Marriot Downtown West Street NYC
09.49
Marriot Downtown, 85, West Street, NYC.
Rising at 06.55 from a busy night with Bill Bruford.
To the Club on the top floor, with Statue Of Liberty in the distance I…
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… and industrial-scale air-conditioning plant nearer than that…
Reading breakfast I…
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Top-floor views to the north-east I…
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Lobby call with the Director of Children Of Chaos Security Services at 12.15.
15.04 Punctual departure from the lobby…
… with Sister Patricia providing additional artist support & protection…
One block north of the hotel is the walkway to the World Financial Center…
… by Ground Zero I…
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Entering the WFC Atrium…
… with parties of visitors…
Descending…
… to the Dressing Room Of The Star…
Soundcheck c. 10.30, returning to tune at noon. In addition to those who work here & visitors, audients were also arriving. (Pix courtesy of Michael Black) I…
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What’s wrong with this poster (of the Prog-Rock Legend King Crimson Guitarist)?...
… other than the words Prog-Rock Legend, that is.
Walking back to the dressing room, a man approached: Mr. Fripp – can I have your autograph? The Children Of Chaos Security Team were on hand – Tony, Dev, Terry, Director Tom & Marcello, doubling as security in addition to supporting Mr. Beefy at FOH.
John Schaeffer walked onstage at 12.27 to introduce the event on behalf of NPR, to acknowledge the sponsors of the event, and to request no recording or flash photography. I note, many photographers were already in action by this point, and continuing.
Soundcapes for c. 50 minutes, respectfully received. Pix from the Soundboard:
The Beginning…
The Middle…
The End…
Immediately afterwards, Mr. Can I have your autograph? Guy was back to pounce & make demands inappropriate to time, place & persons, while clutching what looked like sleeves to vinyl albums of the well-fondled-in-the-privacy-of-my-chamber kind.
The WFC staff are excellent.
Light lunch with Patricia & Tom, overlooking the space…
Returning to the hotel for gentling, and discovering the Club is closed for the weekend. Oh no!
Lobby call for 17.15.
21.23 Punctual departure & arriving I…
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… for Soundcheck at 17.30 I…
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Returning to the stage to at 18.30 for tuning, which was changing a great deal as the temperature fell.
John Schaefer introduced the set, beginning at 19.00. A very different feel to lunchtime, c. 56 minutes to a supportive audience. FOH Mr. Biffy was happy & would not lie.
Pix from FOH:
The Beginning…
The Middle…
The End…
Even with a well-behaved audience, an event in public space is vulnerable, this without factors such as photography et al becoming active. The Four Quarters’ Maintainers of Tony, Dev & Terry were working well under All Quarters’ Maintainer Tom to protect the performance & performer. From?
There were some strange little mistakes. I note: this is often when someone is disturbing the atmosphere, usually by photography & viddying. How this happens is subtle & connected primarily to intentionality, personal presence & the capacity to engage the volitional attention for a period of time. In other words, an audient’s quality of willing, being & functioning.
Many fans have historically objected to the suggestion that shifts in audient attention generate “disproportionate” repercussions; particularly fans who have handed over their hard-earned pay & have the right to make legitimate demands on who they want for what they want and when & how they want it because they have paid something to someone who might eventually pass a little of it to the artist (or not) – and this gives them the right! Some might find it surprising that this demand continues even where nothing has been handed over by the audient, as at the WFC with its free programmes. Nevertheless, I privilege my own experiencing from playing in public on four continents over a period of five decades, to that of e.g. the autograph hunter who appeared once again after this evening’s performance. It was the same autograph-seeker as at lunchtime, although he was now wearing a different body.
A rich day in what-was-formerly a secular cathedral and is now sacred space, perhaps comparable to a churchyard or war grave. When I looked at the teams of people visiting, I saw pilgrimage. The resonances here are powerful. More tomorrow.
Returning to the hotel lobby with Patricia & Director Tom I…
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Afterwards, presents of high-action DVDs were given to the Sistery Person, honouring our childhood of Saturday afternoon cinema-going in the Bournemouth area. Father Arthur drove us to our carefully-selected viewing-choices, exposure to which has most likely scarred our psyches with continuing consequences; only one of which is our choice of B-movies, now as post-mature siblings.
To settle.
