Hell Week

Ok, maybe calling it "Hell Week" is a little extreme, especially since what I'm calling "Hell" here wasn't anything particularly hellacious--intense, ghostly and otherworldly--maybe. In the space of one week I played 3 gigs for Ghosts and Jazz, and on the other side of that was an extreme amount of work and studying that needed to be done for my horticulture classes. Two take-home exams + two in-class practicals (exams) + giant flower project all needed to be completed in the space of 3 days. I needed to put off all thoughts of horticulture to practice for the gigs, and the gigs came in between intense study of horticulture. Boy, it makes my brain tired just trying to lay all that out for you.

Preset for Matcha Night at the Asian Art Museum

First off was "Matcha" night at the Asian Art Museum. We were in a particularly large and boomy hall (I think the whole room was composed entirely out of marble or stone), pulling off our first incarnation of the show. I had to learn a batch of new versions of songs and storytelling and put it all together in time for the show with only 3 rehearsals. It was good that I've worked with that team before, but that doesn't mean it was necessarily easy. Plus it's JAZZ, which means enormous amounts of improvisation. You have to know how to just "go with it," or "feel it," which were terms that were thrown around a lot on the musical side of things. Most taiko stuff is entirely pre-conceived and staged and entirely thought out. There's not much room for "going with it" except during solos or when someone drops a bachi. Matcha night was challenging not only with the presentation of this new material, but with sound issues (we used more electricity than they were used to, which meant our monitors and sometimes Brenda's mic kept going out), and I had to rely on visuals. Janet just kept telling me: Watch Mark's foot! Just watch his foot! Which meant that I had to kind of play like a deaf person because I couldn't hear what he was playing. It was good learning experience.

Preset for 142 Throckmorton

Next was 142 Throckmorton in Marin. Did I tell you the theme of the shows was ghosts? While sound was way better at Throckmorton, we encountered technical issues DURING the show, namely, the battery pack that powered Brenda's mic flipped open at the absolute peak of the story, and she she lost power and was scrambling to find her battery and us musicians were left in the lurch. Mark was fabulous and just took a solo, and I tried to hold groove (that's where the improvisation and going with it comes in handy!!), and Janet tried to look in Brenda's costume for the battery, and all the while the rest of us just kinda looked at each other and kept the music going. Afterward Brenda spoke to "The Old Man Who Lives Upstairs" a.k.a. the set designer, and he told her there were spirits on stage who were responsible for those sorts of things. That explains a lot! Ghosts!

Preset for Yoshi's

The next day was our gig at Yoshi's. Yeah, Yoshi's San Francisco!! World-famous jazz club and host to all the greats! That was our best performance. Of course sound was not an issue here. It was just a little tight for space, but otherwise it was the best performance of the series. It was also Halloween, and we passed a yard sale on the way over. Janet couldn't resist the opportunity to get a hat for the gangster-related bingo show coming up at RCW:

Janet hitting the Halloween yard sale on the way to Yoshi's

Janet posing with yard sale treasure and demon mask

And as soon as I got home from Yoshi's, I hit the books. I was actually overwhelmed. I'd been putting it off, but the full brunt of what I had to do kind of knocked me down. At certain points in this whole process there were, yes I admit, tears and a fit of crying on the kitchen floor. (Thank you dear, sweet Coke for being there and offering your compassion and dishpan hands to the process) If cramming for taiko has taught me anything, it's learning how to completely focus and break down what feels like it would be entirely overwhelming and chewing it off into more manageable pieces. Yes, I crammed. Actually I crammed harder and was prepared to answer questions that were even more difficult than were actually asked. But darn, that horticulture is some tricky stuff, and though I did the best that I could, I didn't score any A-plusses or anything. Maybe A-territory, but eh, I did my best. Here is a picture of some fruits I gathered for floral project:

But now that it's over, it feels oh so good to be reading pleasurably and listening to music for enjoyment. Hell weeks, while feeling totally overwhelming and consuming while they are happening, are totally worth it. Can't ask more much more from life.