Seattle Symphony Gig Re-Cap
Wed Nov 12, 2008 11:00 pm
I have attempted to document much of our Seattle experience thru pics,
though I shot tons of B-roll footage to be saved for a higher purpose. For
those wanting to be tortured by my literary lack of skill, I've included a
lengthy bit of wordage below all images. Thank You and Goodnight.
and for the fat, fat blog:
This crappy shot and the next one are taken at Bauhaus - where we had
an informal meet and greet or whatever (posted it here - as some of you
noticed). We were stoked at the turn out and enjoyed the experience. U
guys seemed to as well. Hope you ordered what i did.
This was the first time we did anything like this. I don't know if it will ever
happen again. Usually we're busy and the band has sound check during
day of show; in this case, rehearsal started super late. Who knows.
Why doesn't Starbucks do this? Because they're making coffee for the
masses. Bauhaus makes coffee for the crowds. Where are some other
great indie coffee shops? Tell me.
I don't understand why this old dude was wearing a dress. Maybe it's just
easier to get around town in. Should we all wear dresses? No. Nope. Not.
(see comments on page 2 for info from people who know of him)
The girls rehearse here at the Presbyterian Church the night before. The
girl to the right was Mariah. Searching for her last name. More later. I will
come back and post it. She and her brother have a band together and
seem very cool. Also - they've been huge eisley fans since the early ep
days so this was fun for them. And us. She's a great vocalist.
Kids choir to the right... practicing "Just Like We Do". They sang so
beautifully. The arrangement mateo wrote was brilliant as you'll see.
The band had an informal rehearsal the morning of the show: chords,
harmonies... all kinds of stuff... in my hotel room. Thus the pics. We
captured video too but I will wait on that.
Keyboard dudes...
"Everything's not lost" (name?) has weird chords. They change from verse
to verse. Weird. Those Coldplay guys... ha ha.
I captured tons of b roll action. But this action - you will not see until the A
roll footage comes back from Mateo's people. Maybe we'll toss the entire
show - including b roll footage on the new cd (extended play) or something.
I think this is when the girls backed up Mariah on "Oh Susannah". I
thought i had their info. but don't so i emailed Mateo. Does anyone
have their myspace page? nope? ok.
She's so cute. And what an amazing player. Played the trumpet part at
the end of "Combinations". It's a very tricky part. Also - her dad is in the
symphony! Talked to her parents for a while. She's become a huge fan
and I think she is going to join the forum if she didn't already. She's 9.
The girls were great. I mean - I think so. It was flawless. The dude who
mixed the show was having issues, but as i told you, it was video-taped
with many cameras and multi-tracked in Pro-tools, so we can get the
harmonies mixed right. Wish they'd have let Mark mix. No way. Union. 
I tried to shoot with my camera while video-taping. I probably
compromised both medias. Wudder ya gonna do? Just one guy.
Electric Viola performer. Matthew Schoening. Very talented. He plays also
with lots of rock bands. Here's his site: http://www.soloelectriccello.com/
Luke got this shot using my camera and I was stoked over it. One of my
favorites. Blurry but i sharpened it muchly.
This kid was in the previous year's show. He was a cancer patient who is
alive because of the benefit. This is what it's all about.
Dark shadows. Hey - you use what you have. I didn't have much. I think
Luke shot this one too as he did many of these. Thanks, Luke.
Back stage shot with Mateo, band and James - who helped us all night.
Thanks Mateo for everything and... James, you were funny.
Day Off - Saturday
Luke - aka: psykotic flew from Boston to the show.
Our favorite Tai restaurant in Seattle. Prices, food - amazing.
Group shot at the W shindig. Why do i look like floating sea fairies shot
me with Sea King's stun gun. jeeze.
