Singer's Night Part 2

I need to apologize for yesterday's post. It was a bad night but not nearly as bad as I made it out to be. Perhaps a bad tech night is necessary for a successful concert. While I would desperately wish that to not be true, I walked away from the rehearsal feeling awful and convinced that it sounded awful. It even sounded bad in sound check the next day. Then like magic the show starts and it was fine. Better than fine, I was so pleasantly surprised I actually enjoyed myself during the concert. All of the bad things from the day before were washed away and I was reminded of why I enjoy this concert so much. There is a real celebration of singers at Singer's Night. The music was interesting, diverse and there was a lot of love coming from the audience. This was best exemplified by kid who sang "Bust the Windows" who had the audience screaming the whole time. I had to throw my hands up because there was no way to mix over the noise. But how awesome is that! I was suddenly transported to some pop star arena concert. I didn't even know what happened but I loved it. I wish more berklee musicians got that kind of love.

Singer's Night Part 1

      I'm tired. Dog tired. Can't even muster the energy to be annoyed that this rehearsal is running late. Keeping me away from my baby boy. Sorry, I know it's a bit melodramatic but that is how I feel.   It's so inconsiderate and people just don't understand.  Yes it is my job to be here and put up with this nightmare.  However it is my nightmare only up to a certain point, where I then go home and live my life.  Which believe it our not does not involve your concert or any concert for that matter.  Professional courtesy is what it boils down to and it always seems to be lacking here at the BPC.  I am constantly inconvenienced, condescended to, second guessed, and at times blatantly disrespected and belittled.  Mine is not the nicest of jobs.  With all of it's perks there are some serious lumps. And the more I work here the less patience I have for it.  Yes I know what I'm doing and yes I will only put one microphone over your congas. Why? Because, in a concert titled Singer's Night, the balance between the low and hi congas is pretty far down on my priority list.  Right after making the third rhythm guitar audible over the organ, piano, Rhodes and the two other guitars that are all playing the same part. It is so frustrating being in this position, because I want it to sound good, but I can only do so much.  Then the assumption is that I don't know what I'm doing, and thus the cycle starts.  Dealing with students makes it difficult since (ironically) they don't know what they are doing and that inevitably affects my presentation.  Bad mic technique, out of my control; inappropriate monitor request (i.e. percussionist asking for violins. Do you really need to hear the violins) out of my control; obscenely loud amps, all of these things combine to make me look bad come the day of the show.  To be fair the singer's night staff is very hands on when it comes to fixing performance issues. But all the talk in the world isn't going to make any difference in a day. So unfortunately I have to stay for an unnecessarily long "tech night" and pray for a good show tomorrow. Wish me luck.

Folk It Up (title courtesy of BPC Facebook page)

      Preparedness is the key to a hassle free night in the BPC. I know I'm like a broken record about this but it's the only way I could think of to put the concert into perspective. Twelve bands, with twelve entirely different set ups, instrumentations, and needs. Ordinarily I relish the chance to not mix a show like that, but this time being on stage was soooo much worse. Although kudos to Alejo for making something beautiful out of a difficult situation. My job for the two nights was to wrangle 48 channels and attempt to bring some order to the chaos. This night more than any other really exposes the stage hands. There is nothing worse than the awkwardness of knowing everyone in the audience is watching you scramble to set up a band. I especially love the MC turning to us realizing we're not done and then searching for something to say to fill the time. Favorite quote of the evening... "I got nothin!" 
    
        My dream is to one time do this concert seamlessly. No misplaced microphones, ( 90% of the time when the mix sounded funny it was my fault not the sound guy's. My bad Alejo.) no scurrying off stage when the band starts before I'm finished setting up, and we would end on time!Of course I would also like to have a million dollars; win an Oscar... see a pig fly, but dreaming and achieving are to different things. Making my dream a reality would require more time and coordination from the beginning which given everyone's time constraints is a lot to ask. So the real question becomes is it worth it? The show was successful. There were very few problems on our end, it sounded great. So aside from running me ragged and going over time is there really a need to change the way we prepare for this show. Ordinarily I'd say no, it's fine how it is, but I love this show.  It inspires me every year to learn more about how music influences our culture. I get excited about discovering new styles and stories. I watch from back stage and envision a spectacular show where each act culminates in a single message: that even though we're different, there are universal things that bind us. When I first started working here I introduced the slide show of pictures from each country, with the goal of showing how despite their differences there are many things that are similar in each country.  Kind of like "It's a small world" in picture form. What I would love is for the concert to take the audience on a journey, one of education, transportation and ultimately entertainment. A perfect example of this was Italy's performance. From the moment the announcer stepped on the stage you were in a different place. His introduction capturing the theme perfectly, he included everyone, we were all Italian at that moment. Each country should be presented like this. It's about more than the music. The students should be challenged to really represent their country and tell the story of a time, a place and it's people. There should be less bands and longer sets. Each group should have a thorough well-written introduction, and frankly the awards and speeches at the beginning needed to be shortened, or done away with completely. Yes it was a good show, as it always is, but why settle for goodness when it could be great.