Solarfest show
Jun. 10th, 2007 08:44 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
la_belle_laideFirst let me say that I only hope to post this tonight, because my internet connection is almost non-existant. It's the kinda thing where I'll get online for about 1 second ("Hey YR CONNECTD DO SOMETHING QUICK!!!") and in the next I'm chucked off again. ("HAHA U GOT PWNED!!!") ANd even though my connection has been dodgy since I got it (yeah it's cheaper, but you get what you pay for as they say,) it's never been as bad as it has been this week. Linksys Wireless, people. They suck all the pole in China.
Anyway, so the Solarfest show today (and I've got a ton of pics and even videos, so as I write this I'm only hoping I'm able to post them. Well, post anything, really.) I was told to get there early, and I gave myself about 20 minutes getting lost time, because it was a long, unfamiliar drive. (And I did get lost, briefly. You know what would be a great idea to let you know which exit out of the 80000 on exit 53 is Sagtakos Parkway? ROADSIGNS. I'm just saying.) So I got lost but I still got there way earlier than I had to and no one was there. I spent a goodly amount of time walking around and being bored, and it was overcast and about to rain and pretty much no one was coming out to this thing today. I chatted for a while with some guy about his really cool solar-water power invention, he had a little shack with the entire setup and he made the whole thing with stuff he got from Home Depot. It was neat, and it was also pretty cool to be talking to an inventor. Then I talked for a while with a guy who was all into shamanism and spiritual stuff. I get that a lot, random people coming up to me to talk about that kind of thing. He asked me which island I was from and I said, "This one." Then he asked me what my heritage was and I thought, Oh, that's what we're talking about. So I told him, and we chatted, then Olivia pulled up with Eric (another of her dancers) and she was followed shortly by Maria.
We roamed around for about 45 minutes while the sound guys set everything up, and I started to get worried because there were like five people on the grass in front of the stage. So I went out into the street and started calling random people in, telling them there was going to be a Hula show. A few people came in, but most of them just kind of waited outside the faire grounds where they could still see the stage. (Not that it mattered, admittance was free.)
We went on at around 1:30 I think. Olivia and Maria started the show with three of their numbers. Then I was up for Kahiko, and I had decided on doing O Keahi A Lonomakua, you guys all know that is my favorite Hula. I took a moment to explain to the audience (after some sound problems and feedback and the sound guy realizing that I am 5'9" and he had to adjust the mic etc.) what the Hula was about, how mainlanders tend to romanticize Hawaiian culture and water it down, and sell the entire Aloha thing as if there was nothing else to it. I told them there was so much more to the culture than just "Spirit of Aloha" and I explained that this was a song about Fire Goddess Pele, and her battle with her rejected suitor Kamapua'a, that the chant was told from his point of view as he witnessed the destruction caused by her anger. Some of you might remember that the last time I performed it I completely blanked on it and got vers 2 and 3 mixed up. No one in the audience that night knew, but I knew and it bothered me. So I promised myself I would just nail it this time and I wouldn't do anything wrong. So, not only did I totally nail it and not miss any steps or anything, but I chanted the second verse like I was supposed to. Which I hardly ever do because I'm usually out of breath after the first verse. But this time I had the ha for it so I did it. So I was really happy with how that turned out. Then Olivia went up to do her Tahitian, while I got ready for mine. (I have to wonder why she didn't ask me to do 'auana instead, as there wasn't a single 'auana represented there.) As I was getting ready, I realized that holy crap I did not have the music for the 'otea I wanted to do! In fact, I didn't have the music for any 'Otea that I knew. But, panic? Me? Why, never. There are two Tahitian songs that I have always very badly wanted to choreograph, and so I told myself, what better way to see if I can do it other than to just do it?
So I plugged my iPod to the sound system (which, by the way, was HUGE,) lined up "Tiare" and "Tahiti Tahiti," climbed onto the stage, O my brothers and only friends, and I completely made crap up. What you must realize when I get to the pics is that this is totally not the right costume for that kind of dance. The first one is an aparima, you would wear a pareu for that, and I think you would also wear a pareu for the second one, too. That's an 'otea costume, and neither one of those are 'otea dances. But, I didn't have anything else to wear, and I already had that on, so.... So there it was!
The other thing about that was that, for as often as I'd made up Hulas for each of these in my head, actually doing them on the spot was a little different. While I do understand the lyrics to both (Tahiti, Tahiti is pretty basic, I just understand it, but I did have to look up a few lines of Tiare for translation,) doing it live without anything really planned was, errr, a challenge. I also never realized how long Tahiti, Tahiti really is. I felt like I was up there forever.
Still, the audience liked it and there was clapping and yelling and junk like that, which is always nice to hear. And then we were done!
Or at least I thought we were. It ends up that some guy wanted to interview us for IslipTV.com. I've been in a few (and I stress, a few) interviews before so I figured that would be pretty easy. But the lens of the camera was right in my face and I was getting all self conscious, you know I hate people looking at my face close up. As I was talking, I realized I was kind of flailing my hands around like I tend to do when I get self conscious, and looking anywhere but in the camera. So when this goes up on IslipTV (on Tuesday, I think,) it's just going to look so spazzy. Oh, and he also taped the show to put up there, too. So that's all going ot be on IslipTV, which is online, but I'm not sure if I'm going to link to it or not. It depends on how spazzy and stupid I look.
Then it was around 2:30 and even though a reggea band was about to go on, I was starving and I had to get back to feed the birds. As I was going to my car, a lesbian drug addict came up to me and started talking to me. She was so wasted that I had a hard time understanding her, and indeed she had a hard time standing up. She was nice though, she was trying to be nice, but it's hard for me to talk to people who are so far gone that I can't even tell if they're speaking the same language anymore, so I had to excuse myself and leave (I had to go say goodbye to Olivia and Maria before I went.) Before I did, she asked me my name and she told me hers. And there was something so random and unusual about her name that I will just have to put in a locked post. I believe in signs, let's just say that and leave it there for now.
So I said goodbye and was walking to my car once again, when this completely drunken fool of a guy started dancing at me in the street. Playing along with him because I was still in my Aloha Girl mode, I had no idea (though I should have) that he would take this as in invitation to accost me on the street with more slurred words and randomness. So he came walking over and started talking to me in a heavily accented, falling-over-drunk voice. He had to be closing in on 50 or so but he obviously thought he was about 19. It got to a point where I honestly couldn't understand a word he was saying and it got very awkward. I told him that I had to go and he said, "You married or single?!" I told him, "Married." He says, "Yeah, to who?" And I said--get this, now--"I don't know, some guy." And I started to walk away, because you know, please take no for an answer and move on. But he didn't, he actually followed me down the street going, "beautiful mamacita, kiss kiss!" with the kiss noises and the typical hand gesture that goes with the fake kiss noises. I was totally flabbergasted, all I could think was, Dude, this is 2007, not 1974.
Then as I was driving away, he and a bunch of his drunken friends started walking after my car (it was one of those crowded, narrow roads) and telling me to Come back, Hey dancing girl come back and dance, hey mamacita don't leave etc. UGH. It wasn't anything threatening, it was just too stupid for me to believe. Times like that I always think, Really, where do you honestly think this is going to lead? I'm 34, gainfully employed and clearly not drunk. You're 50 something, walking around on the street with the biggest can of beer I've ever seen, hardly able to stand up straight and you're missing your two front teeth. Do you really think this is going to get you anywhere? I'm not saying that to put myself above people, even if it sounds like that, but honestly, does the phrase "not my type" ring any bells at all?
Well, that was pretty much how it went. A good show, all in all, though really kind of random and chaotic. Now I'm going to try to set up my old internet connection so I can upload some pics and videos (those ones you see up there; at the time of this writing I haven't even uploaded them yet, still offline you see,) and then if that works, I'll post this and then continue with a locked post about the name of that girl and its significance.
Here are some pics:
That's pretty much it! Now I've got a pint of Hawaiian Lehua Blossom and Sweet Cream ice cream in the freezer and it's calling me, along with maybe a movie. Doesn't that sound nice?
Peace out, yo.
Anyway, so the Solarfest show today (and I've got a ton of pics and even videos, so as I write this I'm only hoping I'm able to post them. Well, post anything, really.) I was told to get there early, and I gave myself about 20 minutes getting lost time, because it was a long, unfamiliar drive. (And I did get lost, briefly. You know what would be a great idea to let you know which exit out of the 80000 on exit 53 is Sagtakos Parkway? ROADSIGNS. I'm just saying.) So I got lost but I still got there way earlier than I had to and no one was there. I spent a goodly amount of time walking around and being bored, and it was overcast and about to rain and pretty much no one was coming out to this thing today. I chatted for a while with some guy about his really cool solar-water power invention, he had a little shack with the entire setup and he made the whole thing with stuff he got from Home Depot. It was neat, and it was also pretty cool to be talking to an inventor. Then I talked for a while with a guy who was all into shamanism and spiritual stuff. I get that a lot, random people coming up to me to talk about that kind of thing. He asked me which island I was from and I said, "This one." Then he asked me what my heritage was and I thought, Oh, that's what we're talking about. So I told him, and we chatted, then Olivia pulled up with Eric (another of her dancers) and she was followed shortly by Maria.
We roamed around for about 45 minutes while the sound guys set everything up, and I started to get worried because there were like five people on the grass in front of the stage. So I went out into the street and started calling random people in, telling them there was going to be a Hula show. A few people came in, but most of them just kind of waited outside the faire grounds where they could still see the stage. (Not that it mattered, admittance was free.)
We went on at around 1:30 I think. Olivia and Maria started the show with three of their numbers. Then I was up for Kahiko, and I had decided on doing O Keahi A Lonomakua, you guys all know that is my favorite Hula. I took a moment to explain to the audience (after some sound problems and feedback and the sound guy realizing that I am 5'9" and he had to adjust the mic etc.) what the Hula was about, how mainlanders tend to romanticize Hawaiian culture and water it down, and sell the entire Aloha thing as if there was nothing else to it. I told them there was so much more to the culture than just "Spirit of Aloha" and I explained that this was a song about Fire Goddess Pele, and her battle with her rejected suitor Kamapua'a, that the chant was told from his point of view as he witnessed the destruction caused by her anger. Some of you might remember that the last time I performed it I completely blanked on it and got vers 2 and 3 mixed up. No one in the audience that night knew, but I knew and it bothered me. So I promised myself I would just nail it this time and I wouldn't do anything wrong. So, not only did I totally nail it and not miss any steps or anything, but I chanted the second verse like I was supposed to. Which I hardly ever do because I'm usually out of breath after the first verse. But this time I had the ha for it so I did it. So I was really happy with how that turned out. Then Olivia went up to do her Tahitian, while I got ready for mine. (I have to wonder why she didn't ask me to do 'auana instead, as there wasn't a single 'auana represented there.) As I was getting ready, I realized that holy crap I did not have the music for the 'otea I wanted to do! In fact, I didn't have the music for any 'Otea that I knew. But, panic? Me? Why, never. There are two Tahitian songs that I have always very badly wanted to choreograph, and so I told myself, what better way to see if I can do it other than to just do it?
So I plugged my iPod to the sound system (which, by the way, was HUGE,) lined up "Tiare" and "Tahiti Tahiti," climbed onto the stage, O my brothers and only friends, and I completely made crap up. What you must realize when I get to the pics is that this is totally not the right costume for that kind of dance. The first one is an aparima, you would wear a pareu for that, and I think you would also wear a pareu for the second one, too. That's an 'otea costume, and neither one of those are 'otea dances. But, I didn't have anything else to wear, and I already had that on, so.... So there it was!
The other thing about that was that, for as often as I'd made up Hulas for each of these in my head, actually doing them on the spot was a little different. While I do understand the lyrics to both (Tahiti, Tahiti is pretty basic, I just understand it, but I did have to look up a few lines of Tiare for translation,) doing it live without anything really planned was, errr, a challenge. I also never realized how long Tahiti, Tahiti really is. I felt like I was up there forever.
Still, the audience liked it and there was clapping and yelling and junk like that, which is always nice to hear. And then we were done!
