![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Darkover
Some of the usual suspects weren't there this year; ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif){kind=small}
osewalrus
and beckyfeld (and Aaron, who I presume does not have an LJ)
spent the weekend elsewhere, and there didn't seem to be a visible
Shabbat crowd this year. I noticed that this year they didn't bother
to schedule one of the function rooms for a Shabbat evening service as
has happened in past years.
That's actually fine with me; that service weirds me out a little. You see, this con has a strong pagan/wiccan presence (forgive my lack of specificity; I honestly don't know), and they have one room set aside for a track of programming on this theme. That's where they put the Shabbat service. But the first thing that happens in that room is something called "setting the wards", and that sems like it's consecrating the space for some other religion. I don't like to pray on other people's consecrated spaces. So if there were Jewish services in some neutral space I'd happily attend or even lead, but the population is small enough that I really wouldn't expect the convention to provide anyway. The people who care will all fit in a hotel room.
When we talked with Cliff (the person in charge of the music program) about scheduling, we declined a Friday-night concert because we thought Robert might have to come late. (When you've got relatives coming from overseas, you want to spend time with them.) But it turned uot he could go down Friday, so when we walked in Cliff spotted us and said "you're not supposed to be here!". So after a group huddle we offered to do a short set Friday night in addition to the one scheduled on Saturday. That was fun -- we had a few songs in our back pockets that we didn't put into the set but suspected might get requested, so we took some of those, a couple songs that were new this year, and one or two others and built a set in about ten minutes. The other constraint was that we wanted to do this one with as few large instruments as possible (easier on us and easier on the sound people); we ended up doing it with just guitar, some woodwinds, and some percussion (and singing, of course). We announced ourselves as "On the Mark Light".
We had a nearly-full house for our concert on Saturday, which was nice. And they even sang along on the choruses, even the ones they didn't previously know -- certainly a sign of a good audience. I think the performance went pretty well. One of our new songs, "Silly Slang Song" by Eric Bogle, got lots of laughs. (That's enough to google the lyrics; I'm unaware of an online recording, so think "perky music" when you read them.) "Rasputin's HMO" (Austin Lounge Lizards) got lots of laughs even though we've done it there a few times. And "The Goddess Done Left Me" was well-suited for this particular con; that went over well. (We did serious stuff too, including "Neptune Rex", written in response to Katrina, and "The Reeds at Runnymede", because it's good to think about the role of your country's rulers from time to time.)
I finally met kyleri after the concert, though alas, I didn't
see her again. I also ran into dr_zrfq,
pedropadrao, sister_devora, dglenn,
gorgeousgary and his wife Sheryl (I don't know if she's
on LJ), and probably some other LJ folks I'm blanking on right now.
I also got to spend time chatting with Cyrstal Paul and Steve Brinoch,
which was nice; I don't think I've seen them in two years, and it sounds
like they've been busy. I also spent some time chatting with Dorigen
-- and of course Cliff and assorted other people, but this started out
as an LJ list before mutating so I'll stop trying to list people now.
Our concert was followed (in the same room) by an instrumental jam session, led by Bob Esty (of Clam Chowder). So we moved the instruments aside to form a circle and stayed for that. This was a lot of fun. I was worried that I wouldn't know the right sorts of music; I was imagining something like an Irish session, I think -- lots of jigs and reels and hornpipes from the 18th and 19th centuries ("traditional"). I enjoy it; I just don't know it. But we did a bunch of English country dances too, and some of the ones I didn't know were easy to do something compatable with on the dulcimer, and for the rest I had percussion. People were good about announcing keys.
At one point I found myself leading a medley (a specific one that Bob had suggested, knowing that On the Mark performs it). Now when you plan a performance you (or at least we) map it out -- N times through this, then switch and do M times through that, and so on. But jams/sessions are much more organic, and I either learned or noticed a clue at this one. (On reflection: noticed.) Shortly before I was going to call out a change in tune, I noticed another musician change instruments. This said to me "wants to experiment with this one a bit longer", so I didn't switch. When you're playing in a group it's not enough to notice whether there are tuning or pacing issues or whether a lot of people seem to be floundering or sitting out. You also have to pick up on the subtler stuff, if you want people to think of you favorably when it's your turn to lead. You can always tell, in something like this, which people think they're participants and which think they're performers with a back-up group; you never want to be the latter.
