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Jul. 18th, 2011 12:24 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
lenora_roseLife is busy. Short post, I hope.
Folk Fest went well. Due to some insane volunteer hours (I had both a shift ending at 5:00 AM Friday morning, and one starting at 5:00 AM Sunday -- although in all, I thought my schedule was better than those which are all late night or all early), and some sense when it came to wanting to get sleep, I missed the last third or more of most of the Mainstages. I got to actually listen and/or participate in the Baggiecon music circle all of once; Friday night, after a nap. And I felt like my voice was out of shape, and I tried, and flubbed, a piece on Mandolin that I knew I needed my chord sheet in front of me to pull off, but tried in the dark anyhow.
Saturday, I got to hang out during some pleasant conversation, but they started playing music at nearly 2:00 AM, when I was going to bed for my precious couple hours' nap> When my alarm went off at 4:00AM so I could prep for my shift, I still heard them singing, but by the time I got back from the bathroom run, they were all gone to bed. Sunday night, I opted to pack up early and skip the night music circle in favour of actually getting a good sleep. Smart move: I was the least burnt out I've ever been on a Monday, which meant I was very much up for the "Dead Mouse" party, the last hurrah over at the Bhigg House.
Good stuff I saw anyhow:
- A fairly good Celtic workshop Friday; one fairly strightforward Irish band, one Irish band with a bit of a twist (As one person put it, you'd be dancing along with a jig, and the music would smoothly and unobtrusively shift into boogie-woogie. Or similar.) and a band from England who did instrumentals that blended trad with trance-dance effects, in spite of being purely acoustic. (This last proved more disappointing, to me at least, on Mainstage, where it became clearer that they didn't have a lot of other tricks up theirs sleeves, and the one trick wasn't enough to sustain solo.)
- A Blues workshop I mostly went to because it was at the same stage as the prior good world-beat thingy (Not being generally a blues fan) which turned out to seriously rock. Colin Linden was no surprise, but Kat Danser was the standout for me.
- Matt (Anderson?), later to be seen in that blues workshop, doing a Tweener set on Mainstage which turned out to out-rock most of the actual Mainstage acts around him. Seriously.
- Little Feat's Mainstage show.
- Fred Penner had a mainstage tweener, which is still his first time on Mainstage, which similarly rocked; he was pretty much delighted, but so was the audience. Seriously. The guy has stage presence. And not much can beat hearing several thousand voices singing "Sandwiches are beautiful...".
- Caught part of a daytime workshop with him, Connie Kaldor and Trout Fishing In America called "Shiny Happy People" that was upbeat in almost all ways.
- Jaune Toujours, a Balkan band with Klezmer and fusion effects.
- David Wax Museum seemed pretty good, but I only really caught part of their show on Mainstage and didn't catch them again.
- I didn't get to hear nearly enough of The Once, who seemed to be pretty clearly up my alley. Similarly, I heard almost nothing directly of the Francophone band whose long name begins with "galant,", but the teeny bit I heard implied they were my thing.
Overall, I would have rated it a fairly weak Folk Fest, but there were still merits, as you can see.
____________
Monday after Folk Fest, by contrast, was AMAZING.
First, the ultrasound. Colin said it made it much more real, seeing the actual image of the baby shift and blur on the screen, looking recognizably like a baby. (He's not the one being occasionally disconcerted by internal motion) And I agree that it was delightful, much more this time, as he was so much bigger and better formed than the last.
Plus, of course, the whole sighting of what the technician cheerfully called "Boy parts", triggering the serious discussion of names.
No, I'm not telling any name until he's born and official. I can say a few things it won't be: Ethan and Jacob and Aidan are out for excess popularity currently. It won't be David because several of my circles of acquaintance are rife with Davids. Nor Michael or James or Chris. I also vetoed several names because I've used them in writing.
___
But then was the Dead Mouse. It was good to sit back and chat the first bit, then to join in the music circle again.
Especially as the music circle ended up with an extra unexpected guest who lived in the neighbourhood.
FRED PENNER.
