morning: showday.
travel with ursula and derek to waterfront + greenpoint market – acquired some beautiful artwork and a handpainted t-shirt to wear on stage tonite…i was superstressed tonite cause generally at festivals there is no soundcheck, just a line check…so i only have 30 minutes to set up all my gear and make sure it all works before playing the show…my nervous system is pretty much wrecked upon going on stage…we had to rush a bit to get all the songs played in the 1:15 slot @ 11pm…as it turned out it was a great set although i felt destroyed inside….we played to 1000-1500 people – and it was absolutely amazing!!!! highlights: what a woman must do!!!, adventures, freepoem, q+a…
watching this enthralled audience listen and respond to ursula’s words with loud cheers and applause and screams of delight…this was ursula’s night and i’m not sure she even introduced us…upon reflection…it was a stunning set and probably one of the heaviest sets on the entire festival…if only from my perspective. so many of the artists there TY, tumi,
soweto kinch etc expressed how blown away they were of our performance and also amazed at the guitar and all the roles musically that i played in ursula’s project…it’s always good to hear this after such hard work of trying to make something original and lasting…many new friends were made here – warm beautiful people –
aftershow wind down:
checked femi kuti (awesome) then off to hotel to the afterhang jam on the 3rd floor. hung with femi temono, david okumo, dr. phil from TY…all my new london homies ‘at the door’. we were the doormen…haha..david okumo was hilarious like an old soul brother i’ve known for years…we laughed for hours messin with people…he reminded me of Foley (bassist from Miles)…many laughs and good times…lots of wine tonite. no need to sleep as we leave tomorrow. better to crash out on the airplane flights…stayed up til 7:30am…met alot of people who saw the show that came up to me to say hello and say how much they enjoyed the performance…slept for 2 hours then went to mountains (table rock) with some performers from TY…it was beyond breathtaking…no words to describe this really…first time i ever felt vertigo. we were so high up in the cable car and close to the edge…ahhhh….only a few hours before we leave back towards the states after being away for a month…it’s gonna be strange bein back…here’s how it all broke down goin home:
2 hour wait at capetown airport
11 hour flight to heathrow airport, london
2 hour van drive to gatwick airport
2 hours layover in gatwick airport
8.5 hour flight to philadelphia international airport
2 days….
exhausted, burnt, wrecked, and home.