7.23.2004
Acoustic Tour 2004: Los Angeles, CA
Tuesday, July 20, 2004 – Tuesday Night Café, Downtown Los Angeles CA
Amazing. I couldn’t have wished for a better group of people to hang out with. Wow. We pulled into the parking lot of the Union Center for the Arts and walked into the Aratani courtyard where I was to do a quick sound check before the show. Tuesday Night Café is a variety show of sorts with a perfect mix of spoken word artists, comedy sketches, poets, and music – all organized by founder Traci Kato-Kiriyama, a performance artist & writer herself, and hosted by her friends (and partners in zero3) Edren Sumagaysay and Kennedy Kabasares. I’m always nervous about new situations and new venues – mostly because I want to give a good performance. For acoustic music in particular, this usually starts with a smile and a good sound system. I had no idea of the extent to which I was to be spoiled. I met Glenn Suravech, the soundman with the midas touch, and he hooked me up. I can’t emphasize how much this helps a performer. To have a sweet sound system, soundperson, and a monitor makes you wanna sing gospel music (ALLELUIAH) ‘til dawn. Thank you Glenn, thank you!
The bueno-ness didn’t stop there. Our friends (and generous hosts) Gertie and Jenny had assembled a group of friends to check out the show and my Kauai-sistah Kaliko and Cali-grrl Liz brought their aloha as well. Performances by local comedy improv group Cold Tofu had us rolling in our seats and spoken word artist Melinda Corazon Foley wowed us with her cadence and passionately direct poems (this woman is fantastic!). But the evening was not without it’s embarrassing moment. One of the open mic poets was named Camille. Now, I’ve never found myself jumping up to someone else’s name (My name is pronounced kuh-mee-oh, with an emphasis on the “ee”) but that night I did, flustered and anxious, thinking “This is it, I’m up!”. I grabbed my guitar and took a leap towards the stage when I noticed another woman standing at the mic. For a split second, I thought this woman was going to take my spot in the show. Bewildered, I slowly took a few steps backwards where Kennedy was waiting to tell me that I didn’t go on until later and showed me Camille’s name on the schedule. *DOAH* Camille. I felt like a COMPLETE idiot. So I tried to act cool and casually stepped to the side to turn and stroll to the parking lot to practice. Unfortunately, I also had a 10-foot instrument cable in my hand (wouldn’t need that in the parking lot!) which I tried to roll up with one hand (my other hand gripped my guitar). Strolling, juggling, and bright-red, I tripped over to our rental car and calmed myself with a couple practice tunes.
Ah. Much better.
So when it was my turn, I looked both ways, then stepped up to the mic, plugged in, and began my 3-song set. The audience was great. I saw them keeping time with their heads and feet with smiles for miles. I even got an encore! After the show, we all went over to Weiland’s, a local watering hole, where we enjoyed chicken quesadillas, beer, and awesome conversation. It all came together wonderfully. We were sad to leave such cool company but when Thursday morning came, we packed up the Cavalier (utilizing the ancient engineering technique “squish-untilitfits”), said our see-you-again-soons to Gertie and Jenny, and hit the road. Thank you to all who came to the show – you made us feel right at home:)
San Francisco, here we come!
Amazing. I couldn’t have wished for a better group of people to hang out with. Wow. We pulled into the parking lot of the Union Center for the Arts and walked into the Aratani courtyard where I was to do a quick sound check before the show. Tuesday Night Café is a variety show of sorts with a perfect mix of spoken word artists, comedy sketches, poets, and music – all organized by founder Traci Kato-Kiriyama, a performance artist & writer herself, and hosted by her friends (and partners in zero3) Edren Sumagaysay and Kennedy Kabasares. I’m always nervous about new situations and new venues – mostly because I want to give a good performance. For acoustic music in particular, this usually starts with a smile and a good sound system. I had no idea of the extent to which I was to be spoiled. I met Glenn Suravech, the soundman with the midas touch, and he hooked me up. I can’t emphasize how much this helps a performer. To have a sweet sound system, soundperson, and a monitor makes you wanna sing gospel music (ALLELUIAH) ‘til dawn. Thank you Glenn, thank you!
The bueno-ness didn’t stop there. Our friends (and generous hosts) Gertie and Jenny had assembled a group of friends to check out the show and my Kauai-sistah Kaliko and Cali-grrl Liz brought their aloha as well. Performances by local comedy improv group Cold Tofu had us rolling in our seats and spoken word artist Melinda Corazon Foley wowed us with her cadence and passionately direct poems (this woman is fantastic!). But the evening was not without it’s embarrassing moment. One of the open mic poets was named Camille. Now, I’ve never found myself jumping up to someone else’s name (My name is pronounced kuh-mee-oh, with an emphasis on the “ee”) but that night I did, flustered and anxious, thinking “This is it, I’m up!”. I grabbed my guitar and took a leap towards the stage when I noticed another woman standing at the mic. For a split second, I thought this woman was going to take my spot in the show. Bewildered, I slowly took a few steps backwards where Kennedy was waiting to tell me that I didn’t go on until later and showed me Camille’s name on the schedule. *DOAH* Camille. I felt like a COMPLETE idiot. So I tried to act cool and casually stepped to the side to turn and stroll to the parking lot to practice. Unfortunately, I also had a 10-foot instrument cable in my hand (wouldn’t need that in the parking lot!) which I tried to roll up with one hand (my other hand gripped my guitar). Strolling, juggling, and bright-red, I tripped over to our rental car and calmed myself with a couple practice tunes.
Ah. Much better.
So when it was my turn, I looked both ways, then stepped up to the mic, plugged in, and began my 3-song set. The audience was great. I saw them keeping time with their heads and feet with smiles for miles. I even got an encore! After the show, we all went over to Weiland’s, a local watering hole, where we enjoyed chicken quesadillas, beer, and awesome conversation. It all came together wonderfully. We were sad to leave such cool company but when Thursday morning came, we packed up the Cavalier (utilizing the ancient engineering technique “squish-untilitfits”), said our see-you-again-soons to Gertie and Jenny, and hit the road. Thank you to all who came to the show – you made us feel right at home:)
San Francisco, here we come!
