Wednesday kicked off with a bang. That was the first day of two of the Brooklyn shows. First, Ganessa was on the acoustic stage and then later that night, Black Patti on the night stage. The night stage also featured the Opening Ceremonies and Von Iva. I was looking forward to the whole day.
I bought a lawn chair and headed over to the acoustic stage to get ready to see Ganessa who would also be joined by Tiffany. I hadn’t seen them perform together in such a long time so I was really excited for the show. I was the first one in our crew to get there, but soon Marya arrived. A woman named Rachel Davis was the first act on the bill. She was really incredible and a great way to kick things off.
Then Ganessa hit the stage. She did a couple of songs on her own and then asked Tiffany to join her. One thing that I really love about acoustic stage is the drama of it. It’s really the prettiest stage and it’s set up in true amphitheater style. When people come out on stage two huge doors open for the person to walk through. So much drama and I love that. It just adds to the whole performance.
[Ganessa hitting the acoustic stage]
[Ganessa & Tiffany giving the wonder twin power]
Ganessa and Tiffany sounded great together as usual. The set was only 25 minutes, which was way too short. So I’m going to see what I can do to help get her on the day stage for next year. Then she will have a longer set. I think people really need to see more of her. I know that’s that’s a bias opinion, but it is true. When that set ended I headed back to the artist area to eat, but soon we had to get ready for the night stage shows.
We had to be in the backstage area by at least 7pm and that’s when Bombshell really started working. She came along with me to do my makeup, but once people got wind of that fact that she is a makeup artist she was doing work all over the place and she also landed herself a spot dancing in a show with C.C. Carter! That’s kind of how it works on the land. If people find out that you have skills then you are put to work in some form or fashion.
Bombshell was steady doing make up backstage and we were all getting dressed when the Opening Ceremonies began. We had to hit the stage right after that was over. That night Black Patti was solid gold. Either white and gold or black and gold, but gold was the thread. Before I left Brooklyn I found these black sequence hot shorts and a black top with gold sequence. I was so excited to rock them. This was defiantly the festival of sequence for me because I wore a black dress with clear sequence for my show, but I’ll get to that in a bit.
Maritri and Christelle arrived just as the opening ceremonies were getting ready to kick off. Maritri was there to play with Gina Breedlove. Christelle of course was playing with CocoMama and blaKbüshe. So most of my gang was here. Just missing Luciana now.
I could only hear the opening this year, but all the costumes looked great and the music was wonderful. I’ve since seen pictures of people holding signs and dancers dancing. Although I could not see it, I could feel it the vibe.
[Ginger, just one of the beautiful ladies in the Opening Ceremonies]
Soon the opening ended and it was time for Black Patti to hit the stage. We were ready to roll. Hanifah had planned a big Brooklyn opening with a flag and all, shouting out Brooklyn because so many artists on the stages this year were from BK. So the plan was for Ri to trigger the loop “Brooklyn we go hard, we go hard…” and then Olive and I (in our hot shorts) were supposed to hold either end of the flag (it was on two poles) while Hanifah hid behind it. Then we were supposed to do the stripper squat (you know what I’m talking about) lowering the flag to reveal Hanifah in her “armor”. Then we were supposed to follow her down the catwalk so that everyone could see what the flag which read “The People’s Republic of Brooklyn,” turn around, and then head back to start the set. Also Ri was supposed to be hyping the crowd as well. Now this all would have worked wonderfully if the track could have been heard in the house! For some reason that just did not happen and Ri’s mic didn’t work immediately. So we were out there looking cute in semi-silence. It was a strange moment, but luckily that was not how the rest of the show would turn out. In fact the rest of the show was off the hook! Really it was amazing. I play tambourine and bass in Black Patti. In fact I’ve had to play 5-string because that’s what Ganessa plays and it didn’t make sense to have two basses out there. Some of the things I was playing Ganessa had made up so they were just better on the 5. So I went back and forth and sang some BV’s as well. When I played bass, Ganessa played guitar and when I played tambourine, Ganessa played bass. It was a lot of fun. After we got off stage I realized that we looked like the Soild Gold dancers. I might be dating myself by saying that, but those who know, know. Lol. Black Patti is Hanifah Walidah, Olive Demetrius, Lee Free, Ganessa James, DJ Rimarkable (Ri Ri Garcia) and I.
[The Solid Gold dancers! LOL! No really it's Black Patti. Doesn't my hat look like Ecstasy from Whodini? LOL!!! Thanks Christine!]
Wednesday night was set up to be a fool proof line up. It was basically near the lineup that happened last year Thursday night. [Insert flashback music] Michfest…2008…Thursday night line up. It consisted of Hanifah Walidah & the Fuckin’ Ladies, Bitch & Ferron, and Von Iva. Last year none of us had ever heard of Von Iva, but after they played, EVERYONE knew about Von Iva. I came home and ranted and raved about Von Iva. It was a magical night. With that in mind we fully expected Wednesday…2009…to be the same thing. I saw Von Iva do their sound check earlier in the day and even that got me excited. But now we are back to Wednesday night.[Insert back to present music]
[Von Iva at sound check. Go ladies!]
When I got off stage I changed my shoes, put my jeans on and got ready for Von Iva. What happened next floored me. It floored many of us who had witnessed the band before. Because I really love and care for these ladies I am not going to go into a lot of detail, but I will say that it wasn’t the show we were expecting and I could feel a bit of sadness even as Lay Lay (drums) and Bex (keys) were holding it down. I would expect nothing less. The show must rock on. Those who didn’t see the 2008 show loved the 2009 show. But those of us who saw the 2008 show, know what we did not see. That may not make sense, but those who know, know. It didn’t put a damper on the evening overall, but my heart goes out to those ladies. Besides being some of the sweetest people I know they are one of the most kick ass bands on the planet. Look them up people. Von Iva’s the name. Rockin’ the house is their game.
Wednesday was the first night of the midnight meal. The artists and workers get a meal after every night show. I can’t remember what we had, but I’m sure it was good because all the food there is amazing. We also had the great fortune of playing double dutch in the Belly Bowl thanks to Juanita. Us grown gals tried our best to keep that thing going, but many of us got caught in the rope. It doesn’t always come back like you think it will. I think Tiffany got the most jumps in, but it was so much fun to watch and be a part of. I foresee a double dutch intensive workshop next year.
[Gina getting her double dutch on. Juanita & Ubaka on the ropes.]
[Tiffany swinging the single rope. Double was getting tough. lol.]
It was another cold night in the tent. Bombshell got extra blankets. I didn’t, but I was okay. After sitting by the fire a bit I called it a night. Another Michfest opening down. Up next…Thursday.
[Michfest Video Blog Part 2]
You are getting your write on, girl.
ReplyDeleteI miss you ladies at the WOC!
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