I went to a gig yesterday! Now this is not my something I do often and I went because one of the stand-ups was the son (stay with me!) of my Garage mechanic who has looked after my car for more years than I care to remember. The theatre was small and the audio a bit too loud but it was sold out and packed with the friends and family of the performers and had a really good, partyish atmosphere.

And I must say it was very well worth going - they were all young, enthusiastic and talented.

The comedians are still at or just out of Uni. Collectively they are "Short Circuit Comedy" and, of course, have a facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=22947997192). Paul Longley (son of said mechanic) also has his own (http://www.facebook.com/paul.longley1).

The second half was a pop group called "The Theory of Six Degrees" and were excellent - all good musicians, the act was very together and polished. They are on MySpace (http://www.myspace.com/thetheoryof6degrees). What was so remarkable about the group was how young they were - the bassist just 12! Such talent.

So why am I writing about them here? Not just because they are using social networking to promote themselves and not just because they are young per se....

A little digression - I've just finished reading Malcom Gladwells book "Outliers" (http://www.gladwell.com/outliers/index.html) which is a facinating read about how the outliers in our society (like Bill Gates, for example) have got where they have. Is it just innate talent, hard work, would such talent always "rise to the top" as we tend to think? Or were there special circumstances that let them succeed while others with just as much talent do not?

One chapter was called "The 10,000 hour rule" (http://www.gladwell.com/outliers/outliers_excerpt1.html)

And this is where it ties up with the gig - I was struck while watching them how these guys, and perhaps particularly the pop group, were already racking up time towards their 10,000 hours to become "expert" and ready to grasp any opportunities that may come their way. And the evident support and encouragement from firends and family was clealy there and going to be a great help to these kids in achieving their aims.

Is now a good time to be setting out? Is this a time when the technologies available to young (and old for that matter!) performers will make it easier to be noticed in the talent pool or harder? I don't know how it will pan out in the end either in general or for these comedians and muscians in particular but I wish them all the luck in the world...