Monday, September 24, 2007

Aftermath

The Fall Vocal Majority shows were an amazing experience, at least from a performer's point of view. Thankfully, the feedback from our audiences suggest it was a huge success for them as well!

Me in my first-half cowboy getup.
The theme of the show was "How the West Was Won."


Where to begin? I enjoy the regular rehearsals with the VM so much that it's easy to lose sight of how much more fun it is to perform for a live audience! It's a pleasure just to perform with these guys -- and then to have such overwhelming response from the packed theater on top of that, it's beyond description. What a blast!

Max Q performs as we watch quietly (most of the time) behind the scrim.

Our own champion quartet Max Q were guest performers, and man oh man are they good. They opened the second half of each show with a 30-minute set, and the guys of VM got to sit on our risers onstage, in the dark, and watch them perform from behind a scrim. It was a treat each time. They are so talented, funny, and entertaining! I sometimes tell myself that I'd like to give the quartet competition a try, and then I hear what champions sound like and quietly decide to stick with what I'm doing now.

My mom & son Benjamin with me after the show.
(Older son Brandon took the picture!)

A special treat for me was that my family finally got to see me perform! Up until now, only my father & father-in-law have seen the VM in a show (in Denver in July). My wife and boys have seen me in rehearsal, but it's not the same. They and my parents, along with two uncles, one aunt, and a few family friends, were able to attend the Saturday matinee, and they all really enjoyed it. (Whew!)

As for me, I didn't trip, fall, or miss any (obvious) choreography moves. Yay!! It speaks for the amount and quality of the singing that I've been doing in the past 7 months, too, that after three 2-hour shows and all of the wide range and vocal gymnastics required of a VM baritone, my voice is not in the least bit hoarse or strained. I'm probably in the best "singing shape" of my life, more than after a summer touring with the Continental Singers (26 years ago -- yikes!).

My feet and legs are not nearly as sore as after Denver, but that week included a lot of walking. Upper body is a different story. My shoulders, chest, and arms are sore!! We pump a lot of energy into our choreography, and even the non-choreo songs demand a lot of intensity in our bodies. Consequently, I am pretty stiff and achy. Tylenol, aspirin, Motrin and Aleve have become my close friends!! (Not all at once.)

All in all, a wonderful weekend. VM being VM, of course, we continue with our regular rehearsals on Thursday, shifting our focus to our next events: Sky Ball on October 13 and our Christmas Shows on December 13-15, along with a smattering of private holiday appearances! As they say, the music never ends.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I did take that picture thank you for mentioning me. Great Show. Ha! Ha! Ha!

BRWombat said...

Thank you. A few questions for you:

(1) Why do you always end your posts with "Ha! Ha! Ha!" even though you don't always say something funny? Do you suddenly remember the punch line of a really funny joke just as you're about to submit your comment and feel compelled to type your laughter?

(2) Why "The Strange One" -- a name which, although very appropriate, you do not use anywhere else?

(3) Why is it that we are almost the only two who ever post here, in spite of the fact that I've heard from many people who read this blog regularly?

And finally,

(4) Why am I posting these questions here, when I see you at home every evening and could ask you in person???