Hug after the chirp

People clock the pit lights and assume I am mean. Face to face I am the opposite problem — I ask names twice, hug the short kids on crates, talk the wild ones down without turning them into a joke they did not consent to. Chirp Check still makes somebody cry every third night. Good. Feeling is allowed. I stamp the mic grille and keep going.

Don't Step on the Ears is crowd etiquette with a laugh. Five Digits Up is hand pride so merch artists stop inventing claws. Tax the Cheer turns applause into a fee joke soft enough that clerks tip. Hard drums. Soft landing. That is the lane.

If you bring homemade ear diagrams to the stage door, I will look at them. Genuinely. Even the crazy ones. Especially the crazy ones. Come say hi. Bring a stamp joke. I will remember it.