Organ Grinders Ball
This was the second year I have attended the Organ Grinders Ball. AJ played didjeridoo and drums. Last year performers were given a complimentary ticket for SOs (or friends), but this year the venue (The Grid) was much smaller (I think about 1/3 or 1/4 the previous size), so performers were given $10 discount tickets for their friends. It was so small that the "backstage" area had to be created by pavilions in the loading dock. The one rented pavilion (10x20) was too small for the several dozen performers, so AJ and I brought two carports that "saved the day." So instead of the $10 discount ticket, I was signed up under the performers contract.
I spent the performance on the edge of the audience people-watching while playing "bouncer" to the backstage (being too small as space to admit "friends"). It was amusing to stand there filling up the interstitial area so that the drunken weirdoes could not get past without being rude. There were a few whose curiosity about the "mysterious backstage" (yeah, broken glass on uneven wet cement under inadequate shelter!) played over their faces, but they were too intimidated by my serene smile to try anything. I also loved using the performers and friends of performers as passive buffer zones against the masses. The friends thought they were priviledged to be permitted so close.
I got to see the entire show from my position -- staring at the performers made it easier to casually direct attention away from backstage and towards the main attractions.
"Interesting" audience members:
Batman's Robin: obviously home-made outfit made out of felt. Complete with felt mask. Seemed to be in his late-30's to early 40's. Made no effort to talk to people but seemed to wait for "the right person" to break the ice. He was curious about the backstage, but was unfailingly polite and never once tried to get past me. I used him as a buffer. At one point a guy surrounded by his harem of popular-looking girls actually tried to engage him in conversation (looking to impress the girls with his compassion for "losers").
Harem guy -- Short, balding: wore a plastic animal mask (my kid bought a couple from the zoo for $3 each). What did his harem of Winx girls see in him? Money?
Blond-Yanni guy: another guy surrounded by a harem. Shoulder-length mane streaked with grey. Probably around 50. Girls were in their 20's. I had to ask him to remove his bottled water from the stage more than once, but the girls kept him in check after that (coolness-factor modifies behavior).
Tweaker hippie matron: dresses like an aging hippie (whose clothes have been in continuous usage since the 60's). She was hopped up on something other than what the bar served. Looked a bit like the subway people in several near-future corporate-government movies. Tried once to get backstage (one of the drummers is an acquaintance of hers, legitimately). Afterwards, she kept staring at me, cowed by my Authority-Figureness (and whatever tweaked out thoughts were running through her head).
Diaper guy -- white hair underneath a baby bonnet (50-ish). Seriously, the guy was wearing baggy rubber pants. Like the sort that cover cloth diapers -- elastic waist & thighs. Only bigger. White with lace accents. I didn't have to deal with him face-to-face, but some of the performers familiar with "the scene" tell me he's just as creepy as he looks.
House-of-Blues SIP (self-important person): the day-job boss of the backstage director. I was just as polite to him as I was to the other friends. I wasn't impressed. He and another "friend" were just drunk enough to need reminding that there were performers who needed to get access to the stage... They tried shaking my confidence by making fun of me. I blinked at them with my Mona Lisa smile and made sure they stayed out of the performers' way.
Vinyl chest guy: looks like latex. Fails miserably. Tried several times to push past me. My palm print smudges itself all over his skinny chest. "Are you a performer?" [no verbal response] "Then I'm sorry, you'll have to stay out of this area -- there isn't enough space for any one else."
The performers were awesome. Darius looked like he had gotten the best treat in the world being able to work the audience into a frenzy. Franklyn was at his professional best. The stilt-walkers had a wonderfully acrobatic routine -- I don't envy them wading through the feathers, hard-candies and condoms on the floor. There was the cute candystriper wearing nothing but strategically-placed swirly lolly-pops. A cowboy scene complete with riding saddle. And the models were all shapes and sizes to fit every taste (not just Hollywood Twiggy). The music was similarly all over the map, from grunge to burlesque to middle-eastern, etc.
After the performance, all the people in charge packed up and left. Leaving a half-empty changing room with many lost-and-not-found. Many things were tossed in the garbage. Luckily Klaus & Michelle stayed to help us de-construct the canopies. We just carried the rest of the mess inside to let The Grid employees (who were actually paid) to deal with it. We didn't get home until 4AM, but I was still jazzed up from the evening. Got to bed around 5AM. Got to sleep at 6AM. But up again at 10AM to eat a huge breakfast before AJ's 1PM mead class at the Crystal Goddess (unpacking the hastily packed car beforehand). Whew!