Or at least I thought we were. It ends up that some guy wanted to interview us for IslipTV.com. I've been in a few (and I stress, a few) interviews before so I figured that would be pretty easy. But the lens of the camera was right in my face and I was getting all self conscious, you know I hate people looking at my face close up. As I was talking, I realized I was kind of flailing my hands around like I tend to do when I get self conscious, and looking anywhere but in the camera. So when this goes up on IslipTV (on Tuesday, I think,) it's just going to look so spazzy. Oh, and he also taped the show to put up there, too. So that's all going ot be on IslipTV, which is online, but I'm not sure if I'm going to link to it or not. It depends on how spazzy and stupid I look.
Then it was around 2:30 and even though a reggea band was about to go on, I was starving and I had to get back to feed the birds. As I was going to my car, a lesbian drug addict came up to me and started talking to me. She was so wasted that I had a hard time understanding her, and indeed she had a hard time standing up. She was nice though, she was trying to be nice, but it's hard for me to talk to people who are so far gone that I can't even tell if they're speaking the same language anymore, so I had to excuse myself and leave (I had to go say goodbye to Olivia and Maria before I went.) Before I did, she asked me my name and she told me hers. And there was something so random and unusual about her name that I will just have to put in a locked post. I believe in signs, let's just say that and leave it there for now.
So I said goodbye and was walking to my car once again, when this completely drunken fool of a guy started dancing at me in the street. Playing along with him because I was still in my Aloha Girl mode, I had no idea (though I should have) that he would take this as in invitation to accost me on the street with more slurred words and randomness. So he came walking over and started talking to me in a heavily accented, falling-over-drunk voice. He had to be closing in on 50 or so but he obviously thought he was about 19. It got to a point where I honestly couldn't understand a word he was saying and it got very awkward. I told him that I had to go and he said, "You married or single?!" I told him, "Married." He says, "Yeah, to who?" And I said--get this, now--"I don't know, some guy." And I started to walk away, because you know, please take no for an answer and move on. But he didn't, he actually followed me down the street going, "beautiful mamacita, kiss kiss!" with the kiss noises and the typical hand gesture that goes with the fake kiss noises. I was totally flabbergasted, all I could think was, Dude, this is 2007, not 1974.
Then as I was driving away, he and a bunch of his drunken friends started walking after my car (it was one of those crowded, narrow roads) and telling me to Come back, Hey dancing girl come back and dance, hey mamacita don't leave etc. UGH. It wasn't anything threatening, it was just too stupid for me to believe. Times like that I always think, Really, where do you honestly think this is going to lead? I'm 34, gainfully employed and clearly not drunk. You're 50 something, walking around on the street with the biggest can of beer I've ever seen, hardly able to stand up straight and you're missing your two front teeth. Do you really think this is going to get you anywhere? I'm not saying that to put myself above people, even if it sounds like that, but honestly, does the phrase "not my type" ring any bells at all?
Well, that was pretty much how it went. A good show, all in all, though really kind of random and chaotic. Now I'm going to try to set up my old internet connection so I can upload some pics and videos (those ones you see up there; at the time of this writing I haven't even uploaded them yet, still offline you see,) and then if that works, I'll post this and then continue with a locked post about the name of that girl and its significance.
Here are some pics:
That's pretty much it! Now I've got a pint of Hawaiian Lehua Blossom and Sweet Cream ice cream in the freezer and it's calling me, along with maybe a movie. Doesn't that sound nice?
Peace out, yo.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2007-06-11 10:45 am (UTC)I've had similar experiences once or twice. There was one time at a train station where a drunk came up to me and asked me about train times. He wasn't aggressive at all, merely drunk to the point where he couldn't read the "next train" signs. Was a pleasant difference to the usual chavs.
no subject
Date: 2007-06-11 07:38 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-06-11 06:00 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-06-11 07:38 pm (UTC)That last costume, I feel really kind of confident and secure when I'm in it, I think I wear it well, but I'll let you in on a secret. The 'otea bark gets everywhere. Everywhere. And everytime I do a long Tahitian set with that on, I come home with a rash on my butt. TMI, but too funny to keep to myself. ;D