Overview: how I spent my weekend (Sunday)

[themythicalman]

"Must ... kill ... the hairless ape ..."
Sunday:  Our final day in the Emerald City.  A final farewell to our lovely billets (and their cat, Chicken) and we were off, this time to West Seattle, another beautiful suburb.



This was the first time being in Seattle where I didn't spend any time downtown, other than quickly driving through it on the way to one place or another.  It's a citadel of a city, visually-speaking - oddly, it seems so much larger from a distance; I had the feeling that I was watching the massive skyscrapers shrink whenever we drove near on the I-5.  Also, they seem to like things to be BIG in Seattle - big ships, big factories, big buildings.  Maybe this is just America in general, but I'm not sure.  Still, I'm always amazed by the sight of this city, every time I'm near, day or night.

We got to West Seattle for just before noon - that is to say, half of us got there.  One of the cars got stuck at a drawbridge.  The idea of a drawbridge seems oddly archaic to me, like traveling by stagecoach or using Morse code.  Irrational of me, I know, but there it is.  As a result, we missed our first set.

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Which isn't to say that there was nothing to do, or nobody to play with - heavens, no!  Once again, the incredible Emperor Norton's Stationary Marching Band plus guests/friends, playing another energy-filled set, this time in the parking lot beside Hotwire Coffeehouse.  I grabbed a copy of their first CD and have been listening to it daily since getting back.  We have to find a way to get this group of musical awesome into town, because they're a whole carnival of fun, just on their own!



Some more of our amazing organizers and volunteers, without whom none of this could have ever happened.  Seattle was sporting some pretty impressive facial hair this past weekend - a combination of musical hipsters and healthy West Coast living, perhaps?  Whatever it is, I want a beard like the guy on the right.  Want it bad.

Eventually the rest of O.S. arrived and we played what turned out to be our one and only set that day.  However, it had to be one of the best shows I've ever done with this group - energy was high, we showed off for our enthusiastic audience, and there was lots of dancing and singing.

Our cast of characters (pictures by Joe Mabel and Nic Launceford):



Oliver, fearless leader and keeper of the Slivovica ...



Jack, a bundle of never-ending, trumpet-playing energy ...



Paul and Kristina, two highly rhythmic individuals ...



Michael, our very dapper gentleman percussionist/singer ...



Alyssa, accordionista extraordinaire ...



Deirdra, mighty sousaphone player, singer, and fish impressario ...



Susan, rocking the euphonium, way more important than cowbell ...



Leslie, our (sadly) temporary sopranino sax player whose horn speaks truth.  This woman redefines the word 'ubiquitous' - who didn't know who she was this past weekend?



And last, yours Mythically, Soviet-era euphonium player, and now, vocalist.  For our last song, we had the audience gather in really close and we did Marijo, the same song that we recorded the night before, featuring me on vocals.  A more low-key, subtle way to end our set, but the thunderous response from the crowd seemed to tell us that this was the right choice.



Picture by Nic Launceford.

And that's it, in the proverbial nutshell:  my weekend in Seattle.  if you want to learn more about any of these groups, or the Radical Marching Band Movement, just follow this link.  The Northwest Folklife Festival is coming up in the end of May - I think I know where I'll be in about a month's time, provided I can find a tent ...

So, how was your weekend?