We had a great dance last night with The Big Band at Mount Mac! The part where Michael and I were trying to get ourselves organized enough to leave our house with all the relevant gear in stow was quite a gong show and supper ended up being a rushed 5-minute affair, but we were able to catch our breath once we got to the venue.
I was nervous. This was my first big concert with The Big Band and I had a handful of solos (on piano) in the second set. If you know jazz, you know that it’s all about the improv, which is not my strong point. But I came away quite proud of myself because I managed to hold my own in the bits that I had to fill in, and even did some true improvising on a one piece we hadn’t practiced in a while where I suddenly realized, Holy crap, there are way more bars of solo than I thought! Which even almost makes up for the royal screwing up I did on another piece where I just couldn’t get the rhythm right… but I’m sure only the band noticed. It was helpful that we used “Autumn Leaves” (thanks, George!) for our sound check; it was one of the pieces I had been most worried about, so I felt much calmer once I’d had a practice run at it.
I had quite a few friends and acquaintances there, dancing up a storm, and it was fun to get their feedback on the show. One funny thing that really hit home for me when I was chatting with a new friend during one of the breaks is that there are some interesting dynamics around blogging in a small town. I don’t expect too many people would hear about my blog by word of mouth if I were still living in Ottawa… but they do here. It’s a good reminder (for any blogger) not to say anything you don’t want everyone to hear.
We finished up around 11:30 p.m. and helped with the tear-down, although I admit that Michael and I took off before it was totally done because our babysitter was expecting us back and we still had to run downtown to get some money with which to pay her. (Oops! Did I mention we lacked some organization yesterday?) There will probably be some good photos of the dance soon because Tim was there as the official photographer.
So anyone who missed the dance last night can console themselves that we’re doing another one in two weeks at Porter Creek Secondary (February 9th). Stay tuned for details.
You’re welcome and you did very well – I did notice how much comfortable and calm you were during your solos.
Good job
Geo
We had a great time at the dance – and yes, I could even hear your solos! They sounded great to me. Thanks for giving us the heads up about the tickets – we really appreciated your thoughtfulness. What a fun evening!
I can’t wait to do it again in two weeks. And it’s looking like I might get to do some singing in a couple of months, too. *does a happy dance* Oh, and it’s actually George who put the tickets aside.
You did great! It was a fun evening.