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

Sunday, March 31, 2007
Sharing The Road: reviewing the experience from the artist's eyes.

"Great Art Needs A Great Audience..." Walt Whitman
Overall Show Rating: 10/10
Hosts: (10/10) The bonds we are all developing are grow, becoming rich and full of life. The art house truly does feel like a garden that we all share, each of us tending to with our personal touch. We are creating our reality together. And I repeat my last review comment as well..."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 live 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." THANK YOU again TO FD, Kaos, Mike Clark, Aly, James, Mike Roberston, Ron, Brandon, Karla, Blake, Laura, Scott, Matt Bearman, Kristy, Jo, ALL OUR CO-OP GARDNERS, for making this month so wonderful for us and for our visiting artists.

Venue: (10/10) The Holy Road Easy Speak
Matt Bearman is recording these shows and Scott Wilson is filming them. WE've settled into the hous as a venue and the stage is perfect (thanks to brandon). The rooms upstairs make for great private space while we get into character. The sound system feels full and generous (thanks to Blake and Karla). The Soap Box Sirens (artists we hosted from Louisville, kY) filled the house with music and harmony. They enjoyed the boarder rooms and during sound check we all rehearsed a group piece that opened their show. Matt did a fantastic job making the living room an ideal sound envirmont. Miker watched the door. FD and Aly fed us and took care of all the last minute production details. James and FD shined as Eternity's helpers throughout the night. THANK YOU.

Promotions: (8/10) the show was packed and energized with folks who wanted to be there, to understand and celebrate and be part of it all. The e-mails, cards, a few posters and a radio interview of the Sirens, with Kevin Walsh, was enough to fill the Holy Road Easy Speak on Saturday.

Opener: (10/10) The Soap Box Sirens drove from Louisville,KY. They are angels of Now and they brought the house such blessings. The Columbia audience adored them and gave them howling love. They passed around the songs amongst themselves. Baba sat in with them. I sang from the audience front row. They got the crowd ready for The Tumbleweed Cabaret better than any other has done!

Sound: (10/10) I love Matt Bearman and Karla and Blake and Baba for making the sound perfect. Hope the recordings sound as good, I'm sure they will. I didn't get any comments from the audience but I'll assume that means, no news is good news.

Stage: (10/10) The stage (by brandon) doubles as a drum which is perfect for my dancing and stomping and calmer moments too. The baby grand came from mama and it is so stunning, the way it sounds.

Audience: (10/10) The crowd was howling, singing, sharing tears of laughter and loss, passing out the tonic, making sure everyone got some, and they couldn't have been more suppportive or appreciative.

My performance: (9/10) The first three songs were slightly stiff but by the time I got to Jenny, the spirit had risen and the voice had opened. In Mercy Me, spirit took me for a ride and sent me crashing through the crowd. 19 Miles had everyone wearing the yellow ribbons 'round themselves and we sang together, "'round the whole wide world, something fgood has begun." By the time we got to the second act, I was out of body and the songs and characters of The Tumblweed Cabaret were in charge, and they know what to do better than this form could ever know. Considering Baba and I are still so fresh in learning the script as we write it, I'd say, we brought the loving audience home to a howlelujah place called Now. The Tonic was passed out for everyone to take into tomorrow. I hope they're drinking it as we speak, I know I am. Thanks for being part of our March expiriment, we'll be getting the recording and DVD together over the next month. I think the show runs a little too long, this week we'll be cutting it and simplifying it for our Kansas City presentation. It would be hard to hand out 100 bottles of tonic, 100 yellow ribbons, etc. PS: I know the camera was blocking the view sometimes, but I think it'll be worth it when we see the brilliant work of Mr. Wilson.

Baba: 10/10 Baba strutted his genius throughout the first act and then he miraculously became DR. Tumbleweed and Dr. Kavanaski in act two, helping us all remember how to grow the Tumbleweedwith our healthy soil, tears of laughter, loss, and love and how to pour on that soul shine. Baba is the one. Howlelujah to ya DR!

James: James acted as Eternity's helpers, Officer Haggerty, George Bush, and The Tubleweed Plant! He did such a wonderful job capturing all the characters. We threw so much last minute information at him I'm suprised his brain didn't explode. He pulled it off perfectly. A great addition to the cabaret.

Set List Highlights: Bones playing Bones on a couple tunes, Rise Spirit, Starfish Lullaby, Run Why Do WE Run? Demons, Chariots Rise, Jenny, Mercy Me, Be Where Your Feet Are