You know, who was on the Mainstage at Folk Fest. Who's getting the Order of Manitoba and has had the Order of Canada for years. Who's children's music a LOT of people have grown up to.
Okay, I'm used to being outclassed at the music circles, and wondering why they let me in. We have professional and professional-quality musicians. This was a bit of something else. Though it quickly didn't feel like it.
Okay, it rocked for a lot of other things. I haven't seen R. at a music circle in ages, since she's been living in China, and the first song she played was pretty much the one of hers I most remembered and wanted to hear again (There is Life, I think it's called, and it's wonderful). W. sang "A Well-earned Vacation", an old favourite written by musicmutt. Lots of other good music went around; R. later did "Waltzing with Bears", which stayed stuck in my head for about two more days, adn she and her husband (Another Dave) did at least two songs in Chinese. Which led to me requesting the "Hockey Monkey Song" from Dave. L. did "And the Band Played Waltzing Matilda", which is beautiful and painful. And eventually, R.'s Chinese guest gathered her courage and did a song (Her voice is lovely, but she felt shy.)
Fred Penner did several of his less well known works, include a new song about the Children's Garden just designed for Assiniboine Park, and a song he wrote for a tv show based around making a quilt.
I think what made me react after the fact with some pretty hefty squeeing wasn't that he was there; there are so many ways that could have gone wrong. It was that he fit in so well with the circle. Joined and left seamlessly and graciously.
For myself, a funny moment: when I was asking about my first song to do, C. immediately called out "The one about the children who kill people!" which song ("Welcome to our House") had most of the crowd singing along. Someone commented with amusement on this particular request beign so readily recognized, and I replied, "Well, most of my songs about murder are between consenting adults".
OTOH, I think of songs I did, it was "Death on Hennepin" I best nailed. Doing that song these days for me has a lot of anger and fear and grief behind it, though I loved it for years.
People, mostly writers, have talked about how a work doesn't really come to life until it has an audience (which is why, however much you try to make a story about something, it's never just about the part you put into it; it's about the part that the reader sees, too.) But with writing, the reaction is delayed; the reader rarely describes it at the moment of reading,t hey get to express it in reactions, reviews, and essays after the fact. It's hard to see because it's distant.
Several times, with music, it's come very clear to me. When I practice at home alone, I sometimes sing through pretty weakly, just trying to get notes and timing, working on little muddles of technique. Sometimes I get the emotion, too, but even when I start to feel it, it's merely internal.
You can FEEL the feedback from listeners, though, even if they're not moving much, even if I'm having to look at the strings as much or more than at the circle. Feeling it made it obvious the song on Friday was going wrong. Feeling it on Monday - told me I was getting it right.
The only problem I ever have with feeling that reaction is that it makes me want to clap and cheer when I'm pulling it off. Which looks dumb at best, and egotistical.
___
Fringe is on now. Some recommendations I've seen so far:
Scarlet Women - A take-off on Film Noir, part parody and part sincere pastiche. Well-done and witty.
Grim and Fischer - Full face mask theatre about an elderly lady who's adept at hiding from and taunting the man who delivers her papers and meals, who now turns those talents to escaping the Grim Reaper himself. Very funny, very touching.
The Fabulous Miss Rosie Bitts - Burlesque show, which, as my husband put it, would be excellent even if it didn't involve a hot redhead taking her clothes off.
I'm not sure this is a recommendation exactly - Interruptions. It's about mothers (And grandmothers, and at least one father) who lost children before or at birth. She's a bit slow at the costume changes, and some of her character voices aren't as sharply different as they might be, but the stories speak for themselves. OTOH, it's probably depressing even if you aren't me, even with the more hopeful last section. I spent between 2/3 and 3/4 of the show crying, and the hopeful stuff just altered the nature of some of the tears. I kind of knew I'd cry -- but I hadn't realised just how much that hurt remained scabbed rather than healed (Even with the current and thus-far successful pregnancy), and how much it would bleed if ripped off.
