I'm quite used, in my day job, to standing up in front of other people and "performing". I rather enjoy giving lectures at University, and talks and seminars at conferences and elsewhere. It can sometimes be a bit daunting, and usually the way I find it best to deal with that is to be well-prepared. Experience helps too, no-doubt, probably as another kind of preparation for whatever the audience may throw at you in terms of questions.
I'm not so used to the kind of performing I did on Monday, though. My brother, Mark, and I are in a band together, called Petting Zoo. We played our first gig on Monday at an open mic night in a pub in Richmond. I must say, I was more nervous than when I stand up to talk about physics, and I must admit that I felt a little amateurish and underprepared compared to other acts. That's probably because I was both those things. It went okay, though, and the audience was basically just all the other acts - it was a very supportive environment.
Some of the other acts were truly impressive, not least the girl, who must have been about 14, who played guitar and sung just brilliantly. I'm sure she has a future in music. I'm not sure I do, much above the level of occasional pub gigs, but the experience was fun, and has redoubled my resolution to practice practice practice
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