Last night, all the creative convergence, rhythmic coalescence and symmetrical synergy that fest has come to symbolise for me, came together at our band's opening festival gig - our SunshiP trio, now also with sax, electric violin and acoustic guitar. The other three had never played together, and only two of them had ever previously performed with us a long time ago. But we came together and cooked! They were moments of jubilant, thoughtless, total presence - with very gracious musicians all around me who gave each other the space and attention for every one to fly and create our very happy flock! There were times when the dance floor seethed, and with all the encores, we landed up playing almost four hours. This morning, tired but happy in its full meaning, I woke up to the sound of tabla and guitars - the cream of SA's acoustic scene rehearsing for the Sid Kitchen tribute concert, for a musician that was recently tragically taken far too soon. But he sat on my couch this morning with his friends as they played and remembered - and I just kept feeling more and more blessed. Later on I tried playing Ashish's tablas. You know that "tin tin, tin, douing, douing" sound in Indian music? Well it comes from two finger drums that it takes decades to master. Ashish Joshi has - and brings them into everything from jazz, to Afro-fusion and beyond. They are incredibly hard to play. I didn't "douing" once. "Tin Tinned" a bit, but felt like an interested child again, exploring. An hour ago, Ashish on tabla, Greg Georgiades on guitar, and I on timberleki, (that small Middle Eastern mini-djember-like drum), jammed a little. It's simple really - you listen to each other, do your best to contribute without imposing, try be gracious and see where it goes - like life I suppose. After this I'm off to The Sound Kiln - an old brickworks on a farm on the outskirts of town, still with its high stack chimneys, below which is the old brick kiln - a series of vast tile tunnels where the bricks were once baked, which now houses a fantastically cosy live music venue! And before we perfomed last night, I caught an incredible jazz ensemble of musicians from four different countries, one of which, from Switzerland, is a vocalist and human instrument. His lips trumpeting a duet with sax, while the rest of the band gently bubbled beneath, was truly epically beautiful! That's what festival does - it sucks talent together for a short, intense, time; and opens it up to those who come, like a cosmic human flower.

But not all shows here are fabulous. It happens. There are so many. "Animal Tales" yesterday, which was a kids eco-play, was more of a lecture than a playful meander into the glory of Earth's kingdom. And I still don't understand why people feel children need to be taught, rather than raised. But my nephew Ilyo was back at the botanical gardens to see the trapeze fairies again this morn. And he loved the Woolfie the wolf character. They must have hugged each other about five times today - Ilyo now sporting his own tail, from an old toy that my sister safety pinned onto his little trousers before his dad took him to the show again. Indeed, if well done, theatre has a profound effect on everyone! And tomorrow at two, my theatrical experience begins as my sister and I do a small performance vignette, at the Arts Lounge - monologue, dialogue and drums combined - our fun fifteen minutes, and our first proper performance together since the Christmas concert at the Germiston Greek primary community school in '76. For now, I'm living fest one day at a time. And today's not done yet. Tomorrow we feel our way through again.

 

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Comment by alexandra avgitidis on July 3, 2011 at 17:04
Good luck for tomorrow's performance!

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