That Music Which Does Not Kill Me Makes Me Happy
Well Super Deluxe Music Week was a success.
Last Wednesday, Beckett came to the boys’ classrooms with me for morning music. While her primary comment since then has been “Tough crowd”, a number of the kids were impressed with her harmonica playing. And that’s mainly what I’m after: getting them to feel “It’s cool to make music”. We played Jimmy Buffet’s “Volcano”, Seanan McGuire’s “My Story is Not Done”, Little Feat’s “Dixie Chicken”, and my own “Let’s Get the Monkeys to Do It”. Dixie Chicken was the only one that was new to them, but I don’t think Beckett had been in class to play with me since 3rd grade (2 years ago), so harmonica was new.
Saturday was the true crazy day. I got back from morning grocery shopping a little before 10:00 and Jeff, Maya, and Amanda Bohnhoff drove right up behind me. Seanan arrived at the BART station a little later, and we proceeded to rehearse for that evening’s gig at Borderlands Books in San Francisco, celebrating the release of Seanan’s latest novel, “Discount Armageddon”. At 1:00 pm, I left that rehearsal for one with my church band, the Peak Rocks (we play about once a month for Mission Peak Unitarian Universalist Congregation). It was our second rehearsal for the next day’s service. At 4:00, I flew out of there, went home to collect family plus Amanda (Jeff, Maya, and Seanan had already left for Borderlands) and went to San Francisco.
Let it be said here and now: Seanan McGuire gives good book event. If you get a chance, go. If you want to get a book signed (and you should-they’re great books), that’s a bonus. But there’s plenty beyond that: we had an hour and a half of music from various configurations of the musicians present, gourmet cupcakes and fancy cheeses, Ms. McGuire singing, autographing, and MC’ing, and plenty of happy fans giving the place a party atmosphere.
(Odds are good that readers here are on Seanan’s friendslist, too, and this set list may be repeated there, but…)
Jeff & Maya had the first set, featuring:
B Grade Movies (ttto Feelin’ Groovy; I provided a little vocal backup)
My Wand is Broken (ttto Morning Has Broken)
Tanglewood Tree (w/ Seanan taking the lead vocal)
Dear Gina (w/ Seanan)
Manhattan Sleeps
I Am the Walmart (ttto I Am the Walrus; I helped exhort the crowd to “Woo” and “Everybody buy socks”)
I was the middle set:
Nuts (w/ Maya)
Joyride
Inward Bound
Blue Smoke (w/ Beckett on harmonica & Maya on backup vocal)
Vampire Slayer Blues (w/ Seanan on lead vocal, Beckett on harmonica, & Maya backup vocal)
Carrot Juice is Murder (w/ Maya)
The last set had everybody on-stage at some point:
Another Job at the Mall (ttto Another Brick in the Wall; Jeff and Maya)
High Desert (Jeff and Maya)
Landslide (Jeff and Maya, w/ Seanan on lead vocal, Beckett on harmonica)
Death Danced at My Party (Seanan lead vocal, Maya on backup, me on guitar)
Merlin (me doing the lead vocal and rhythm guitar, Jeff on lead guitar, Maya on backup vocal)
Get Off of My Lawn (ttto Get off of My Cloud; Jeff and Maya)
Wicked Girls (Seanan, Jeff and Maya)
It was a lot of fun, and good audience response. I know that I’m spoiled by filk audiences, who are the most attentive, responsive, and appreciative anywhere. And these folk were fen of sorts, as readers of Seanan’s books, but I didn’t assume that they’d dig the music that much. But they were indeed every bit as supportive. Thanks, Seanan McGuire’s fans! :{)}
Sunday morning, the Peak Rocks had a final rehearsal just before the service. Then we acted to illustrate the service’s theme with songs about food, trash, and ecology. Specifically, we played:
Lime in the Coconut (Harry Nilsson)
I Love Trash (featuring yours truly as Oscar the Grouch [imitating his voice only, no costume])
Saltwater (Julian Lennon. I’d never heard this one before, but it’s an excellent song.)
Garden Song (Dave Mallet , with a final verse for the kiddies by me)
Mercy Mercy Me (Marvin Gaye)
The 3 R’s (Jack Johnson)
It all went over well. Some of the kids were staring at me during the service, and I have to wonder if they were thinking “Is that really Oscar the Grouch?”. :{)}
Then I went to watch the first hour and a half of Riley’s first track meet of the season, before leaving him in the care of another track team parent and…
going to our church’s Sunday Salon (basically a talent show). The Peak Rocks pulled two songs out of its archives, performing Billy Preston’s “Will It Go Round in Circles” just before the intermission, and the Rolling Stones’ “You Can’t Always Get What You Want” at the end. (When I sent out a list to them to choose from, the group had universally expressed surprise with how many songs we’d performed in our year and a quarter together.) I also performed “Dixie Chicken” with Beckett during the show (so we got double duty from one song this week anyway).
By the time I got Riley home from his meet (6:00-ish), we were ready to just relax through an evening. It was a great weekend, though. Beckett hates the really packed weekends, but I think even she had to admit this one was worth it.
:{)}