After a welcome Chinese lunch, I headed back for my afternoon gig at Dodd ES, this time out on the fabulous sound stage of the hillside amphitheater. The grass was dry, the sun was out and it was a perfect setting for the K – 2nd assembly.
It was historic in that, for the first time ever (!!!) I got to pull my Honda right up to the space and unload, play and upload all my equipment in a ten foot radius. It may not seem like a big deal, but it was wonderfully cool to do it. One step away from a fold out sound system from the back of my vehicle.
The little kid crowd came out for this one, and, perhaps feeling some fatigue from the morning show, John and I both opted to sit this one down. I got to do some songs I didn’t cover in the first show, including Giants (surprise, surprise…), and we finished off with another All Around the Kitchen romp, with the teachers coming up with Stir the Pot and a great Salsa with one of the male teachers. When the teachers step up, take ownership of the situation and share it with their school community, it is a very, very powerful moment for the school, again, in so many ways.
This is the nexus of what I’m trying to create as an artist. It’s when get to lose myself in the creative moment, and share that moment with the larger community I’m performing for: John and Sue and their grandchild, the faculty, the student body, and, most importantly, myself.
This is basic stuff, I guess.