I. Am. Exhausted.

[figmo]

There was a con this weekend. Last year I swore I wouldn't get involved. Those, of course, were famous last words. It had taken Dr. James all of about two weeks after last year's con to convince me to assist with Logistics.

I'm not going to do a detailed con report, as I'm sure lots of folks on LJ will write better reports, having seen more of the con than I did. My concert was on Sunday afternoon and I was sick, so I was mostly conserving my energy and voice for that half hour, save for the Cindy McQuillin memorial circle, where I'd planned on doing one song I knew wouldn't be in the concert (it was Cindy's favorite of my repertoire). I mostly missed the filk circles. I missed the Interfilk auction. I missed the Saturday Night Dinner Run.

I did, however, see lots of folks (way too many to mention unless I want to take up several paragraphs), catch up on lots of gossip, and learned some new dishy stuff. Obviously this stuff is Not For Publication. I don't spread info unless I've either witnessed something firsthand or have an accurate source I can reference, and while my sources were either firsthand or accurate, I don't have (or just plain didn't ask for) permission to reference.

The guests were all fantastic. daisy_knotwise and billroper were lots of fun. When I start talking with them I start wishing we lived closer so I could see more of them. singlemaltsilk has a really lovely voice. I wish my phone hadn't gone off near the start of her concert, as I'd wanted to catch all of it. She's another one I at least hope to run into more often. I'd have loved to spend more time chatting with her, but our schedules and my illness kept that from happening. As for Puzzlebox, I am sooooo glad we had an excuse to bring them all together. I don't know how they all kept their energy up all weekend. We expected them to do more tag-team toastmastering than they did (they'd usually go up together or in pairs), especially with all their kids! Wow. tell me your secret, please!

unclechristo was just plain amazing. A lot of folks missed his concert because it was scheduled at 7pm (when most folks in Silicon Valley are getting off work or are just finishing dinner at home before heading to the con). I was both entertained by him and learned a lot. At the "Get a Tune Out Of The Theremin" workshop I was able to get out a credible "Do Re Mi" from "The Sound of Music." Later on during the convention when he told me most of his pro performer friends work five jobs I felt better about "only" having three. My most "off" line at the con came at his expense.

I'd been rounding up folks throughout the con for the sound crew. We were trying to get unclechristo to fetch his guitar before it got locked away with the sound equipment. I was about to go get him when he came around the corner towards me. I led him straight to the ballroom and proclaimed, "I'm getting good at this. I made Christo come real fast." I hadn't realized what I'd said till the entire room doubled over laughing.

After he caught his breath, it_aint_easy remarked, "And he's barely panting."

Eeep.

I avoided mushrooms this weekend mostly by not eating. This would have been unwise, but for some odd reason my blood sugar stayed level (I was checking it; even after not eating most of Saturday it was at 105 when I went to bed!). I don't know whether my hypoglycemia has levelled out or I've gone diabetic. If it's the former, cool! If the latter, uh-oh.

The folks from the crew filming (or videotaping) us were cool. They blended in amazingly well. I probably babbled like an idiot in my interview with them because they got me right after my concert when my blood sugar was in the basement.

cadhla looked amazing. She's lost a lot of weight and has clearly done it The Right Way (slowly, and with lots of exercise). Usually she does lots of costume changes during the con. This time she seemed to save most of them for her concert. I wish I had been on before her instead of after. It felt like the room had emptied out when I went on, which sucked doody. Lots of the folks leaving had to catch flights. It's also hard to be merely outrageous when you're alone on stage, sick, and lower-than-usual energy and you're on after a group of young, cute, and outrageous folks. (I was too tired to do my choreography and costume changes this time.) At least the film crew started up after the infamous "Hawaiian Windbreaker Song." I wish my stringed instruments hadn't gone out of tune while I was on stage.

The closing number of my concert had the desired surprise effect. I'd wanted to do the theremin and saw (aka "analong theremin") duet with unclechristo at Sixteen Tones, but it turned out the U.S. authorities would likely not have let me fly with the saw. If you are wondering what I'm talking about, you'll likely have to wait till Baycon or Worldcon to experience "cutting edge filk" for yourself.

Comments

[peteralway.livejournal.com]

the theremin and saw (aka "analong theremin") duet with unclechristo

wow. I wish I could have been there.

[mdlbear]

It would be more accurate to call a saw an "acoustic theremin" -- the theremin's circuitry is 100% analog.

cadhla's concert was the stuff of which fannish legends are made. I'm surprised there aren't filksongs about it yet.

[figmo.livejournal.com]

You're absolutely right on both counts.

As for the saw -- remember where you bought it?

[capplor.livejournal.com]

The INTERNATIONAL Musical SawFest. We ought to be able to contact someone there to tell you how you travel with a saw. (Yes, I know YOU bought it before 9/11, but we've been back, and there are still international participants playing their own instruments.) Of course, that won't help with the lug-factor, but depending on the con, it would be worth it.

Re: As for the saw -- remember where you bought it?

[figmo.livejournal.com]

Good point.

The lug factor isn't much of a problem, as it fits neatly into my large suitcase and takes up very little room.

The factor I was concerned about was the "airport security goon" factor.

Brainstorming

[capplor.livejournal.com]

Were you around when Christo was talking about "always pack the manual with the theremin, so security checkers know it isn't a bomb"? I know your "instrument quality" saw is not sharpened, so I wonder if there isn't a way to make it look more like music and less like an implement of distruction. Make sure you have some music with it? Put the bow right next to it? Be prepared to sound at least somewhat musical upon being questioned?

People DO pack guns (NOT in carry-on) for hunting trips. If there's a legal way to do that, there must be a way to carry the saw. In fact, I understand that the hardshell case for Fred's "singing sword" is an off-the-shelf gun case (which I don't expect you to have recognised any more than I did).

Re: Brainstorming

[figmo.livejournal.com]

The problem I had was when I was going to 16 Tones I wasn't proficient enough in the playing of the saw to prove it was a musical instrument [insert sheepish look here].

Re: As for the saw -- remember where you bought it?

[mdlbear]

Shouldn't be a problem at all, as long as the bag is checked. Taking it in a carryon would require packing the bow and maybe an article on musical saws.

[bovil.livejournal.com]

Keep us appraised of con reports, we would have loved to go, but cleaning got in the way and then other things got in the way of cleaning.

If there's a particularly good con report, send the link to SF/SF <sfinsf (at) gmail.com>; they're always looking for articles on bay-area events and will likely contact the poster about reprinting it.

[johno.livejournal.com]

We are working on a list of con reports, at which point we'll submit the link to that list.

[tigertoy.livejournal.com]

A filker playing the saw. You rock. Hope I get to see/hear it someday.

[figmo.livejournal.com]

Going to Worldcon? I will bring the saw.

[tigertoy.livejournal.com]

Not this year. Not til it's in driving distance, which will be never if the WSFS has their way.

[jerusha.livejournal.com]

Chicago is bidding in '08.

[figmo.livejournal.com]

Thanks for pointing that out. I was thinking the same thing, only that particular bid war has two other opposing bids.

OTOH, one of them (Columbus) would also be within driving distance for tigertoy, IIRC.

[johno.livejournal.com]

Just covering the bases, do we have your permission to add a link to this post to Consonances list of con reports?

[figmo.livejournal.com]

Of course you do! I consider anything I post publicly to be linkable.