Instagon #862; Golden Saguaro, Tucson AZ 1/17/2024

 

Having spent many minutes over the last several hours mentally processing my first live performance experience since Spring 2020, I figured it's time to write about that experience before it fades away from memory completely. Not that it was forgettable to me, because it wasn't. It's just become probably way too complicated within my perception of it to make much sense to anyone "out in the world" (plus, those "out in the world" are too busy and involved with their things for my thing to matter much, which is fine), and it will also be supplanted by other experiences as the days move on.  As regards my perceptions of Instagon #862 and more specifically my role in it, they're a jumble of emotions, objective observations, questions, realizations, and probably many more unnamed as yet mental tics. Don't want it to sound as if I didn't have a wonderful fun time at the very bitchin Golden Saguaro, because I certainly did have a great time on Landmark (for me) evening of January 17th, 2024. That being said, it was, again, an experience filled with many emotions, after years of waiting to be involved within activities that had been denied to me. 

As for the actual playing within Instagon #862, I can say that it was a blast to play a really nice drum kit, belonging to Dactyls drummer Asa. Sharing a stage with Lob, woodwinds player Chad Bush (awesome flute solos!) and guitarist Leland Vandermulen had me highly excited, and my playing probably reflected that. I was really inspired to include a small gong and China cymbal as integral pieces of the kit, along with drums and suspended cymbals. These were struck with mallets, sticks, brushes, and knitting needles. It's my hope that there was some kind of musical value within that playing for the other participants, on stage and off of it as well. Admission must be made that at times I had no idea what I was doing at all. After such a long break, it seems as though certain confidences will have to be rebuilt somehow. It'll be interesting to see if and how that transpires. 

Again, January 17th, 2024 was and will remain a very special date for me. Many thanks to Lob Instagon for asking me to participate, and also to the good people at Golden Saguaro for opening their space to us. 

Below: Lob tuning his pedals, so happy to see that again, I can't even tell you

Above: very nice drums 

Below: Lob and I, prepping for another Instagon set!