Folk Fest went well. Due to some insane volunteer hours (I had both a shift ending at 5:00 AM Friday morning, and one starting at 5:00 AM Sunday -- although in all, I thought my schedule was better than those which are all late night or all early), and some sense when it came to wanting to get sleep, I missed the last third or more of most of the Mainstages. I got to actually listen and/or participate in the Baggiecon music circle all of once; Friday night, after a nap. And I felt like my voice was out of shape, and I tried, and flubbed, a piece on Mandolin that I knew I needed my chord sheet in front of me to pull off, but tried in the dark anyhow.
Saturday, I got to hang out during some pleasant conversation, but they started playing music at nearly 2:00 AM, when I was going to bed for my precious couple hours' nap> When my alarm went off at 4:00AM so I could prep for my shift, I still heard them singing, but by the time I got back from the bathroom run, they were all gone to bed. Sunday night, I opted to pack up early and skip the night music circle in favour of actually getting a good sleep. Smart move: I was the least burnt out I've ever been on a Monday, which meant I was very much up for the "Dead Mouse" party, the last hurrah over at the Bhigg House.
Good stuff I saw anyhow:
- A fairly good Celtic workshop Friday; one fairly strightforward Irish band, one Irish band with a bit of a twist (As one person put it, you'd be dancing along with a jig, and the music would smoothly and unobtrusively shift into boogie-woogie. Or similar.) and a band from England who did instrumentals that blended trad with trance-dance effects, in spite of being purely acoustic. (This last proved more disappointing, to me at least, on Mainstage, where it became clearer that they didn't have a lot of other tricks up theirs sleeves, and the one trick wasn't enough to sustain solo.)
- A Blues workshop I mostly went to because it was at the same stage as the prior good world-beat thingy (Not being generally a blues fan) which turned out to seriously rock. Colin Linden was no surprise, but Kat Danser was the standout for me.
- Matt (Anderson?), later to be seen in that blues workshop, doing a Tweener set on Mainstage which turned out to out-rock most of the actual Mainstage acts around him. Seriously.
- Little Feat's Mainstage show.
- Fred Penner had a mainstage tweener, which is still his first time on Mainstage, which similarly rocked; he was pretty much delighted, but so was the audience. Seriously. The guy has stage presence. And not much can beat hearing several thousand voices singing "Sandwiches are beautiful...".
- Caught part of a daytime workshop with him, Connie Kaldor and Trout Fishing In America called "Shiny Happy People" that was upbeat in almost all ways.
- Jaune Toujours, a Balkan band with Klezmer and fusion effects.
- David Wax Museum seemed pretty good, but I only really caught part of their show on Mainstage and didn't catch them again.
- I didn't get to hear nearly enough of The Once, who seemed to be pretty clearly up my alley. Similarly, I heard almost nothing directly of the Francophone band whose long name begins with "galant,", but the teeny bit I heard implied they were my thing.
Overall, I would have rated it a fairly weak Folk Fest, but there were still merits, as you can see.
____________
Monday after Folk Fest, by contrast, was AMAZING.
First, the ultrasound. Colin said it made it much more real, seeing the actual image of the baby shift and blur on the screen, looking recognizably like a baby. (He's not the one being occasionally disconcerted by internal motion) And I agree that it was delightful, much more this time, as he was so much bigger and better formed than the last.
Plus, of course, the whole sighting of what the technician cheerfully called "Boy parts", triggering the serious discussion of names.
No, I'm not telling any name until he's born and official. I can say a few things it won't be: Ethan and Jacob and Aidan are out for excess popularity currently. It won't be David because several of my circles of acquaintance are rife with Davids. Nor Michael or James or Chris. I also vetoed several names because I've used them in writing.
___
But then was the Dead Mouse. It was good to sit back and chat the first bit, then to join in the music circle again.
Especially as the music circle ended up with an extra unexpected guest who lived in the neighbourhood.
FRED PENNER.
You know, who was on the Mainstage at Folk Fest. Who's getting the Order of Manitoba and has had the Order of Canada for years. Who's children's music a LOT of people have grown up to.
