Tuning the Air #164

A Tuning the Air Journal

Friday October 2, 2009 – Tuning the Air 164

Picked up Mary Beth and we got to Fremont Abbey just before 5pm. As we pulled up, I realized that I had forgotten to bring the boom boxes, so I dropped her off and went home to get them. Only about a 7-minute detour, but just one more reason I will be glad when Joel returns to the show next week. When I arrived, there was a full crew assembled for the setup. We gathered and began together. It became pretty clear that, for this season at least, set up is going to be a breeze. We were basically ready in about 30 minutes. I am thinking that in another week or two, once we have settled into the routine, we will be able to push our arrival time back at least a half hour.

We warmed up on various pieces, including several that are not in the set. I have to maintain a certain restraint to keep this warmup period from becoming a rehearsal. The aim of this work is to get ourselves in tune with one another and accustomed to the sound of the room. It is definitely not the time to try to “fix” anything, and we do our best to refrain from anything but general observations pertaining the to specific performance we are preparing for. I have, on more than one occasion, caught myself calling someone out during the warmup for a specific playing or timing issue they have, and it is always a mistake. Bad for morale and bad for the performance. In rehearsal this group is very good at being as candid as necessary, while maintaining good will. When I think of how many bands I’ve been in where the players can’t say what they are thinking until they have worked themselves up into a major emotional state, this is a quality that I do not take lightly or for granted. But the warmup for performance is a time for a certain kind of focus.

We took a few minutes to work out an adjustment to the entrance at the opening of the show. It was noted last week that when we begin the “twinkles” in the green room, it is not actually audible in the performance space. Consequently we lost the gentle transition from pre-show to performance. We worked with having the green room house team member, Igor K, crack the door very slightly, and then, after a nod from me, open the door slowly. An improvement, for sure, but it will also be a lot smoother when we are cross-fading with Joel’s live improvs rather than the boom boxes.

Generally good show. A very supportive audience, both friends and newcomers.

A bit of a struggle for me at times, in the sense that I felt that we sounded a little dozy. Perhaps forgetting the boom boxes should have been a hint at my own state. For the most part mistakes were minor, and they clearly came from moments of inattention and not any kind of lack of ability or because we are attempting something that is beyond us in any way.

But what do I know, really? I have learned from long and hard experience that if I sit in the performers chair, but listen with the Music Director’s ears, life is full of internal conflict and questionable perceptions. One false start, on the Shostokovich prelude, but no train wrecks or even near misses. A couple of absolutely transcendent moments on balance. Both “Tuning the Airs” had something, and the circulations were very good; C Major was absolutely flying at moments.

We thrakked for the encore. The primary 5 and 7 groove was as well played as I have ever heard/felt it, and was decidedly devoid of the frantic twitchiness that I generally associate with performances of this piece. Lovely, and a genuine pleasure to be a part of. A little wobbliness at moments in the rock and roll sections, but I think this was more about negotiating the acoustics of the room, rather than a difficulty with the piece itself. A little more work with the metronome, and a little more experience with the room, and this should be a winner.

After “Thrak”, I had a niggling sense that something was knocking on the door, but didn’t quite recognize what it was or what to do with it. I almost called “49 Notes”, but let it go. Jaxie emailed me this morning and identified it as “Eye of the Needle”, and I instantly saw she was right.