Well I am back in Portland and made it through my two big band gigs. Both were hot, due to the weather, not the music, although there were some great moments there too. So onto the recap…
Saturday evening was a fun gig at Pearson Air Museum. Fun and a little painful. I am a bit meticulous when it comes to my warm up’s as you can attest to if you have read this before or even just talked to me. So getting a nice long warm up was the only thing that helpped me to make it through this evening. Now it was not that it was an unusually hard couple of sets but they were tough sets that were spread out over a long period with very long breaks in between. Long breaks mean there is a lot of time to cool down in between. What I have learned in these instances is that you need to use the first couple of tunes back on the stage, to get everything back up and running without blowing out the face. These first two tunes become a warm up if approached correctly.
Second thing I keep in mind with these type of gigs is to not let the adrenaline drive my volume. If you are generally comfortable on a high D and all of a sudden find yourself struggling to hold on, it probably means you are working too hard with your air and pushing the physics of the horn beyond where they can vibrate efficiently any longer. My luck was provided by a very nice sound guy that was willing to give me a nice hot mix in the monitor. If you can hear yourself you are less likely to attempt to punch through the back wall.
So with the long blow from the night before, the blow on Sunday afternoon left a little to be desired. I got the job done and was still quite happy with the overall show, but, always wanting to give my audience my best, I wish a few things were a bit cleaner. The show on Sunday had the added hurdle of being hot as all blazes and outside with no monitor system. This leaves the band, and myself, much more likely to over blow and to not give the most subtle of performances. Always be sure to keep yourself in check when playing outside. Pitch must be monitored more closely, especially in extreme hot or cold, and you also have to make sure you are not doing any damage to the face while producing the extra volume that tends to occur during outdoor gigs.
With these loud gigs behind me, I now look towards Wednesday. I will be performing with a chamber group to premier a local composers new work. Very pretty writing and a chance for me to exercise my quieter and more subtle dynamics. These types of gigs are fun for me and I look forward to the show.
