Imagine you are going out to an open mic night, and you have a few songs you want to play for an audience. They are well-known songs and you're feeling pretty confident about performing them with an acoustic guitar and your voice. Now, you get to the open mic early and no one is really there yet. The person running the open mic isn't even there yet. So you wait for a while, grab a cheap drink, and eventually the person shows up. The host is going to play first to start off the night, and when the host is done, you go up expecting to play because no one else is there, from what you can tell.
All of a sudden, the host grabs the mic and says, "Please welcome so and so, here to perform a few acoustic songs." Then, somebody comes out of the back of the room to play a few songs. Where was that person before, and where did that guitar come from? You shrug and go up to the host and ask if you can sign up, because you forgot to do that when you got there. You sign up for after this dude now performing. You take your seat again, and after the next song you start getting ready. At this point there are a lot of people hanging out around the bar, enjoying the drink specials and talking pretty loudly. As soon as the performer is done, you start heading up to the stage, preparing something nice to say about the performance.
Just then, a guy in a plaid shirt and glossy hair comes over to you and says, "hey, do you mind if I go up there now? I've got to get up for work really early tomorrow, I can't stay out too late." You nod, say its all good. "Thanks, I owe you one."
Then he gets up there and does his set, which is somehow longer than other sets; maybe, you suspect, because the audience likes him and the host wants to keep it going. He promotes his new EP, tells everyone his social media info, and you're crossing your arms and still drinking that same drink from when you got there.
Now, he gets done and heads out, and the host gets up and says, "Hey, give it up for this dude. Great set man, great set. Make sure you look out for him, he's coming up, man." And you're ready to go up, when the host introduces the person who signed up after you on the sheet. You know because you checked it again during the long set. Before you can say anything, the person after you is plugged into the PA and you realize that it would be a bad idea to interrupt the flow of the evening by saying something.
That person performs, and you look at your phone for the time. Its 11:30 pm, and there aren't many people left in the audience. But the host calls you up and you finally perform after sitting around for 2 and a half hours. Your voice is a little shaky but it goes well. You say thanks to the host and then head home, relieved and better prepared for next time.
