October Thursday in the sun… and the seventies. Whoda thunk?
Then it crept up on me; this was the last farmers’ market of the season for me. It was my local gig at Campus Square in the low lands of Lehigh University. Last week was the Gig of No Applause here so my aim was clear. Have some one applaud. Gratefully, it happened, and rather organically, too (pun intended).
I was a little scattered to start off, with tuning instruments in the ‘summer’ sun and heat, but I settled in. Some folks I know sat in the square and they made me play up to my better standards. A nice course correction.
Then ‘Show Time’ happened in the guise of TV-39’s camera crew arriving for some footage for a Godfrey’s piece for the station. I had forgot that I had offered this opportunity to take some live performances from me.
Shift in performance choices. No longer a farmers’ market but potential TV and video. Cripes.
First of all, they wanted me in the sun. Lighting, ya know. and tilt your hat up so we can see your face. Hey, I’m toasting here…. Tuning, song selection, basic memory tasks with the lyrics… and involve the audience, too. I had to shape the production from in here.
Well, it worked out okay. The camera guy hung out for 50 minutes, doing all kind of angles, shots, etc. He was on the ball trying different stuff, so that was cool. Bare feet shots! But it made it a studio gig for me, which is really hard and intense work. It was not what I expected from a laid-back farmers’ market gig.
After the crew left, I had a great moment with two sweet girls/fans who asked me to do Apples and Bananas and we had a great exchange. Dynamic interactive theater at kids’ level at the foot of a major university.
The two little girls came up as I was packing my stuff away with a $1 tip. And as they waved bye-bye, I said to the folks nearby, “I love my job.” Ain’t that the truth.