Reveling at the Faire

This past weekend was the Mark/Mike/Phil weekend, which was an all-guy weekend that centered on the KC Rennasiance Festival. Mark is working there as the undertaker.... I went as my usual minstrel with the lute, and Mike (who could out-play me any day on a guitar) went as a magician.

We were there from open to close -- ran into Mark (ahem, "Moribond") several times and watched him do his scthick with people -- approaching groups of people and having them select a dead person from among themselves which he then comes up with a ceremony for... with much mirth intertwined.

Mike and I strolled as I plucked at my lute. We watched a magician's show and saw several of the musicians' performances. Lady Nancy, Matty Striker & Pope Loy, and Doug Harvey. We could hear the pirate show across from the Public House on the Wharf, too.

We also ran into the O'Malley sisters, three lovely ladies who work a pirate sort of life. We ran into them in the morning, then saw them in the noon parade. We moved back toward the food and ran into the parade again, this time seeing Mark. The O'Malley sisters basically "endowed" us as "stalkers" for the rest of the day. (That's Skye O'Malley to in the hat there).

I bought Matty's new CD. We sat down and listned to Doug Harvey, (a fellow Rowan member along with Matty -- actually Marianne Carter) and I really enjoyed his warm voice and cittern playing. Just him, solo... so I bought his CD as well. He remembered my lute from last year and gave it a little play. We made a little small chit-chat... they're out of Lawrence, KS -- I Doug and Matty are apparently with KU.

Mike and I figured out that we really have no characters to go into so we really couldn't engage anyone. Too bad, it would have been fun to come up with off the cuff scthick. Mike eventually did a magic trick for a boy in a wheel chair, and I eventually worked up the nerve to sing a song for some silly teenage girls who asked me to. While I played and sang "Hares On the Mountain" they waved their cell phones in the air. I'm so unhip that it wasn't until that evening when Mark and Mike explained it to me that I knew what that was about.

More than anything else, we love the atmosphere of the fair -- everyone playing, letting parts of themselves out that they seldom get to in "real life". So mostly, we just soaked up the atmosphere. I had a couple of Stouts and we smoked a couple of pipes -- and that was pretty much the day.

The rest of the weekend consisted of us playing music together, grilling food, and talking philosophically into the night...

I called Vicki Sunday morning -- turned out her weekend was as full as mine. She hit the Elks Club with Sam on Friday, went to a movie Saturday, then hung with the neighbors for a while and then back out with Sam and his cousin to see his cousin's son's band "Brothers' Image" (who are very good).

We talked about going back to the Faire on Sunday -- tell you the truth I wouldn't have minded. Especially on a pretty day, it's a nice place to be.