Opening Night – Brief Reflections the Day After

A Tuning the Air Journal

Friday September 25, 2009 – Opening Night – Brief Reflections the Day After

Too much information to try to process in a short time.

Four of us were able to arrive at Fremont Abbey at 4pm, with four more turning up shortly thereafter. A second wave at 5pm, with the working and parenting contingent arriving as soon as they were able.

It was abundantly clear from the outset that there is no need to arrive any earlier than 5pm to set up. Compared to the café space downstairs, this is a total breeze. The risers and lights were completely up and ready to go in less than 45 minutes.
The House took a little longer, but that seemed to mostly be attributable to the fact that they were in the unenviable position of having to figure everything out on the fly, on opening night. Now that primary bugs have been worked out and necessary decisions made, it will be a piece of cake.

Two important lessons learned early: 1) don’t put lighting mixers on music stands, and 2) always have plenty of spare fuses for the lights. Both learned the hard way, but disasters successfully avoided.

We were able to get a good long warmup for almost everyone, which had its good and bad points. On the good side, the more we play the better we play, and for those not as fortunate as me, this may be the only time they have in the day to get their hands on their guitars. On the bad side, it gave us lots of time to get scared of the room’s acoustics. All in all, that is going to be the biggest challenge as we adjust to the room; to learn what works and what doesn’t, and how to negotiate the difficulties and challenges, not to mention how to fully capitalize on the room’s qualities.

Sitting in our new green room, we felt good. Someone (Igor K, perhaps?) showed up with chocolate, and one can never go wrong with chocolate. The basic feel and rhythm of the preshow process felt a little alien in our new surroundings, but went smoothly. I suggested that, in addition to having some fun, we “hold a feeling of good will and love for the room as we learn to make friends with it, hold a feeling of goodwill and love for one another as we individually and collectively struggle with making friends with the room, and acknowledge the debt of gratitude we owe to the House Team for their heroics in making this performance possible.” We made a strong entrance.

What happened in the set is still rolling around in my mind and experience. A few practical issues arose, and a surprise or two. Tomorrow we will rehearse in the space and there will be opportunities to address technical and mechanical musical issues. Bigger picture issues we will look at over time, but last night was bursting with useful information.

A very good audience and appreciative, including many friends. One definite loonie, possibly psychotic, in the audience, but thankfully he was not manifesting outwardly very strongly. I only learned over a beer after the show just how nuts the guy was, so I can only imagine that his simple presence was a distraction for the House Team. Ick.

All in all, an at least honorable opening night, with a few truly transcendent moments. Can’t ask for more than that.