10.47
Hotel Acceptable, Greenville.
At the beginning of my day, an e-flurry. One of the incomings was an e-mail from a friend of long acquaintance re: tonight’s performance in Athens, GA: Call me & let’s get together.
How is it possible to explain the touring life? Briefly, touring is not a series of social visits and (in my touring days) no time is put aside for socialising. This is because I have no time, nor energy, for socialising.
Everywhere I go, there is usually at least one person I would enjoy meeting, and several that are better to avoid. Why? Because of the expectation & demand on my attention. But he’ll want to see me! is the reliable call I have heard at backstage security. If I were I to socialise with such as these, it would be a distraction & attention-energy drain from my proper work.
And yet when will I return to Athens with time for socialising? There are stories to be told of friendships ended when acquaintances came to shows expecting to be given my full attention & were angered when I turned my attention to others, and to my work.
So this evening, regrettably not.
From e-flurrying, to Greenville Main Street I…
II…
Main & Coffee Streets…
Coffee provider of the morning I…
11.54 On the road again: today, to Athens …
John affects confidence…
Are we lost yet?
John & biff are telling me how unaccommodating the crew were last night. Simply, they took no care in their work. The slideshow screen collapsed, so John had to reconstruct it. And at the end of the evening, when loading-out was required, they disappeared.
Apparently one source of ongoing conversation during the performance was the barman. For various reasons, he had reservations regarding his employment. Clearly, these seeped out of his mouth throughout most of the performance. The manager person appeared & apologised: if we had known, we might have done something is a summary of her position. Why didn’t management know? is a summary of my position.
Well, there we are. It took so many years to get to Greenville, what a pity this opportunity was not fully seized. But, this is a feature of virtually every night in my performing life. Opportunities are lost, never to return. As an aspirant musician working player, I experience this as tragedy. My commentaries on Paradises Lost are already extensive, so enough for now. Onwards to Athens! Or somewhere within the geographical proximity anyway.
15.04 Melting Point, Athens, GA.
Eddie by the back door…
Arriving, following various driving adventures around the locale, and eventually settling on a place we passed early in our wanderings.
Hospitality Suite I…
II…
II…
III…
IV…
V…
An enjoyable soup & salad lunch while Biff & John set up.
At last! The DGMLive.com cards are ready for putting out, on this the fourth performance. But the printing is blurred. What a pity. Another piece of shoddy, careless work that enters the world & which might easily have been otherwise, had greater care been expended.
Now, to soundcheck.
22.03 A very generous audience & a first: a demonstration of the Solar Voyager during the Q&A. And a new technical problem, another first.
No idea of the music. The event felt friendly even with some drunks & some conversationalists.
Four Quarters’ Maintainers: Rob, Mike, Mark & Paul.
Biff’s pix of the evening (courtesy of http://www.beeftone.com/)…
"Perfection is impossible.
But I may choose to serve perfection."
