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gerisullivanPre-dawn Easter morn 32 years ago in the all-night music party at Minicon 17, Reed Waller pulled out a Michael Smith song I knew and loved from Josh White, Jr's performances of it back in East Lansing...and I knew I'd found home. Here's Michael performing it live halfway between then and now:
I came late to the Grateful Dead, so that same night when I joined the room of fans singing along with the chorus as![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
fredcritter sang "Mississippi Half-Step Uptown Toodeloo," the words seemed nonsensical and I struggled to remember whether "Half-Step" came before "Mississippi" or "Toodeloo" Sure did like the tune, and the sense of community and belonging Fred and the assembled created as he played it. And it tweaked my curiosity. There was clearly much to learn as well as beloved music I could anchor to.
Nate Bucklin broke a string, left the room to replace it, and came back with the announcement that he'd written a song while he was gone. He then played it.
An hour or so later, the same thing happened again. The crowd roared with laughter when Nate said he's written another song. I was new to the group and figured this was a long-established schtick. It took a few years for me to realize just how utterly credible and true it was that Nate wrote two songs that night while changing strings. Songs he didn't stumble over when then playing them for the audience minutes after creating them.
Steve Sullivan and I only stayed at the Downtown Raddish (with its marvelous consuite) for one night, Friday, at our first Minicon. He found the music party Friday night and came back to our room with the news that it was happening again Saturday night. We both went, and drove home as the sun was rising and church-goers were rushing to their own religious ceremonies that Easter morn.
We looked at each other and smiled, recognizing we were coming home from ours. Heck, we even said it.
That night was one of a handful of key events that brought me to fandom, that led to my becoming a fan at Chicon IV. There was a vitally important music party there, too. (L&K,dr_whuh & kaffyr.)
And now? These 32 years later? The morning's still "heavy, with one more beginning, here in Spoon River."
Love to Minicon, love to fandom. Then, now, and forevermore.
I came late to the Grateful Dead, so that same night when I joined the room of fans singing along with the chorus as
fredcritter sang "Mississippi Half-Step Uptown Toodeloo," the words seemed nonsensical and I struggled to remember whether "Half-Step" came before "Mississippi" or "Toodeloo" Sure did like the tune, and the sense of community and belonging Fred and the assembled created as he played it. And it tweaked my curiosity. There was clearly much to learn as well as beloved music I could anchor to.Nate Bucklin broke a string, left the room to replace it, and came back with the announcement that he'd written a song while he was gone. He then played it.
An hour or so later, the same thing happened again. The crowd roared with laughter when Nate said he's written another song. I was new to the group and figured this was a long-established schtick. It took a few years for me to realize just how utterly credible and true it was that Nate wrote two songs that night while changing strings. Songs he didn't stumble over when then playing them for the audience minutes after creating them.
Steve Sullivan and I only stayed at the Downtown Raddish (with its marvelous consuite) for one night, Friday, at our first Minicon. He found the music party Friday night and came back to our room with the news that it was happening again Saturday night. We both went, and drove home as the sun was rising and church-goers were rushing to their own religious ceremonies that Easter morn.
We looked at each other and smiled, recognizing we were coming home from ours. Heck, we even said it.
That night was one of a handful of key events that brought me to fandom, that led to my becoming a fan at Chicon IV. There was a vitally important music party there, too. (L&K,
dr_whuh & kaffyr.)And now? These 32 years later? The morning's still "heavy, with one more beginning, here in Spoon River."
Love to Minicon, love to fandom. Then, now, and forevermore.
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no subject
Date: 2013-03-31 10:56 am (UTC)In November, 1989, I sang "Ripple" quietly in the car as Walter Willis drove Madeleine and me through the dark of night from James & Peggy White's home in Portstewart back to Strathclyde in Donaghadee. Madeleine was sleeping in the back seat and Walter's hearing was such that I was pretty sure he couldn't hear me. It was one of those perfect, magical fannish moments that's stayed with me ever since.
Do you and Dean have the data to produce decades-long 4am pulse check graphs for Minicon 50? Both the raw numbers and the proportional data showing how many people were up at 4am as a percentage of each year's total attending membership would be fun to analyze. At 4am, of course!
no subject
Date: 2013-03-31 03:45 pm (UTC)Still, trends could be interesting. I haven't been to CONvergence in a couple of years now, but it amused me when I did go that more often than not it seemed the numbers we had at Minicon were larger than one would for a pulse check at CONvergence (and many of the people I'd count would be in the Minicon/Minn-StF party). Maybe that's changed by now as that con continues to grow.
no subject
Date: 2013-04-01 03:45 am (UTC)They don't have to go back all 50 years to be a neat thing to have data on at Minicon 50. :-)
no subject
Date: 2013-04-03 09:42 pm (UTC)(My pulse being one of many at the time)
: )