shifting

well, tb and i have been gone for a few days: in the great wideopen, zion national park--camping, hiking, roasting chestnuts on an open fire (ok, they were sweetpotatoes), stretching the bounds of my fear of heights-- and singing along to bing and dean as the miles ribbon ahead and behind us. then bowing to the great neon blinking god of the desert, diving into the crowd (herd) in las vegas to witness cirque du soleil's "O". virgins no more, we were baptized by the splashing display of human creative and technical mastery. wow.

i feel yet another shifting in the atmosphere. weather brews most decidedly on the horizon. new shaking hands with old, as i meet a new year in a new place, and bring my third decade in this existence to a close very soon (ha! i accidentally published this saying "second" decade--um, yeah. i'm on my third.). . . sorry to be so cryptic, but i feel that change is a'comin. i greet it with sentimental resistance, courageous head-longedness, and gently turn to take the wind in my face. the ride isn't over yet.
WIDE WORLD OF TIF will be silent for a short period while i prepare myself inwardly for these changes.

to entertain you whilst i turn inward, i give you, at long last, and after everyone has forgotten (but me, whom this blog is really here to entertain in the first place): vegoose.
written on the plane on my way to K-Y over a month ago.
with links!! :)

vegoose--
on a plane, high above colorado. headed home for the first time in what seems like a long long time. not really that long in days, i suppose, but long in distance between my heart now and my heart six months ago.
so i figure i should finally get around to sharing with you about vegoose--the festival we performed at in las vegas over halloween weekend.
the hotel~~
we stayed at a huge hotel, off the strip. strange enough for current events, it was called the Orleans--a new orleans-themed extravaganza with jazz band alligators, beads, and besparkled mardi gras masks adorning every wall, corner, and entranceway. of course the lobby was a bell-ringing, light blinking, slot-filling-zombie-inhabited casino. although i thought our rainbowcircus attire fit in perfectly with the festive atmosphere--especially at halloween--we still managed to raise eyebrows from their blackjack tables. in the elevator on the way up to our rooms, icarus (bare-chested with vest, septum ring, feathers through his stretched lobes, and fedora), annie (with a crayola red skunk stripe through her ethnic black hair, and rainbow garb), and i waited with a middle-aged couple both dressed in cowboy attire--those button-down-pocket shirts with trim, and cowboy boots and hats (although i bet you they didn't usually wrangle any cattle). the man said, hmm. you all at some kind of . . convention, or is this everyday attire?
the venue~~
what am i spending time on the hotel for, though? the event was Vegoose--a huge music festival with headliners like Beck, Jack Johnson, The Flaming Lips, and Widespread Panic. it took place at the UNLV stadium, and the surrounding grassy grounds. our circus tent was flanked on one side by one of the large stages and its lawn, and on the other side by the false front of a "church", where impersonators doing marilyn monroe, elvis, ozzie ozbourne, and the like, walked out the front door and did their schtick. a bright red and yellow sign perched above our tent, like an anti-golden-arches: Vau de Vire Society Twisted Cabaret. vau de vire society--an "avant cabaret" company of contortionists, acrobat-dancers, aerialists, freaks (they would be kind of the dark, dysfunctional teenagers to our band of fairy-children)--is based in san francisco, and let us other folks share their tent. it was a mad love fest of tutus, grease paint, camera-hams, music, blackrockcity sex-appeal, and improv genius.
the action~~
at the beginning of each day, once we got our get-ups on, we lined up backstage of the tent and then made a parade--dancing, cartwheeling, drumming, tomfooling and playing through the crowd outside. we were led by dr. mad vibe, who shouted through a bull-horn inviting folks to follow us into the circus tent. the first day, when we wore our elf-attire, abundant silliness ensued. agent red (aka the strawberry to my blueberry) and i talked a vendor into giving us a few bananas. i used one like a cellphone (in elvin jibberish, of course. we were under strict no-english orders from the lady at the top), and then opened one up, smeared it on each other's bare skin and licked it off (that was a highlight, of course). we invited onlookers to join in, but they were happy watching in bewilderment.
back at the tent for the rest of the day we'd rotate through the list of performers, sharing the stage, collaborating and improvising as the spirit moved us. lucent dossier's pieces went well. it seemed that everyone was really putting themselves out there and focusing their energy and intention. the tent was packed with a wildly receptive audience everytime.
when we weren't performing, we had artist passes which allowed us access to where the famous people hung out--there was a red-lit lounge with red couches and carpet and big screen tvs that showed whoever was performing on the mainstage in the stadium. everything was on the house--liquor, red bull, a huge buffet (including yummy veggie stuffs), and a photo booth! (according to the attendant, we circus folks were the hams who most-frequented the photo booth. well.--yeah!) we even got our choice of a free pair of Croc's shoes--a rainbow variety of comfy cushy foam-plastic clogs with air holes. (i chose orange, troyboy chose light blue) i didn't "rub elbows" with any celebrities, nor did i seek to, but it was huge fun to get the VIP treatment, all the same.

the highlight of my weekend was the grand finale "dance-off" between us white-clad divine lucents and the dark painted demented vau de vire folks. we took turns strutting our stuff, which eventually turned into a big orgiastic pile (with this group? who'd a thunk?) of black and white and flesh rolling around on the grass people picking each other up, contact improv-ing, acrobatics through the pile, anybody climbing the rafters, tricking on the trapeze, taking the spotlight, smearing body paint and sweat and spit, to orgasmic pounding funky dirty improv-ing music and spoken word. to sum it up: it was improvperformerbliss. what i loved most about it was that i was right there in the thick of it. the music and i and this throbbing mass of skin and inspiration were one. i was not accenting from the side stage, or thankful to tag along but not to get attention, or kinda-but-not-really shakin' it--i was fully there as all-out and raw as i'd ever been. rockin' it. i belonged--to this group of totally-in-the-moment talented fabulous performers. a card-holding member. not just playing with the big kids--i was a big kid too.

to watch some of the parade:
http://www.youtube.com/watch.php?v=ckFvHIHKAhw&search=vaudevire%20cabaret%20circus%20freaks%20sexy%20fishbone


for a wonky video of the awakenings performance:
http://www.youtube.com/watch.php?v=c9XqHf76who



~~may love, warmth, and light pervade and envelope your life during this festive time. may the new year bring you continued blessings, turning tides, and changes for Good. ~~
sincerely with love.
~~tif