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(from http://kathyraimey.blogspot.com)
City Skies '09, Live Performance, and the "Oh NO!" moments
Well...it's been much longer than I thought it would take me to post a blog about
my experience at the City Skies Electronic Music Festival in Atlanta,
but better late than never, so here goes...
First of all, I have to say how much fun it was to be there. Kavarna
is a lovely smoke free venue, open to all ages, with a good menu and
nice beer and wine choices. The audience was friendly,
attentive, and they came to listen...what a treat! It was nice to
meet and talk with folks after the set. I made new friends, got to
catch up with some dear old friends, and even met new-age space music
celeb, Jonn Serrie!
Set-up was laid-back and humorous as the performers maneuvered to set-up
five stage rigs around the relatively tiny stage. Since there would
not be enough time between sets to set-up and tear down, the solution
was a subtractive kind of thing, where we took off gear gradually as
each set passed. It was a tight fit...at one point during soundcheck,
we found ourselves having to crawl underneath keyboards and such in
order to make our way off stage. It was a team-building activity
filled with laughter, camaraderie, and vague memories of “Twister”!
The sound system, with Jim Combs behind the board, was top notch. Jim
is not only an amazing composer, musician, producer, and promoter,
but also the founding father of CitySkies. His patient and
efficient trouble-shooting skills at sound-check were most
appreciated and impressive.
As well, we greatly enjoyed the video app (G-Force for Mac) which
was employed to project a continuously changing light show in
response to any music or sounds that it detected. (I have some great
pics to prove it!).
Most importantly though, getting to hear the other musicians and meet and
chat with them afterwards was simply wonderful! I recommend it
highly. Connecting in real life after being online friends is
so much more...hmm...what's that word...real?!
My set was well received, and despite certain aspects of it (“should
have” practiced more on the talking points, a seriously dead air
spot or two...ouch!, and the infamous “Oh No!” segment (double
ouch!) I was thrilled to have been there. It was live, AND alive with
happy "accidents". What a magical evening!
So...this is my small take on CitySkies '09.
Can you tell I enjoyed it?
To listen to the unedited 45 minute set click here: