Show day yesterday. I was concerned about the Covid potential, after certainly being exposed to Deb's covid before her primary symptoms developed. My sore throat from the evening before remained, but a sore throat and sniffles are consistent with hay fever. The problem with being asked how you feel is that things like sore throats and headaches can appear from nowhere and can mean nothing. I felt energetic enough. My thermometer read a nominal 36.4 consistently.
The night before I dreamed that I was a small, dark-haired, girl. I was being followed in the dark by a clone, which disturbed me. I went home, which was a church-like building on a dark and wind-blown hilltop. I entered and the clone tried to follow me, but I closed the door with a 'you're not coming in!'. I took this as rejection of Covid.
The show went to plan despite the changes due to the lack of Deb. I performed a few pieces with playing at vocals at the same time, usually simplified versions, and a few magical pieces were played to Deb's pre-recorded voice. I joined in with a few group songs but was unhappy with my performance there; there are times when playing an unheard song by ear in the air can work, but it will normally take a few takes to get things right. The bass and main chord is particularly vulnerable. All group jams or songs need a firm bass or beat as master. I used a pre-programmed beat for the blues song Let Your Line Hang Low, but it was too metronomic and the chord changes in the song, which is a sleepy and 90bpm on the 1930s recording, jumped to a jazzy 150 and the rapid changes confused the keyboard. I wish it would start a beat at the instant press of a key, then keep playing it. I can only start if I hold it. Despite a million over-complicated settings on the MODX, the one I want isn't there. Its interface is so very badly designed.
The other acts were a mix of, generally, acoustic guitar based tunes of folk, rock, blues. A school choir sang songs of predictable quality, including a predictably egregious Gary Barlow song. Cherie performed a few poems and I played music with her. An electric 8 string lap guitar added some colour, and a first time acoustic-folk performer as well as Andrew Stubbs were excellent. It was also nice to see the, now rather frail, actor Christopher Gilmore who read two poems, still in fine voice, at the end of the evening.
Mike, the library manager really worked hard on this and helped me a huge amount including with transport. I got home at 9pm, and he probably nearer 10, a long day on the longest day, for the sake of art.
I felt so tired overnight, so much gear packed, unpacked, carried. Some of my dreams are lost in ether, but I was woken by a nightmare of a bedraggled dark-haired girl leaping into my bedroom through the window.
Today my throat and upper chest remains sore but, apart from the aches from yesterday's work, I feel generally ok. I dropped off some Vitamin-K to Deb. Everything is packed away. I will probably spend today resting and perhaps starting on painting preparations.
