Last night was awesome! I had a gig with the Philips-Westin Orchestra. It's all big band music, and I'm one of two vocalists. We did an outdoor concert in North York. It's part of a weekly series of big band music. Well, the series is more popular than I thought, cause we had thousands - yes, thousands! - of people out to hear us. They sat on benches, chairs, lawns, and ledges. Some brought their dogs. Some brought their kids. Some just sat and nodded along.
But mostly, they danced. They danced to Fever and S'wonderful. They danced to All of Me and Paper Moon. They danced to Mack the Knife and Beyond the Sea.
And it wasn't just shaking and shimmying. They danced. Real, old-school, sweep-her-off-her-feet dancing. How awesome to stand on stage and watch it all, and know that we were a part of this great night.
I did have a Stamps-Baxter moment up on stage though. I was a little nervous starting out. You know, with the thousands of people and all. And I heard Allison Durham Speer screaming, "Open your eyes! Don't disengage your audience!".
But opening your eyes takes such guts and bravado!
I opened my lids. I forced myself to look at a different person for each line of music. And it worked! It felt great. I know I was connecting with people. And I think I sang better too!
Oh, we Allisons are a smart bunch!
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