Later in the day was a regency ball (this is a Darkover tradition). This year I played for it, but having recently played for more than two hours (concert + jam) and then shlepped the dulcimer upstairs, I decided to do percussion. (They had enough melodic instruments, else I would have fetched the dulcimer.) That turned out to be a good call on two counts. First, the temperature in the room was wacky, and the dulcimer probably would have been out of tune within half an hour anyway. And second, I got to do a nice variety of things with "just" percussion, and some people noticed. You can do a lot with a tambourine, for instance; you've got the head, you've got jingles (which you can mute or let go), and you've got the edge. And that's without getting into the different things you can do with your hand (or a stick) when beating the head. Fun stuff. (I also had a small drum, which I used when it didn't seem to be colliding with other instruments in the same pitch range, and finger cymbals.)
A people-watching note: men dressed in regency-era clothing look really elegant while danicng. I don't know whether the effect is less pronounced for women or if there just weren't any women there in proper regency garb. (I don't know what proper regency women's clothing looks like.) But at least for the men, the clothing makes a huge difference. And when they also know how to dance... nice.
The Clam Chowder concert Saturday night was a lot of fun. They've got a bunch of new material since last I heard them. They also do charity fundraising every year (for the local children's hospital), through a combination of auctions and direct donations, and this year they raised over $5000. Not bad for a con with probably under 400 people, many of whom are probably un(der)-employed! The fans have also set a goal for next year; during the concert the subject of John Huff singing "Sweet Transvestite" in fishnet stockings and a mini-skirt came up, and he said it'd cost $10k. This was before this year's total was announced, and it was pretty clear he didn't think people could do it. But with a year's warning, who knows?
One of the things they auction off is "Clam Chowder karaoke"; the winning bidder gets to perform one song with them. I thought about bidding because that would be a lot of fun, but I didn't this year. Maybe next year, though. While on the one hand I've got stage time at Darkover and I should defer to others, I'd also love to be able to perform with Clam Chowder -- and I think the sound folks would pull their hair out if we proposed a joint Clam/OTM concert. :-) (But hmm, that could be fun... I wonder how the Clams would feel about it.)
I noticed that the members of Clam Chowder had headset-style mikes; this allowed them to move around on the stage, rather than being tied to mike stands. I must find out whether those are available to us when we're on the main stage; that would help a lot. (I don't know if they belong to the soundman or to the Clams.) We've been asked to do two concerts next year, one on the main stage, so I should ask.
This hotel has, err, HVAC issues. The room where most of the performances happen is very bad in this regard; it sometimes seems you can freeze or cook but nothing in between. During some concerts the audience was cold while the performers had hot air blowing on them. I commented that the hotel has issues with climate variation and Bob Esty responded that this hotel has climate zones and seasons. True!
The hotel (Holiday Inn Select) has gone more upscale since last I was there. Not in the function space, but in the rooms. Two years ago the rooms on the top floor were more upscale with fancier furniture, etc; this year all the rooms I saw had gotten that treatment. And the hotel no longer permits pets at all, though in the past they've allowed cats and small dogs.
We learned the secret of getting a thermostat instead of one of those knobs with "colder" at one end and "warmer" at the other: the inside (lobby-ward) rooms have thermostats, while the outside (parking-lot-ward) rooms have the knobs. Now we know what to ask for in the future.
We made good time both to and from the con. Robert has the knack of maintaining speed in medium-heavy traffic. This is a skill I lack, so I appreciate it in others -- particularly when they're willing to drive me places.
no subject
no subject
no subject
I don't think I got a chance to say so, but I noticed. You were making a lot of very tasty (and tasteful) choices in your percussion parts.
no subject
I was surprised that my drum -- which isn't that big -- seemed to be occupying the same part of the spectrum as your bass. So I mostly played other instruments, until it occurred to me that a drumstick would provide a crisper tone that would not make the bass sound all mushy.
