I headed back to the Da Vinci Center for the second visit in three days, today being the day of the eclipse and the joint was really jumping. Not bad for a moon day Monday. I set up my sound in the large room while the staff was dealing with the large crowd, now both inside and out on the lawn. Folks with moon shades, kids, parents and grandparents. I surveyed the crowd in front of me, a few families, some familiar faces and folk eating ice cream, waiting for the celestial show. A pretty motley scene. It was partly cloudy, and, eventually, the sun came out so that everyone got a glimpse of the sun and moon.
I started off and invited the kids to come up and grab an instrument and a nice core group of about ten kids or so jumped at the chance. A good start, but then I realized that quite a few faces were pointed towards the large screen television on the wall to my right. My effort was being diluted by the Demon Screen once again. The engagement factor was difficult but I rolled along. I got out Rocket To the Moon by Moon Mulligan (a single entendre song) but it was a good rock and roll tune, the kids were banging away so it worked, for what it was worth. Folks drifted in and out with several kids there for the long run. I added I Can See Clearly Now, Moonshadow but popped a string on Here Comes the Sun. Tough crowd.
Several families made a point to come by and see me, with several moms and kids coming up afterward to say hello and share some of their DF stories (“I saw you when I was a kid….”). The Da Vinci folks thanked me profusely, even though they were swamped in the moment. That was gratifying.
The eclipse had started during my set, so I packed up, put stuff in the car and took in the event and the crowd. It was good to see folks engaged in science, spending time with each other and enjoying the moment together. I borrowed some shades to check out the 70% blockage, and drove back home taking in the somewhat softer sunlight. Not bad for a late summer Monday gig. Not bad at all.