Event Anxiety Quotes

Every time I got to play a show, even if it's already sold out, I'm so scared no one's going to come.

I am less worried serving 100 people here at Montpelier than I am serving 25 people in Washington.

I don't like big events and crowded areas. I'm almost a curmudgeonly old man in that aspect. I've been like that forever.

I've never been in a moshpit. I think I'd get smashed to bits.

What I really remember is that people camped out everywhere, and the fact everybody expected it might turn into a big nightmare with all sorts of hassles because back in those days everybody was smoking pot and taking acid.

I went to SXSW in 2011. God, that was awful. I mean, I only went because my publisher wanted me to promote the book and the organizers invited me and it seemed silly not to go, especially for a relatively unknown first-time author. This is just not my cup of tea; the fewer such events I do on an annual basis, the happier I feel.

I think I'm getting there, but it's very hard to perform at my absolute peak when an awful lot of people come just to make their presence known, when the lights go down and all you can hear is people screaming.

I love dressing up, but I do find the red carpet thing quite stressful. When I went to Venice Film Festival last month to promote 'Wuthering Heights,' I told my boyfriend beforehand 'I will be a nightmare, I will cry, I will be nervous.' Actually once I was there, it was fine.

The difficult thing for me is going to a event and having to be dressed up and being judged for what you wear. People care so much about that these days.

I remember, a couple of years ago I was playing my first headline show, and it was to 100 people in St Pancras Old Church in London; and me and my mum were like, 'We don't know 100 people, how are we going to sell these tickets?'

Interviews are fun, but I get nervous at red carpets.