There have been many times that my performance was just "hanging in the wings" until the "guest star" (good or bad) brought the crowd to life. Sometimes you get a break from a sit-in. It can wake up the room and make you look like a great humanitarian.
Last Friday a friend asked me to "suck up" to some guests she brought in to see me from Brooklyn, so I used as many ways to tie in a NY theme as possible. (Even slamming those stinkin' Giants !) hee hee.....

As the night went on ..... the "guests" had their fair share of Cozmos (the new HIP drink, I guess)and one of the ladies asked if she could sing a song to her husband. At first I was leary, but they had spent a ton of money already and were so nice .... I gave her the shot. She had some pipes !
She was not trained, and she was nervous, but every so often, she would belt out a note that sent the crowd wild. I backed her with lots of juicy harmony, and made her feel at home, and we ALL had a great time with it.

Sometimes you just KNOW when a guest will be well received, and it would be musical suicide to NOT take the oportunity to enhance the show ... no matter HOW you do it.

It's a sign of maturity and confidence to turn over the stage to a guest, and if done in a classy manor ..... you will look like a million bucks if you back someone and make them sound good. The crowd loves it, the guests will usually tip you well, and the whole pace of the room benifits from the experience.

Just beware of the drunks that have no clue .... no head for lyrics ....... and no sense of timing. It's not unusual for me to just shut someones mic off and make up any excuse to get them back in their seat. Even if I have to fake a power outage ...... it's better than bringing the room down. I won't give THAT kind of control to ANYone. It's my stage, and it has to be under MY control at all times. That's why I get the big money.

Couples that come out for a nice dinner and music should not be expected to pay premium prices for professional entertainment and then be forced to accept the rantings of an alcohl-induced rendition of "whatever", just so they can chant their musical "booty call" to their chosen prey ! Not on my time, sorry.