Friday, March 25, 2011

Entry 13 3.18.2011

Entry 13, March 18, 2011, 11:49pm

I went to go see the tango show again earlier tonight, as the two lead dancers are new this week. They were great, just like the other couple, and noticeably different in style. This time instead of sitting close to the stage, I stood all the way in the back of the palladium and had a very different experience. I still enjoyed the show, but the feeling of immersion disappears when you're surrounded by old ladies chatting, babies crying, and people constantly coming and going. It is something to keep in mind as a performer -- I can attend the same show twice and have two totally different experiences.

Afterwards I went and strolled around the ship. It was the second formal night of this cruise, and so I was in tuxedo again. Saw some friends working, said hi . . . about fifteen minutes into my stroll I realized what is so strange about this gig. As musicians, we have zero interaction with our audience. We get up, eat, sound check, play the gig, and as soon as we're done the curtain falls down and we head to the bar. The curtain is literally wired in such a way that the audience cannot poke their heads through or meet us afterward at all. We never really even seen their faces, with the lighting set the way it is. One of the biggest parts of being a musician is missing from our job -- knowing that we're making people feel something. Really, that's all a musician's job is -- help someone to feel something. No wonder musicians can get so dark on this gig. I think an important of keeping my morale up will be to get out in the passenger areas now and then, to remind myself that I am atcually playing for people, not just a black void.

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