Sharing The Road: reviewing the experience from the artist's eyes.

"Great art needs a great Audience..." -Walt Whitman
This is new. To review. I've started asking the audience to send reviews of our shows to me and I'll start posting them on this blog. I promise to do the same, start reviewing the audience, our generous holy road hosts, and the venues too. I want to make this agreement, to be here now and to talk about what we're experiencing and why. So here it is.... days are busy and the reality is shifting again, changing...staying in touch with it is a challenge, not drowning in it but growing with it. I have lots to do in Maryland today. Walk, write, rehearse, sound check and perform but I'm going to review the NY Show some and tomorrow I'll review the D.C. show. It's a balance, of course, and essential that you know, I do not come from a place of judgment. Whether you are reading this as a "fan", a Holy Road Tours Family Member, an "audience", a venue, or a Holy Road Host, I mean whatever I say as a friend of the evolution. I come from an honest place of hunger for the healing. It's about all of us aknowledging that we are, whether we like it or not, creating our reality and affecting eachother's worlds. From the moment I walk in the door, the experience begins defining itself. Is the sound man warm, happy to be where he is, has he researched the music he is about to manifest, does he take pride in his own art form, as a music lover, as a sound designer, as a creator of mood and function? Things like that...Okay, 'nough explaining. Here's the sharing, please write me your reviews of my reviews, the shows, the venues, and all the experiences we share. Thanks so much, my friends, for reminding me to remember to remind.

Venue: The Cutting Room, Feb 27th, '07
Overall Show Rating: 6/10

Promotions: We were not listed on the club calander inside the venue, no posters up and no fliers out.

Opener: We had not been told he was opening for us. He pushed our start time so that the show started 40 minutes late. An audience member told me he was not a good match for us, "too depressing" she said.

Sound: Chip was pretty brazen. Didn't seem inspired to be there. Didn't seem to care who I was or curious about the road I was traveling. He wanted to get us on and off stage as fast as possible. He seemed poisoned by the Zombie Town poison and he had a screen of apathy over his eyes. I introduced myself. He was polite but disinterested, just doing his job. That was my impression. anyway The sound had the same vibe. That said, the mix was decent and the monitors let me hear myself okay. Though the audience called, quietly, for an encore, Chip cut off the show.

Stage: The stage at The Cutting Room is nice and big. The grand piano was out of tune but we are always so thankful to have a piano that we hardly cared. Baba moved the drum set and made sure we got the best enviroment we could. It's a great space for me to dance and move around on. The lights are dramatic but it was hard for me to get Chip to shine them on the house enough (a requirement for me to have a happy show), so I could see the audience faces. By the third time I asked, he finally did it.

Audience: (5/10) I had some "Birth Family" there as well as "Earth Family." My nephew was sweet but he was also a little distracting during the ballads. The house was full of reserved love, like a hug from an arms length. When I asked, What Time Is It? Almost all of the audience answered "Now" which fed me when I needed it. It seemed like about 1/4 of them sang with us when I turned the mike around. Nice applause. No howling though. Overall.... it was not a revivalist audience but it was warm enough to keep the show moving. I am realizing that the audience and I are there together to start a fire which needs to keep us warm until the next time we are together or until the next time a "light exchange" happens. Here's my question? Who's the match? Who's the kindling? Who's the paper? Who's the blowing air? Who's the ember?
My performance: (6/10) I started off with "The Remembering Monologue" which I think scared the new yorkers a little. It was confusing for them and I don't think I delivered the "Remembrance " very well. I think, they didn't seem to understand why I was passing the "Dr. Tumbleweed's Anti-fear Tonic" around and they didn't realize why I was asking them to drink it. I don't think they made sure that everyone got some either, which is not good! In fact, one audience member told me she was reallly sad 'cause she didn't get any. In short, I worked hard to get the fire lit at this show and keep it lit. A little too hard. I was the match and the breeze and the paper this one. There was a great piece of paper and stick in the front row, (that was Alex), and in the middle of the room (couldn't see her face but I could feel her) and in the back of the room, there was a young man and woman willing to be the paper too. I loved talking to folks after. The woman who traveled acround the Eqautor (Monique), Margeaux, and Beth... they all made me feel as if I had lit them from within and so, I did my job and felt happy about that when I went to sleep Tuesday night.

Baba: 9/10 He was amazing, kept me growing throught he whole show and played like the genuis he is!

Set List Highlights: Universal Land Part I, Tumbleweed, Look What They Done, Starfish, Hallelujah, This Land Is Our Land, Little Boxes, Thank You.