OVFF report: Highlights

Back from OVFF.  It is a very good thing to get away from my day to day existence and spend time with a whole bunch of people who are worth spending time with, doing things that we all find worth doing.  It's especially wonderful for me that a good number of those people actually showed me that they were happy that I was there.  If I try to cover the whole convention, I will take much too long to write something that will take much too long to read, so I'll try to hit some high points.

A nice dinner opportunity on Friday, just birder2, andpuff, and I.  We wanted something inexpensive and quick, so we went to Bob Evans.  So the food was not extraordinary, but it was what we expected, and perfectly decent.  And the pumpkin bread was wonderful.  I don't remember the conversation being deeply significant or profound; it was just wonderful to have a little time to be friendly with andpuff.

The Pegasus nominees concert, realizing just how good the songs are.  And the lot of them being upstaged by Rob Balder (is he on LJ?) singing "Rich Fantasy Lives" in the intermission twofers, with Tom joining in uninvited on stage.  I knew I liked that song from filktertom's record, but that performance really shined a light on that song's rockingness, and I want to see it on next year's Best Song ballot.  So don't forget to fill out a nominating ballot, and don't forget to include Rich Fantasy Lives in your Best Song nominations.

Seanan's concert.  It's so totally unfair, you know, that someone who is easily the best living poet I know of, and a really entertaining writer of prose, and one of the coolest people on LJ, also has the talent to write such fantastic music, the voice to sing it so well, and the acting and stage presence and je ne sais quoi to put on such a good show.  And it's even more unfair that she's just too nice to hate for it.

The Jamming workshop led by Barry and Sally.  If I could have an hour like that every week for a year, I might actually be able to really do real blues/rock/jazz jamming things, instead of just sitting there watching it go by with that wistful I wish I could do that feeling.

Frank Hayes' concert.  Because I really miss having Frank as a regular presence in Midwest filk circles.  So many songs that are so well crafted that they're still funny and entertaining the twentieth time you hear them, with his presence and delivery that make his modest level of musicianship completely sufficient for a great filk experience.  Everyone wants to listen to him, but very few people will feel intimidated by his presence, which is the down side of all these stunning musicians we have in filk these days.

Wild Mercy's concert.  Simply the sine qua non of Irish filk rock fusion bands.  They were supposed to be releasing their second album, but the first pressing melted because the media just couldn't handle that much wonderful, and the second pressing hadn't been finished yet.  I know they gave other excuses, but I think that's what really happened.

A personal message of support from Kathy Mar, as we spent a few minutes talking.  I don't feel like I know her well enough to deserve her being so caring; I have talked to her enough in the past that I know we are just amazingly different people, but I hope I can take her lesson to heart, that the filk community really is a family of choice, and family has a responsibility to reach out and care for family.

( some less than wonderful things )