crime and the forces of evil 2k8/1/12 setlist

[solarbird]

I can has tiny setlist:

1. もののけ猫 (Mononoke Neko)
2. 桜木町 (Cherry Tree Station)
3. Leaffall
4. Lukey
5. General Taylor

Key things learned:

• BREATHE, STUPID!
• Try to relax, 'way too much tension in your back.
• Thirsty and feeling nervous beforehand? Don't drink a Diet Coke.
• People can't tell when you fuck up, They actually liked your butchered rendition of 桜木著.
• Be ready to talk about stories behind your songs.
• I said BREATHE.

I went to Rustycon yesterday and played the open-mic filk. And I'm really glad I did that. I got to learn some things in front of a tiny (25-30ish) and not-at-all-hostile crowd, and where there were other people playing so I could get my shit together between goes.

People really liked my flutes, too. Several people wanted information about them and a couple are thinking about commissions. That'd be great fun.

Comments

[lyonesse.livejournal.com]

yay! you go, grrl! :)

[solarbird]

It was terrifying, but awesome. ^_^

[maellenkleth]

Congratulations to you, as you have now proven that flutes can be deadly weapons in enclosed spaces. ^_^

Seriously, music is good to have and share. Breathing is certainly important; not breathing tends to grind things to a halt.

Good on you!

/e/

[solarbird]

I had one person appear to be genuinely concerned that Splinter was not peacebonded. (I also worried a bit about this in advance.) But I reminded them that this is also a musical instrument (they already knew that, but) and they calmed down.

[maellenkleth]

Peacebonding a flute, hey? Well, "use not as weapon that which leaves the hand."

Would love to hear Splinter in action some time, he must make some amazing bass notes at that size!

I discovered quite by accident that I can play our new walking-stick if the wind is blowing strongly enough (like yesterday down at the plane-wharf); he is definitely not tuned to any recognisable system, though. Telescoping alloy tubes with lots of extra holes (some of which I added with a power-drill last night back home), and both the bottom rubbery tip and the top wooden handle can be unscrewed. Suspect, of course, this was not a deliberate design feature. But one wonders.....

[technoshaman.livejournal.com]

WOO HOO! You go, girl!

Good picks, too. Particularly Cherry Tree Train Station and General Taylor. (If we could get the right blend I'd love to work up General Taylor as a harmony... maybe do it together at Ory or next year's Conflikt... I don't think we've got time to get it this year, but if we was to jam on it and kept it up... )

[solarbird]

I went down there with a goal of performing mostly my own music, and did. If I can figure out what's wrong with the Nanosprint stuff, then I'd add that to the list.

I can lead on General Taylor really at any time. So on that, I'm pretty much ready to go.

[cafiorello.livejournal.com]

Nice work!

Cathy

[sar-anon.livejournal.com]

Congradulations. It's always difficult to play in front of an audiance, but Filkers tend to be a good one to choose.

Will you be coming to ConFlikt and playing there?
ConFlickt (http://conflikt.org/)

[solarbird]

Yeah, filkers are very tolerant, so I figure it's a good place to work out some of my ph33r issues.

Anna and I will probably be coming to ConFlict if she's recovered sufficiently from the radiation therapy. Otherwise I'll probably one-day it on Saturday alone.

[westrider.livejournal.com]

Congratulations! Performing, I think, is simultaneously one of the scariest and most rewarding things I've ever done. It got a lot easier after I figured out your key things learned point #4, though :)

[solarbird]

Got any other things I might need to learn? ^_^

[westrider.livejournal.com]

Depending on what I'm doing, sometimes it's easiest to focus just on the performance. (Piano recitals when I was a kid, and karate exams/demos are the two big ones there for me.) For other things, such as singing, and, I would suspect, flute playing, I find it helps if I pick one or two people in the audience and sing to them in specifically. Sometimes I use someone I know in the audience for this, other times just someone who seems to be particularly getting into it. If I'm singing a ballad or something, sometimes I'll pick someone just because she's a cute girl, because hey, it's worth a shot :)

Other than that, just practice. I've not found it any less stressful to perform, but it has gotten easier to manage that stress over the years. Most people say they totally can't tell that I'm nervous onstage, even though my stomach is usually churning as I go up there. Once I get going and get into the music, though, it gets easier again.

[solarbird]

Okay, thanks. I find singing significantly less stressful than the fluteplaying for some reason - possibly because I've done more of it, but I'm not sure. (Maybe just having been in front of a voice jury cured all my fears on the basis that NOTHING CAN COMPARE TO THE TERROR. ^_^ ) Or something. Who knows? ^_^

[westrider.livejournal.com]

Singing or Martial Arts demos are less stressful for me than the few times I've played Bass or Drums for an audience, or when I used to do Piano recitals. I think having to manipulate something external to your self adds a notch to the stress somehow.

Anyhow, good luck on future performances!

[solarbird]

Thanks ^_^