My biggest original concert over - time to reflect

On Friday 7 October, I did the biggest concert of my original work thus far. On stage at the Nassau Hall with me were Errol Dyers on acoustic guitar, Wayne Bosch on electric guitar, Alistair Andrews on electric bass guitar and Hilton Schilder on piano, melodica, Khoi bow and percussion.

Sound, lighting, DVD recording and all printing done by Andre Manuel, without whom this concert would've been a very different experience. He put in hours of work behind the scenes, setting up arrangements, sourcing equipment and making sure everything was not only done on time, but also that the quality was superb. I know when I work with Andre (and his wife, Chantel Erfort) that I'm in good hands. Thanks also need to go to Alistair Andrews for linking us up with Paul Bothner's in Claremont, who supplied the microphones, and Eastern Acoustics, for the mic stands.
Any artist knows - you're as good as your sound equipment.

The audience was amazing - I could feel their energy throughout the show. Sometimes it's hard to see people's faces when a bright light's shining into yours, but I tried to look at people, to look at their faces and to see their expressions - quite a blast, doing that on stage; I don't think audience members realise what a huge, important part of the performance they are. Again, take the audience away and the performance is nothing but a dress rehearsal. Big thanks to everyone who took tickets and supported the show. Anyone who knows my story knows that it was much more than just another concert to me.

Originally I'd planned to do the concert as a live CD recording, which was destined to be my debut CD, but plans changed along the way, and NOW I appreciate why that was exactly how it was meant to be. I look forward to recording my CD in a more controlled environment, to produce something of quality that people would want to listen to for years to come.

The musicians wove their magic on the night, putting my compositions out there powerfully, and supporting me in a way that gave me wings to fly. My history of working with Wayne showed on the night - he's tuned in to me perfectly, knows every note of my melodies, plays notes and chords that complement mine beautifully, and always at a volume that's right for my decidedly soft voice. I made sure we did one song in the show as a duo, because that's the most polished sound I have, mainly through repetition, but also because of personal energy.

Finally getting to work with Errol was unbelievable, and I felt like my entire body wanted to smile while we were doing our mini-set, the first four songs of the first set. He's someone I'd love to do a lot more work with - he and Wayne played really interesting 2-guitar accompaniment to some of the songs. I'm not sure if they'd worked together before; acoustic and electric guitarists seldom do. I loved the combination, and wasn't surprised that they could sound that good together - my gut told me they would.

Hilton on piano took songs I'd long heard played on guitar into a new realm. His mastery of his instrument is unquestionable, and his rendition of "Joe", the quirky blues I selected as the final song of the first set, will probably linger in people's minds for a long time. It seems, though, that his playing of the Khoi bow on the ballad "I Don't Know" was what made the biggest impression of all. It has an other-worldliness to it that at first jars the senses and then, once you've become accustomed to it, lulls you, transports you to a different place .... caves, hills, wide open spaces, unspoilt nature, timelessness.

Alistair joined the band late, as we had to replace our original bassist, but he acquitted himself more than capably on the night. I'm used to singing with just guitar backing or with guitar and double bass, so it was quite an adjustment to me to sing with an electric bass sound. In the rehearsals, though, I realised that what I wanted, that depth of sound, I could get from an electric bass as well. He's really fantastic!

I could write volumes about the experience of putting on a concert like that, the risks involved, artistically and financially, and the challenges life threw my way in the weeks leading up to the event, but...... what the hell - no regrets!

I'm deeply grateful to my family for their love and support, especially my children, Nick and Summer, who not only helped on the night (foyer assistants), but had to endure weeks of strangeness as I darted about to rehearsals, etc. I don't think they could handle another night of takeaways! Thanks to my mom for her support always, and my cousin Tracy - the best friend anyone could have! My sister, Wendy, and my cousins (Pat and Jenny) who pitched up to support - wow.... THANK YOU!!! :-)

To all my friends who came to the show, and to those who sold tickets to their friends and helped with publicity on Facebook, etc. - my heartfelt thanks to you too.

Thanks to the cool MC, my second-cousin, jazz-loving Derek Ronnie, who looked so dashing and did a fabulous job.

But for now, I'd like to say I'm proud of what I did, and SO proud of what we as a group of musicians and technicians achieved, with fairly limited resources. Once again, I learnt a lot along the way, and I'm very happy that I trusted my instincts every step of the way. Where, for some reason or other, I overlooked certain things so that the show could go on, believe me, I won't make THOSE mistakes again.

I sincerely believe that Friday night's concert, while ostensibly the end of a process, was actually the beginning of a whole new one.

(When I get the pics from Gregory Franz, who saved the day for me, I'll add some to the blog. MEGA-THANX, Gregory!!!!)