We ended the day at Tredara, helping a little in the yard and hanging out in the barn discussing grove stuff. Lady Raven, her husband Tom, Jaysen and Stacy showed up, too. AJ was a little difficult to maneuver out of there when I knew we had to leave before I was too sleepy to drive. Put on Howls' Moving Castle -- and again I managed not to see it until the end. Maybe today.
I spent the performance on the edge of the audience people-watching while playing "bouncer" to the backstage (being too small as space to admit "friends"). It was amusing to stand there filling up the interstitial area so that the drunken weirdoes could not get past without being rude. There were a few whose curiosity about the "mysterious backstage" (yeah, broken glass on uneven wet cement under inadequate shelter!) played over their faces, but they were too intimidated by my serene smile to try anything. I also loved using the performers and friends of performers as passive buffer zones against the masses. The friends thought they were priviledged to be permitted so close.
I got to see the entire show from my position -- staring at the performers made it easier to casually direct attention away from backstage and towards the main attractions.
"Interesting" audience members:
Batman's Robin: obviously home-made outfit made out of felt. Complete with felt mask. Seemed to be in his late-30's to early 40's. Made no effort to talk to people but seemed to wait for "the right person" to break the ice. He was curious about the backstage, but was unfailingly polite and never once tried to get past me. I used him as a buffer. At one point a guy surrounded by his harem of popular-looking girls actually tried to engage him in conversation (looking to impress the girls with his compassion for "losers").
Harem guy -- Short, balding: wore a plastic animal mask (my kid bought a couple from the zoo for $3 each). What did his harem of Winx girls see in him? Money?
Blond-Yanni guy: another guy surrounded by a harem. Shoulder-length mane streaked with grey. Probably around 50. Girls were in their 20's. I had to ask him to remove his bottled water from the stage more than once, but the girls kept him in check after that (coolness-factor modifies behavior).
Tweaker hippie matron: dresses like an aging hippie (whose clothes have been in continuous usage since the 60's). She was hopped up on something other than what the bar served. Looked a bit like the subway people in several near-future corporate-government movies. Tried once to get backstage (one of the drummers is an acquaintance of hers, legitimately). Afterwards, she kept staring at me, cowed by my Authority-Figureness (and whatever tweaked out thoughts were running through her head).
Diaper guy -- white hair underneath a baby bonnet (50-ish). Seriously, the guy was wearing baggy rubber pants. Like the sort that cover cloth diapers -- elastic waist & thighs. Only bigger. White with lace accents. I didn't have to deal with him face-to-face, but some of the performers familiar with "the scene" tell me he's just as creepy as he looks.
House-of-Blues SIP (self-important person): the day-job boss of the backstage director. I was just as polite to him as I was to the other friends. I wasn't impressed. He and another "friend" were just drunk enough to need reminding that there were performers who needed to get access to the stage... They tried shaking my confidence by making fun of me. I blinked at them with my Mona Lisa smile and made sure they stayed out of the performers' way.
Vinyl chest guy: looks like latex. Fails miserably. Tried several times to push past me. My palm print smudges itself all over his skinny chest. "Are you a performer?" [no verbal response] "Then I'm sorry, you'll have to stay out of this area -- there isn't enough space for any one else."
The performers were awesome. Darius looked like he had gotten the best treat in the world being able to work the audience into a frenzy. Franklyn was at his professional best. The stilt-walkers had a wonderfully acrobatic routine -- I don't envy them wading through the feathers, hard-candies and condoms on the floor. There was the cute candystriper wearing nothing but strategically-placed swirly lolly-pops. A cowboy scene complete with riding saddle. And the models were all shapes and sizes to fit every taste (not just Hollywood Twiggy). The music was similarly all over the map, from grunge to burlesque to middle-eastern, etc.
After the performance, all the people in charge packed up and left. Leaving a half-empty changing room with many lost-and-not-found. Many things were tossed in the garbage. Luckily Klaus & Michelle stayed to help us de-construct the canopies. We just carried the rest of the mess inside to let The Grid employees (who were actually paid) to deal with it. We didn't get home until 4AM, but I was still jazzed up from the evening. Got to bed around 5AM. Got to sleep at 6AM. But up again at 10AM to eat a huge breakfast before AJ's 1PM mead class at the Crystal Goddess (unpacking the hastily packed car beforehand). Whew!
We ended the day at Tredara, helping a little in the yard and hanging out in the barn discussing grove stuff. Lady Raven, her husband Tom, Jaysen and Stacy showed up, too. AJ was a little difficult to maneuver out of there when I knew we had to leave before I was too sleepy to drive. Put on Howls' Moving Castle -- and again I managed not to see it until the end. Maybe today.