Maine's Got Talent

I should have posted this a few weeks ago when the event happened-- sorry.

Maine's Got Talent is a show that was hosted by Sandcastle child services at the Ramada Inn.
http://www.sandcastlemaine.org/events

I was told a few weeks prior that I had to accompany the lead singer from MaineStream at this event-- I thought it was going to be small--I was wrong. When I arrived at the soundcheck on the day of the event I saw how big the room was, the stage, and the judging panel?! I guess I would be working.
400 people, $25 a ticket, suits and dresses, 3 local celebrity judges, and 10 groups/performers ready to do battle.What did I get myself into?

The judges were harsh and were looking for a performance. Most of the performers (almost all) sang songs of a religious nature-- which had me worried because of the song we had to play. We were also to go last which made me have to sit through everything. I will not go into detail, but aside from the jokes posed at Milt Simon (the emcee), the woman from WBLM was quite a critic to performers that didn't connect with the audience.
I knew what I had to do.

Brandi (MaineStream) and I went last, after the 2011 New England songwriter of the year went up. Great!
I played with conviction and kept interaction up-- I was the only dedicated accompanist for a singer. In the end, the judges mentioned that I made the song extra special (I did have a tail suit on).

We ended up with 2nd place and of course the 2011 award winner got 1st prize ($750). At least I made gas money and the food was free. All for playing "Someone Like You".

Thanks!