Friday: Axe Dide & March Fourth

And Portland's great Brazilian music weekend arrives! Today there was actually a samba-de-roda class that I had to miss due to some absolutely frantic last-minute prep for Axe Dide. Now I realize how ridiculous it was to try to learn 15 songs on Wednesday for a show on Friday. Plus I still haven't practiced nearly as much stuff as I wanted to!!

I did get some time in on pandeiro - only 2 short sessions though - 'cause I'll be playing pandeiro (alone) for Axe Dide's capoeira piece, which I fairly terrified about (the capoeira pattern, simple as it is, is alien to my choro-playing hands.) I spent hours today picking through my rehearsal recordings trying to remember this or that new song, break or pattern. I hate feeling this unprepared.

But I showed up for the gig and there suddenly were three or four other fantastic drummers sitting in who I'd never even met before, all of them wicked fine drummers. Extra bell and caixa players all over the place. Whew! Extra singers too and yay, I wasn't the only one who still needed to look at the words!

Well, in the end, bits of the show were a bit ragged- strange transitions, a couple blown breaks - but none of it was my fault (where) and they're all such pros it made no difference. They wowed the crowd entirely and I had such confidence in the people around me that I got into what I call my "Jeff Busch state", when I'm CERTAIN that everything is going to go well, NO fear, and it really starts to be FUN. (I call it the "Jeff Busch state" because playing with the great Seattle drummer Jeff Busch was my first experience in being able to completely relax when playing. That's because Jeff can rescue absolutely anything, all by himself, even if the rest of the band completely falls to pieces, so I know that nothing can go wrong when I'm playing with him. Plus, well, he always just looks so happy.)

When you're relaxed - when you're not thinking about what might go wrong, but instead you're enjoying every moment - you start to play out more. You start to develop your own voice. It's the difference between just rigidly tapping out a part you've been told to play, and happily singing it out because you think it's beautiful and you want everybody to hear it.

So, Axe Dide started to be one long Jeff Busch state.

And the dancers? I didn't mention?
Best dance show in the world, maybe? Am I overstating? I guess I haven't seen all the dance acts in the entire world, so I can't say that for certain. But Axe Dide is truly phenomenal. Donna's a very strong director, and she pushes for, and gets, very high commitment and very high performance level from her dancers. And her choreography is brilliant - she has a way of shaping a choreography so that a high # of dancers on stage looks balanced and creative, instead of just looking like a strangely large mob of dancers (as I've seen in some other groups I could name!). She'll do very dramatic changes between sets of dancers, like, 2/3 of the dancers suddenly crouch to the floor very still, while the other 1/3 continues dancing; subsets of dancers come whirling to life now and then, or are suddenly whizzing across the back from one wing to another, very dynamic and it gives everybody the spotlight. And the QUALITY of the dance, my god, such beautiful fluidity and torso control, and "live arms all the way to the fingertips" as Donna would put it. No dead arms! (another gripe I have with a lot of American samba dancers.)

Axe Dide's really a professional dance company - not just a bunch of random dancers accompanying a drum band.

Afterwards: March Fourth, Portland's punk marching band. March Fourth was started as sort of Lions spinoff a few years ago, by a former Lion of enormous musical skill and leadership talent, and so it has a high amount of Axe Dide / Lions crossover, I spotted some of the Axe Dide singers in there too. March Fourth has a fanatical following in Portland right now. I'm constantly running into people who pretty much start drooling and going into fits if I mention March Fourth. Their hula hoop dancer girl was at a hot tub place near where I live a few weeks ago, and people were treating her like a rock star. I can understand it to some degree - I first spotted March Fourth three years ago and immediately thought "Whenenver I burn out on samba, I'm joining that band". And I'm not the only one to have had that thought, 'cause March Fourth's "stolen" several fine Lions players.

Watching them tonight, I realized what they're doing that's so successful: Reviving vaudeville. It's basically a huge brass-and-drums band that plays silly songs, in goofy outfits, while people do stunts and skits in front - hula hoop routines, knife juggling, stilt walking, comedy routines. Cool routines, actually, and sexy and fun. But basically it's vaudeville! It's a great idea. They've found an incredible niche. They PUT ON A SHOW.

I LOVED them, I had a GREAT time, I THOROUGHLY enjoyed the show, and I stayed much longer than I'd planned; and yet I was sort of relieved to discover that I didn't feel a strong need to join them. Turns out... I kept wishing they would play a samba! I guess I am pretty far yet from being burned out on samba.

So Axe Dide and Lions are still the bands for me.