Posted this in Laughing City too in case u want to congratulate:
http://www.eisley.com/laughingcity/viewtopic.php?t=35683
Breakfast at some neat place on 1st before packing and taking rental back
to Enterprise > shuttle > airport > flight > dfw >shuttle to parking >battery
out in van because i left power converter on > get attendant to charge >
drive home to dfw > eat.
And Now - Words
I'm sitting on a plane holding my blackberry, gazing out the window over the billowy fluff, banking at 31,000' toward home (East!) while reflecting on the experiences we were blessed to be a part of during the past few days.
It was a chill day today (Sunday)...a little sad. Leaving Seattle isn't the best thing ever but we softened the blow by having breakfast at a quaint little joint down near the market, took the pleasant stroll back up the hill to The "W" on 4th where an easy check-out went hand in hand with an easy load-out (i fit everything into the mini-van including passengers) which seguayed right into a pleasant drive to Enterprise which dove-tailed right into a stress-free shuttle-ride to the airport where we waltzed right up to an empty counter, was met by a really nice AA lady, paid for 10 bags ($155), stripped and walked right through security with little interrogation, strolled casually to our gate with 1 hour lag time before boarding where we ate, drank Starbucks & hung out 'till boarding. I mean - that's rare in this biz'. Nothing ever goes THAT smooth.
We even ran into an LD met years ago in Seattle at the Crocodile Cafe when Stacy got pneumonia... remember? - the time that she and Weston were too young to stay in the club so they froze outside in the van. Yeah, anyway, we run into him at festivals/shows all over the country - even in England... Anyway - so i got to catch up w/ Leif. Enough minutia. I guess my captivity is resulting in more detail than usual. Soft apologies.
Anyway...I'm still trying to gather my thoughts. In a way this trip feels much the same as any other fly-date trip... the Eisley's are nestled in their skinny eco-class seats around me, Stacy is reading the fleet Foxes article in last week's Rolling Stone, Garron has his big, clunky headphones on (as I will soon - listening to new eisley songs), some are already asleep - adjusting to pale blue as we race away from a beautiful NorthWest sunset. But something is different. I'll attempt to explain.
Just minutues ago at our gate we were snacking and caffeinating for the long flight home - talking about the memorable experience of the concert, plus last night's combined chauntelle/jason birthday party/Jason & Hanna engagement at the bar at the "W", where I we saw I stood 2 feet from Harrison Ford the night before etc. AnYwAy... we were talking about the show - all our conversations with so many - especially Mateo, all the people we met, the Benaroya, the children in the children's choir, little Natalie who trumpeted so profoundly, her parents, all the fans we talked to at Bauhaus, after the show... etc.. You know - just the entire experience...
When stacy said something I didn't think much about: "I think that was the most exciting experience of our career so far". Later, i was thinking - woah - that's sorta saying something; like... you opened for Coldplay at Red Rocks, at Madison Square Garden and the Hollywood Bowl... and somehow - THIS experience topped all of that? (I said I was thining this; I didn't say it outloud).
But deep inside, I knew exactly what she meant. Sure - having the choral/orchestral backing a beautifully epic was unusually classic...it was a ridiculously rare opportunity for an indie rock band... but more than all that stuff - it was the fact that none of this splendor was really about Eisley. Whether or not we'd won over any new fans or helped their career one tiny bit.... or whether or not anyone even remembered who eisley was after the show didn't matter because - as a result the concert - somewhere in a sad, depressing hospital room is some mom or dad hovered over their child - in tears... worried sick about whether they'll survive. And hopefully, because of this event, some of them will get a helping hand when they need it the most. We all know that $ comes in handy even during normal life, but try to imagine the massive burden of hospital care when you can't even work because you're in trauma over your child. The thrill for us is -eisley was able to share (the only thing they have to give) in helping Mateo make it happen. THAT'S why it was the best experience ever.
Ok - and the orchestra and the choir was a big hairy deal, yes. It was celestial; it was divine. Team Eisley is thankful that Mateo reached out to us.
The Future...
is now. More on all of that soon.
bd
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