Friday, February 01, 2008

crystal palace last night, fun times in bako, the good, the puzzling, & the ugly, wardrobe error #5,326

-> the good: 1st of all, big thx to fattkatt for inviting us!! :) his band's gotten real tight, over their 100 shows at the crystal palace! when fk sang orbison's thrilling "running scared," mom & i clasped our hands, a little worried, maybe, even, then proclaimed "yay!" when he hit the high note, flat out hit it! fk invited all his ex-bandmates & most showed up, & i had to laugh at all those slap basses bumping around onstage like elephants in a tarzan flick. whatta lotta furniture! les webb rolled & flipped around like ray campi - whatta ham; whatta showman! and matt munoz honked big just-right sax on every tune, even "tiger by the tail" - fantastic! matt adds a warm dose of grinning cool & top musical chops to all he's near; the guy is majorly skilled & fun!... most of my life i've gone south to hang out at music shows, but last night matched the good times i've had in smellay. i found out phil can dance (i knew, uncannily, he could), & rick danced, & we all danced, friends, strangers, funny, silly, just wupped it up w/o a care & had so much fun.
-> i respected that fk & co invited all & i heard no backbiting or gossiping, saw no one-upmanship, no grousing or criticizing, just the sharing of the stage w/the desire to make music, let bygones be bygones where needed, put on a show. we all had to come down for work the next am, so left after hearing blonde, voluptuous nikkita sing "angel baby" - she has a much purer singing voice than i ever could muster, & just the right intonation for that song, esp on those high, high "ooh-ooh, i love you" parts. :)
-> the puzzling: phil - the guitar player who doesn't turn up! i know he's just a little noiviss for now, but when he realizes how good he really is & puts it on 11, well, wow!!! the dd's just reconfigured about 45 days ago, so i think it's prudent for him to build up before turning up; we've done two showcases on big stages in the last 23 days & he's learned about 20 songs in that time!... on the other hand, rick, who drummed under contentious conditions w/dd's back in '04, plays so happily these days... we all get along well, & he's so expert, well, he can wear that crazy what-he-calls "dusk devil" hat anytime (for a while, i thought his superman T would be his stage shirt). heck, he could wear a burlap sack, for all i care. the man can really play!
-> tho of course it was fattkatt's show, good gravy, i can't count how many people showed up to see US, but i know we made the palace some serious G's, & i know auntie rita will let them know it! i felt so grateful for all the love & attention, & committed to give it back to the audience. the friendly soundman power (no, i didn't razz him) dialed us in well, & tho big rooms are always weird because the sound goes OUT, i felt pretty good about the whole thing & could hear people laughing & cheering, not just politely, but enthusiastically (couldn't see them, tho!)... afterward, compliments, compliments, compliments. :) i was heartened by the young staff slapping me on the back, shaking my hand, grinning; you could tell a bunch of them just loved it. another especially nice moment was seeing my young niece all dressed up lovely to see me play, & meeting kevin "styx"'s daughter, tiny little kimberly, who shyly told me that she can play chopsticks on piano & then, at her daddy's coaxing, that her stage name is... "kimberly angel." oh goodness; that was a "died and gone to heaven" moment for me. :) also, i was so touched to see my dear friend jani.
-> the ugly: i don't know what i was thinking when i got dressed. i'll use my "i was sick" excuse. i need a professional! i knew my skirt was blue when i left the house, but really... my brain said i matched. my draggy makeup, well, that's fun, like painting a picture; but matching clothes? i love clothes, but matching can just make a head hurt.
-> for yrs & yrs, i wore black everyday, head to toe. when i saw pix from last night, i remembered why!!! my sister has said many times she's coming over to "geranimal" my wardrobe. i think i need to give her a call.
-> in the grand scheme, all is so incredibly trivial. :) thank you, if you were there, & thank you, if you read this. may your weekend be filled w/health & love. soyez gai, chéries!! PICTURES TO COME SOON...

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