"Great Art Needs A Great Audience..." Walt Whitman
Overall Show Rating: 7/10
Hosts: (10/10) The Holy Road House and Arts Co-op is hosting our March residence (we are some of our own hosts, two hats is confusing sometimes, but necessary to living well in this world.) Anyway, I'm just so thankful to have this enviroment and family to come home to every few months. The team we're all creating together at The House (The Tumbleweed Hotel) is doing a great job learning how to make a perfect enviroment for us (and so, the other traveling artists who will benefit from the holy road when the time comes.) Alisa, Miker, Kaos, Mike Clark, James, Brandon, Karla, Blake, (Zeek back in New Yoork) me, Baba, The Dharma Dog and all the growing family worked hard to make last night (and this whole month, Aly and Ron on the hike, Peter's making the Kansas City show happen) a success. Matt Bearman and Scott filmed and recorded.
Venue: (8/10) The Holy Road Easy Speak
Matt Bearman is recording these shows and Scott Wilson is filming them. The sound check has a whole buzz of its own. The house was full of people getting ready for the show. Matt was making sure the sound was perfect, like a real artist of sound. His energy was really inspiring, he just seemed to care so much that everything was perfect and we were all so thankful for that. Baba was getting The Wizard Of Oz on the TV so it'd play silently in the background. Alisa made signs for silence (Shhh, we're recording) and ordered Pizza for the crew, Mike and Kaos got the front desk together. Mike Clark showed up in costume as requested. Zacharia arrived early to make sure he was ready to host the night. The best thing about our venue is Mama's grand piano and also, the fact that everyone is quiet (like in a theater).
Promotions: (2/10) We've been super slacking on the promotions front. It's easy to be lazy about it 'cause it's such a small venue.
Opener: (10/10) Natalie Greer was great. She brought several folks to be a suportive crowd and she sang like an angel who needed to let the world know she was real. A supreme choice and it was Alisa who made that happen. In this case, we had an after show Open Howl which was full of such extraordinary talent. My god...Bart Bean with his songs, harmonica and sacred drum!! Bones, James, Natalie, Baba, everyone was a light carrier last night.
Sound: (10/10) The sound was excellent for me but my guitar had problems, which badly effected my performance and maybe the audience reception. I didn't get any comments from the crowd so i'm not sure how it was for them. Karla and Blake brought their sound system over and added it to ours, so we had perfect monitors and the room was full of song.
Stage: (8/10)Brandon built the stage which doubles as a drum and makes for great dance numbers... so I can shimmy like I do. James opened up the pocket doors so we can fit up to 30 folks (they were very jammed when we first moved in). Baba got the piano tuned. It felt like an intimate cabaret theater. Lighting needs work though, to have the sort of dramatic impact our show needs. The stage and audience almost felt like one (which I liked). The seats were full and the faces warm.
Audience: (7/10) The crowd was focused and respectful, but shy. I think it's my fault, I confused everyone from the start when I told them that we were treating this like a theater piece when, in fact, I meant a "Happening". People seemed timid about applauding between songs. They didn't seem to realize just how important they are to the remembering. They are characters in a play that we have all agreed to perform, a play in which we all remember how to be create peace. Their participation in the happening is as important as mine. They howled like true howlers though and they answered "Now" big and loud when I asked them what time it was. I'm not sure everyone drank the tonic though, and the truth is, that's really the problem. If we'd all just drink Dr. Tumbleweed's Anti-fear Tonic, we'd be so much less afraid to set the spirit free and revive the child within. It wasn't a 10 'cause I think people were too careful about listening and not wild enough about singing, howling, and being a kid. Maybe, though, they were just too busy trying to understand what the hell I was talking about. I think lots of folks will be back next week and I think they'll be freer with their souls, since they have a better idea of what to expect now and they'll be more ready to remind me to remember to remind them. I remember, that's how it happened!! Howlelujah, the time is now.
My performance: (7/10) The audience and I were one. Neither of us could quite let it fly but we both had a good time getting to know eachother again.
Baba: 10/10 AS usual, he was my rock and the audience celebrated him the whole time. His performance of Prayer was truly moving, his Louise Rag was so playful, and after our set, he performed a wonderful solo piece with America The Beautiful in it.
Set List Highlights: Bones playing Bones on a couple tunes, Universal land, The Remembering, Gently Bring Me Home, Do Not Stand At My Grave and Weep, Louise, Jenny
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