Susan Crowe » The Carleton http://susancrowe.com Singer-songwriter Wed, 25 Apr 2012 15:11:22 +0000 en hourly 1 John Reischman & The Jaybirds http://susancrowe.com/john-reischman-the-jaybirds/ http://susancrowe.com/john-reischman-the-jaybirds/#comments Wed, 29 Feb 2012 17:22:27 +0000 Susan http://susancrowe.com/?p=690 Here’s the great thing about John Reischman and The Jaybirds: they’re coming to Halifax on March 27th and playing at the Carleton.
Truth be told, there are many great things about John and his band, but for me it’s especially good to know he’s coming to town. John and I go back to my first CD, many long years ago. I saw him in concert with Kathy Kallick (the great Kathy Kallick), and thought “If I ever start playing again this is the guy I want”. And somehow it happened. I don’t know how I started playing again (well, maybe I do, but it’s such a long and boring story) but I’m really not sure how John ended up on the CD. I do know this: we’ve been great friends ever since. See? Another great thing about John.
John, the musician, is easily one of the most musical guys I’ve ever met. It’s said that he’s in the top five players in the world, I lean toward believing that. His tone on the mandolin is rich and deep – none of the plinky-plink that one hears from some players. John, the friend, is the most generous musician I’ve ever met. At folk festivals, where there can sometimes be a cast of dozens all on stage at once, he listens to the other players, adds a very subtle but beautiful back up to whoever happens to be playing at the time, all the time being completely unobtrusive.
Well…you get the gist. If you live in Halifax or close to it,  you’re planning to get out of the house and have a hankering for good food, good drink and very good music, go to the Carleton on March 27th. The band is dazzling. Fingers will fly and fretboards will burn.
]]> http://susancrowe.com/john-reischman-the-jaybirds/feed/ 0 The Carleton show http://susancrowe.com/the-carleton-show/ http://susancrowe.com/the-carleton-show/#comments Tue, 16 Mar 2010 16:40:52 +0000 Susan http://susancrowe.com/?p=459 I say before each performance: the day will come, the day will go. I say this because I’m not immune to the nerves and anxieties that many people suffer when facing public speaking or even standing up and stating their name in New Age-y support groups. I say this because, should it be a failed or uneasy  performance, the failure will fade into a small shadow that floats up occasionally to remind me of my fallibility (I know this because I’ve fallen many times and had a near miss on Sunday due to a faulty positioning of a shoe heel on a chair – I am simply not meant for heels, yet refuse to give them up).

The day came. The day went.  All my attention to my superstitious routines seemed to have worked. After changing my strings on Saturday, every scrap of string debris was gathered and discarded. My greatest superstition is that all the leftovers from a string change must go at the same time.  That is, if I find a string end, or a used string or a wrapper on the floor after I have made the trip to the garbage can, a sudden anxiety strikes me. It takes some time to let this go, if, in fact, it ever does go.

My other superstition involves eyeliner, but is is too complicated to relate here and/or too silly.

The day came. The day went. Soundcheck – setting up the sound system to best amplify the sound in the room and for the folks on stage –  was a breeze. Usually it takes more time, mostly because my waffling and still not really knowing what I’m listening for. I use language like: Ummm…it sounds muddy.  Or: it sounds bright. Muddy and bright are the only terms I have at my disposal. Well, not so. I do know: too loud and not loud enough. I rely on those around me to assure me that things sound ok, that nothing more can be done, that I should stop talking anytime now.

As an aside, there was an instance recently in which a sound man lost his way with the sound equipment and it resulted in A Big Snit. Not from our side of the microphones, I’m obliged to add. A Big Snit is not desirable at a soundcheck. We took the high road, even after he screamed “This is ridiculous. I’m starting all over”. Of course, that meant we were starting all over, too. Also undesirable.

Back to the Carleton (to which, if you’re anywhere near Halifax, you must go). Without burdening you with the details of each song and every interaction, I can say it went well. I believe this was because of the generous audience (the wine, perhaps? the Guinness?) and the great sound. My accompanist, Jamie Robinson, smoothed things out, too.

Just wanted to report: no Big Snits; no lost strings; no eyeliner slip-ups. With the exception of the slight shoe/chair rung mishap, the day came and the day went. And it was a good day.

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