We got to the venue pretty early (for once), which was really nice, b/c we had time to properly set up (and it was here that things first began to go awry for me) ... during setup it turned out that my 1/4 to 1/8th cable for my cello was crapping out & that I needed a 2nd one for my keyboards ... so we sent a friend to get some cables at the local music store... only it turned the local music store was closed, and he had to stop by Radio Shack & get some very low-quality 1/8th inch cables and then adaptors... yikes!! Those were so short that I had to actually strap my tuning pedal *to my cello* (it would then later come off when I rocked out too much during The Mechanic)... on top of that, the Keyboards kept disappearing, and the organ pedal was getting all this noise & mucking everything up... add to that the fact that we had worked out the keyboard rig, vocal harmonies & decided I was gonna play accordion on Feria Cinerum 2 days before... it was a recipe for chaos... I trooped through it though, and the rest of the band played awesomely & the crowd was great
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| Playing Accordion on stage for the first time in my life |
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| That moment when your cello life says "Let's be crazy" & you say "Yeah, let's do this!" |
For me, the highlight of the night was seeing Anthime Miller ... A cellist singer-songwriter ... he did a lot of badass covers, and some originals. It was a really inspiring set!! I've seen and heard tons of cellists over the years ... very few play as if they are deeply in love with their instrument ... this guy played with heart & style & with the technique of a true bad ass ... I felt like I had simultaneously met a kindred spirit & found someone whose greatness I could aspire to (I even got to try his ancient cello later in the evening ... what a *beautiful* instrument)...
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| Anthime Miller - Bad Ass Cellist & the highlight of my night |
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| Cello Robare... just doesn't have the same ring to it... |
The rest of the weekend involved great conversation & food, and hanging out in the woods by Alex's Folks ... we shot rifles, which was an interesting experience for me (having never held a gun in my life before) ... not something I think I'm likely to fall in love with, but definitely glad to have tried...
So that was last weekend ... this weekend I came back home and played with Eli August for the CD Release... we were originally supposed to play in Massachussetts the night, however the show was cancelled due to hazardous weather, so Alas, it was just New York ...
NYC more than made up for it... Brooklyn Fireproof was where it was at!! We had a really strong turnout & everyone was dancing, clapping, singing or cheering along ... the band was tight, everyone was having fun ... Baroque & Hungry opened & were amazing fun as usual... I started some clapping mayhem during their set (assisted by Robare) ... I started some clapping mayhem during our set (again assisted by Robare) ... B&H joined us for a song during our set, with great affect ... So many of the Steampunk Family came out ... proceeds went to the NY 19th Century Society's educational programming (who helped sponsor the event) ... Through my Ninja Cam, I learned that I can play a set drunk & without monitors & still play well (Important things to know)... all in all, a really fun & *amazing* night
Some pics from the show (taken by a friend):
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| Baroque & Hungry joined us for the Behemoth version of Eli August & The Abandoned Buildings |
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| You can't tell, but I was making a <3 symbol w/ my hands... |
Here's some photos from the rehearsal that preceded the show:
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| I missed Alex in this one... he was probably drinking anyway... |
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| Robare playing accordion while Mell writes out lyrics for Eli |
Catch ya on the road!!