Okay, I'm used to being outclassed at the music circles, and wondering why they let me in. We have professional and professional-quality musicians. This was a bit of something else. Though it quickly didn't feel like it.
Okay, it rocked for a lot of other things. I haven't seen R. at a music circle in ages, since she's been living in China, and the first song she played was pretty much the one of hers I most remembered and wanted to hear again (There is Life, I think it's called, and it's wonderful). W. sang "A Well-earned Vacation", an old favourite written by musicmutt. Lots of other good music went around; R. later did "Waltzing with Bears", which stayed stuck in my head for about two more days, adn she and her husband (Another Dave) did at least two songs in Chinese. Which led to me requesting the "Hockey Monkey Song" from Dave. L. did "And the Band Played Waltzing Matilda", which is beautiful and painful. And eventually, R.'s Chinese guest gathered her courage and did a song (Her voice is lovely, but she felt shy.)
Fred Penner did several of his less well known works, include a new song about the Children's Garden just designed for Assiniboine Park, and a song he wrote for a tv show based around making a quilt.
I think what made me react after the fact with some pretty hefty squeeing wasn't that he was there; there are so many ways that could have gone wrong. It was that he fit in so well with the circle. Joined and left seamlessly and graciously.
For myself, a funny moment: when I was asking about my first song to do, C. immediately called out "The one about the children who kill people!" which song ("Welcome to our House") had most of the crowd singing along. Someone commented with amusement on this particular request beign so readily recognized, and I replied, "Well, most of my songs about murder are between consenting adults".
OTOH, I think of songs I did, it was "Death on Hennepin" I best nailed. Doing that song these days for me has a lot of anger and fear and grief behind it, though I loved it for years.
People, mostly writers, have talked about how a work doesn't really come to life until it has an audience (which is why, however much you try to make a story about something, it's never just about the part you put into it; it's about the part that the reader sees, too.) But with writing, the reaction is delayed; the reader rarely describes it at the moment of reading,t hey get to express it in reactions, reviews, and essays after the fact. It's hard to see because it's distant.
Several times, with music, it's come very clear to me. When I practice at home alone, I sometimes sing through pretty weakly, just trying to get notes and timing, working on little muddles of technique. Sometimes I get the emotion, too, but even when I start to feel it, it's merely internal.
You can FEEL the feedback from listeners, though, even if they're not moving much, even if I'm having to look at the strings as much or more than at the circle. Feeling it made it obvious the song on Friday was going wrong. Feeling it on Monday - told me I was getting it right.
The only problem I ever have with feeling that reaction is that it makes me want to clap and cheer when I'm pulling it off. Which looks dumb at best, and egotistical.
___
Fringe is on now. Some recommendations I've seen so far:
Scarlet Women - A take-off on Film Noir, part parody and part sincere pastiche. Well-done and witty.
Grim and Fischer - Full face mask theatre about an elderly lady who's adept at hiding from and taunting the man who delivers her papers and meals, who now turns those talents to escaping the Grim Reaper himself. Very funny, very touching.
The Fabulous Miss Rosie Bitts - Burlesque show, which, as my husband put it, would be excellent even if it didn't involve a hot redhead taking her clothes off.
I'm not sure this is a recommendation exactly - Interruptions. It's about mothers (And grandmothers, and at least one father) who lost children before or at birth. She's a bit slow at the costume changes, and some of her character voices aren't as sharply different as they might be, but the stories speak for themselves. OTOH, it's probably depressing even if you aren't me, even with the more hopeful last section. I spent between 2/3 and 3/4 of the show crying, and the hopeful stuff just altered the nature of some of the tears. I kind of knew I'd cry -- but I hadn't realised just how much that hurt remained scabbed rather than healed (Even with the current and thus-far successful pregnancy), and how much it would bleed if ripped off.
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Date: 2011-07-18 02:34 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-07-18 10:38 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-07-24 05:14 am (UTC)House renovations also continue, with lots of little bumps and delays, and surprise speed-ups. Hope yours go well.
Many hugs back!