Atlantian 30th Year, part two
I left off with us rolling out of the Chinese buffet and heading back to camp.
While we were in the same strip mall we hit the Dollar General hoping to get a sheet, one of the many items I forgot to pack. We thought about the Good Will, but aside form the ick factor I thought it might be a bit suspicious if a strangely dressed man walked into a store in the backwoods of Virginia and asked for a single sheet. (Would you like that with or without eye holes?)
Got a set of sheets, (I can't recommend buying your sheets from the DG) and ice then back we went. We got back just before dark and headed up to see Dunstan and James take a page. We had s'mores and sang a little bit before following Dunstan and co to the Elephant Stomp.
The Elephant Stomp, is an awesome party that Falcone and Finn put on every year, usually at Midnight at the Oasis, but since that event got stomped this year, they moved it over it to 30th. In addition to your standard SCA party theme of stand around, drink, and BS the Stomp adds drumming and belly dancing. We drummed for a bit but my hands kept me from playing very long or very well. I had fun anyway. I actually like the standard 'hang out, drink, and BS' style SCA party, but if there is bardic to be had I will always choose that. Jill was even more adamant and after trying to disengage me from my BSing she just walked off into the night, a technique that is amazingly effective at getting me to pay attention. ; )
The bardic I was hoping for was only fifty yards away, and it was even better than I had hoped. We immediately hit it off well with the other instrumentalists and accompanied them for a bit before doing some of our own stuff with them accompanying us. Such fun!
I'm a fan of the new crop of solo looping artists, folks like Merril Garbus, Zoe Keating and Reggie Watts are amazing and inventive, but I also worry a bit because it further reinforces the "s'all bout me" trend that seems to be the mainstream thought in music these days. Playing with other people is hard work. If you are doing it right it means sacrifice and humility, never popular virtues now even more so, but it is also rewarding and exciting. With the right players you can create something much better than any of you could produce alone. With the wrong players… it can be pretty awful.
But that was not the case on Saturday. Everyone was very willing to listen and adapt to what the rest of the players were doing and I think we made some pretty great music though I wish I had made more room in our stuff for the fiddle and whistle. As icing on the cake the fiddle player lives in DC and is interested in working together with Jill and I. I've wanted to add a fiddle to our stuff for-ev-er. This one is so good that we will be supporting her as much as she us.
We played and sang till I had no voice left and Jill was falling asleep in her chair then headed back to camp. Amanda, Colin, and I stayed up a bit longer trying to solve the nations political problems in a bit of a rum and whiskey sodden haze before finally deciding that the dissolution of the states was the only option and heading to bed.
Sunday we pre packed as much of the tent and gear as possible before Amanda fought in the pole arm tourney with me looking on longingly from the sidelines, then dropped the pavilion and finished packing out.
I'm not sure we missed anything by leaving early, it didn't look like anyone was very anxious to fight in the bear pit and there were only a dozen or so in the pole arm tourney. I also hear that it got very wet again later in the day. We were all pretty well done by then anyway and it was nice to get home early and unpack before it rained.
Took A back up to Frederick, then hosed off before Jill and I hit our favorite Indian place for dinner. Pretty nice day all in all. And having Monday off was just the cherry on top.
-Justus