on the verge of nothing

Haven't I been here before? Maybe it's just that the place looks familiar......the same worn out pathetic dance floor-no different than any other restaurant-bar that tries to have live music with sporadic dancing. This particular bar is one I have never been to but it could have been anywhere-dark, old carpets and furniture, a t.v. in a corner playing a college football game with the sound turned off, a few people at the bar with a $20 bill sitting on the bar infornt of them ( drinks are cheap here so a $20 will do the trick) and a solitary bartender working franticlally even though it isn't a particularly busy night. Tonight I am playing in a band that was so abysimal in it's last performance that some patrons actually asked for thier money back as the left during the second song. This band has the ability to clear a room with surprising speed. The lead singer doesn't seem to connect with the audience, it's more like she is waging a personal battle with the human race at large. She vocally hurls herself at the audience with not a " let me entertain you, maybe brighten your day " approach but more like a " love me, listen to my beautiful voice,i'm a big star and you are seeing something very special-give me your all and undevided attention!) Sadly, the singer tends to get so absorbed in her performance that at the end of some songs her singing morphs into a primal screaming session. It is during these screamathons that I try to fade into the background and with I could dissappear. As I look out to the audience I can see the smiles and assume that a lot of people are finding this singer to be entertaining, although not in the way she would like-not like a big rock star but more like a sideshow attraction. All of my firends, musician and non-musician alike have told me in no uncertain terms that I was completely insane for staying in this band for any length of time, let alone the year and a half I have logged so far. The drummer, a likeable guy has told me that if I can hang in there with the band that soon the corporate gigs will start and the big money will happen, as if the band were on the verge of success. My picture of things isn't quite as optomistic. My opinion is based on performance quality and audience reactions, both of which spell doom for this band. The intense audio assault and pretentious bombastic nature of the music has no appeal for bar patrons and employees alike. I have determined that this band is poised on the verge of nothing and after the next performance I must ask them to find another guitarist as I would rather stay home than contribute to the promotion of really awful music in the world.