Rose-Owls and Pumpkin Girls

Ever have one of those nights that you just want to tell everyone about, usually following the recounting with 'but really, you had to be there'? I love those nights. They're the ones that live forever, gradually sloughing off anything that went wrong -- because there's always so little of it -- until they become perfect little bits of time that last inside you forever.

I had one of those recently.

The concert at Erosong was a sort of last-minute* addition to my Seattle holiday plans; they'd been planning to have Vixy and Tony, and as I happened to be in the area, I got drafted to come and help out, along with Betsy 'I play the cello like I expect the Devil to be moving on to a different stringed instrument any day now, and I plan to be ready' Tinney. Ah, serendipity. Sometimes it just decides that life needs to be awesome.

I'd never really had much opportunity to hang out with Betsy before we went to rehearse at her place, which is large, gorgeous, and filled with Maine Coons. (One of them, Alligator, is officially my new best friend. Sorry.) I now regret this lack in my life, because she's a smart, funny, positively amazing lady, and getting to know her definitely stands as one of the highlights of my trip. Along with, y'know, Voodoo Doughnut. So she's in good company. PS, adding spooky cello to 'Dear Gina' makes it a weapon of massively creepy destruction. Brrr.

There really isn't a linear accounting of the actual concert in my head, because there isn't room. Getting ready in the upstairs bathroom with Vixy and Betsy, the three of us becoming a unified flock of purple, black, and orange with feathers in our hair-o. Meeting Phil for the first time after knowing him for fourteen years (oh, you splendid satyr, you). The doleful spontaneous sing-along of 'Science-Fiction Double Feature' in the dining room. And the concert, oh, yes, the concert. Two sets, as follows:

First set:

'Girl That's Never Been.' (Dockrey)
'Thirteen.' (Dockrey/Fabris)
'Skullcrusher Mountain.' (Coulton)
'Tanglewood Tree.' (Carter)
'Apprentice.' (Dockrey/Fabris)
'Evil Laugh.' (McGuire)
'Ravens in the Library.' (Tucker)
'Burn It Down.' (Dockrey/Fabris)
'Mal's Song.' (Dockrey/Whedon)

Second set:

'Paper Moon.' (McGuire)
'Dear Gina.' (McGuire)
'Santa Baby.' (Javits/Springer, made famous by Eartha Kitt)
'Strange Messenger.' (Dockrey/Fabris)
'Companion.' (Dockrey/Fabris)
'Goddess.' (Tucker)
'Emerald Green.' (Dockrey/Fabris)
'Oh, Michelle Dockrey.' (My parody of 'David Duchovny' by Bree Sharp)
'Dorothy.' (McGuire)
'Wicked Girls.' (McGuire)

When we hit the bridge of 'Wicked Girls' -- the line 'the rules that we live by are simple and clear/Be wicked and lovely, and don't live in fear' -- and changed into a major key, the room literally SHOUTED its approval. Just this solid wall of 'YEAH.' I...we...it is a miracle I didn't trainwreck the song out of sheer amazement, I swear.

They demanded an encore. We gave them 'Alligator in the House,' by Betsy Tinney and SJ Tucker. The night was...

The night was...

It was perfect. You should have been there.

Yesterday, I...

...did a lot of fussing about, did a lot of reasonably important (if not entirely time-sensitive) email inbox cleanup, did some work on The Brightest Fell, and finally, attended a multi-hour rehearsal to get ready for my Guest of Honor concert at Conflikt II, as well as the house concert that I'm going to be performing in tomorrow night. If you're even remotely local, and have been considering attending either event, I highly recommend it. If you've never seen me live before, here's a nice quote from one of the conventions I've been featured at:

"Seanan wraps together deep, poetic lyrics and complex melodies, a soaring voice, and an exhilarating hold-nothing-back performance style."

See? Isn't that sweet? The house concert is actually a Vixy & Tony gig to which I have kindly been invited, and we're going to be doing some awesome stuff. We finally hit 'Tanglewood Tree' (a Dave Carter cover) at exactly the right angle last night. When I have tears in my eyes at the end of a rehearsal, that's when you know that you're doin' it right. And the convention, of course, is going to be one of my usual 'but what if we threw a concert and everybody came extravaganzas. I'm even packing the prom dress. Just in case.

Today, I...

...got out of bed, sat down, and wrote the first song of 2009 ('My Story Is Not Done'). To quote the lyrics:

I was born into a fairy tale,
Cinderella's dust-bin daughter.
Seemed like I was meant to fail,
Turning wine back into water,

Mama's slippers shattered when
She turned around to run,
But I never thought that mattered and
My story is not done.

My brain, ladies and gentlemen. Studies are even now underway. That done, I wrote three poems, updated my 'Velveteen vs.' continuity guide, and processed some edits to The Brightest Fell, which I'll get back to just as soon as I finish this entry. Once Fishy wakes up (allowing me access to my suitcase), I'll be getting dressed and going out for lunch with the wonderful folks from Team Seattle. And tonight, of course, we're rehearsing one more time for tomorrow's concert, in a setting which I have been promised will provide both ice cream and kittens. My life, so hard.

Tomorrow, I...

...will be appearing in the house concert I've been nattering on about so much above. Because love means never having to listen to me talk about one thing for all that long.

Hope everything is awesome in the worlds of you -- what's going on?