meet my fingers, will meet the keys, will meet the screen.

I work best on a seven second delay.

I don’t call this delay censorship, I call it a reality check. And if that check fails, which of course it does, I don’t shrivel up and die because I have the screen to buffer and protect me. This buffer allows me to be vulnerable and raw in ways I could never be face to face, yet, I suppose it makes me a coward because I never have to look the audience in the eye.

Which brings me back to last night and the souls brave enough to take the stage, risk judgement and hold eye contact with strangers.

Their talent was impressive but what makes a performer amazing, in my opinion, is the ability to walk straight up to the mic, no introduction or preamble, no excuses, no justifications, no hesitation. The ability to trust your voice to meet your heart, open your mouth and sing.