This was a fun group to play with -- nice variety of instruments and obviously some very good musicians.
no subject
no subject
Thanks for the hint on the thermostats vs. knobs issue. We had a lobby-ward room (lucky us) and will remember to ask for those in the future.
I noticed that the members of Clam Chowder had headset-style mikes; this allowed them to move around on the stage, rather than being tied to mike stands. I must find out whether those are available to us when we're on the main stage; that would help a lot. (I don't know if they belong to the soundman or to the Clams.)
The mikes belong to the Clams, and the soundman says they play holy hell with keeping things balanced. (This issue came up at the comments/suggestions discussion on Sunday afternoon.)
no subject
no subject
Ok, some of the women were wearing dresses similar to those. I guess the effect is just more pronounced on men, at least for me.
no subject
The mikes belong to the Clams, and the soundman says they play holy hell with keeping things balanced.
Thanks. We do not want to make the soundman unhappy. :-) (Anything else interesting at that discussion? We can never stay that late.)
no subject
no subject
no subject
Anyway, we're not planning to buy mikes. If these belonged to Kludge or Allon and they worked well, we would have asked about using them for our concert in that room next year. However, since they don't belong to the soundmen and the soundmen say they're problematic anyway, we're not going down that path. Good sound, and sound the engineers can be proud of, are more important than a little extra mobility on stage.
no subject
I'll admit I'm still a little paranoid about the concept of playing along with other people, but I'm not as scared about it as I was before this weekend...
no subject
no subject
(Anything else interesting at that discussion? We can never stay that late.)
Not really -- that discussion had maybe four people besides Jaelle, and we each had one or maybe two things to say. (I usually don't go to that panel since by that time the heralds are usually having a commentary meeting in the art show room after we've struck the art show set. But this year we had a dearth of research materials... maybe next year we'll all *remember* our books!)
no subject
dead-dog discussion
I like this con, and any changes would have to be introduced gradually to avoid breaking it.
Re: dead-dog discussion
Not a lot of new programming -- multiple people have mentioned this. My response to them is: suggest new programming! There was some grumbling of the concom prior to the con about the difficulties they were having in *getting* new programming.
And yes, I think Darkover has a higher social entry barrier than many other cons... partially due to its size, and partially due to the family-reunion sense (and I do agree with you there). It feels like it's much easier on folks if they know someone who already goes (and can introduce them around). So one tack for increasing new blood is to get the current attendee-types to bring new people next year... and another might be to stir up interest online, and have an online meeting place where folks can get together in e-space to get to know each other *before* going to the convention.
Re: dead-dog discussion
I meant over, say, the last three or four years. There was one year (2001? 2002?) when the attendance seemed to drop a lot from the previous year, and while there's probably been some recovery, I don't think it's back up to where it was ten years ago. Or maybe attendance is fine and you're right about density. I don't have the numbers, only perceptions.
Programming: I mostly attend the music programming anyway (with which I'm quite satisfied). So I'm wondering about people who are less music-focused, but I don't have specific suggestions (nor complaints).
There was some grumbling of the concom prior to the con about the difficulties they were having in *getting* new programming.
There might be a problem of perception there. For example, since Darkover programming is pretty consistent year to year, it never occurred to me that they might be looking for something new -- so I've never put thought into what might be out there. Are they asking people and getting told "no", or are they not receiving offers?
Re: dead-dog discussion
I think you're right that the one year of heavy decline was either 01 or 02. Not sure which. My impression is that attendance has risen slightly each year since then, but like you I don't think we're back up to the previous record yet. I'd need to see the actual numbers to be any more definite than my vague impressions. As for density, that was my impression of this year as compared to last year only -- the attendance went up but it felt like we had fewer people in the public areas at any given time.
since Darkover programming is pretty consistent year to year, it never occurred to me that they might be looking for something new... are they asking people and getting told "no", or are they not receiving offers?
The lack of new programming is beginning to concern some congoers.
I don't know if they went out and asked people for programming this year. (