Monthly Mess - Magic Theatre?

Let me first say that I debated for a while on whether I should comment on Risa’s entry about the mess, or write my own post.  At first I just wanted to say that the poet that I had the great pleasure to work with was Sara Peters (I neglected to give her name to the organizers, so I wanted her name up somewhere) and give a quick explanation of my Steppenwolf comment.  This is in response to some of the things Risa wrote, so maybe commenting on her blog would have been appropriate.  But then, it really focuses mostly on one or two comments and kind of goes off in it’s own direction (what, Franco digressing?  Imagine!) so I figured maybe my own entry would be best.  Ah, the literary preamble, something I delight in a little too much - so I’ll just get to the point.  Oh - and it was ridiculous for me to think that I could give a ”quick explanation” about anything literary - ask any of my English students.

The evening was really magical to me.  Not in that “pick a card, any card” or “eye of newt, and toe of frog, wool of bat, and tongue of dog” kind of way… but magical like an empty large box to a seven year old who’s imagination is still fertile, or like when you’re thinking of a song and it comes on the radio, and somehow it syncs up with your windshield wipers or the turning signal of vehicle in front of you for those 5-10 seconds.  Being in a room full of artists and art appreciators, the unpretentiousness of the room with its comfy chairs, the diversity of different types of sounds and words coming from all of the performers, the art on the walls, the creak of the floors … all of these things came together for an experience that satisfied most, if not all, of the senses.  And if I may say so right now - the utter lack of technical difficulties kept the feeling going strong.  I know Charles was one person in charge of the sound, but I don’t want to leave anyone out, so whoever was involved in the sound set up… amazing job!  I can’t tell you how many shows  I’ve been at, either on the stage or in the crowd, where the spell that the performers have been working hard to cast on the crowd is broken by feedback, a microphone not working… or a 20 minute change over time between groups.

As Risa mentioned, Kobayashi, the band I used to be in, used to practice in the same building… and I hadn’t been there since.  The building, like many, has a distinct odour to it, and one whiff of the entrance way was enough to bring back memories of practices, parties, arguments, laughter, and that time our keyboard player got caught in the freight elevator for almost an hour…. it is that nostalgia that perhaps made the magic more poignant or intense to me.  It was a very interesting experience to play (for the first time) my very own music in the very same building where a  lot of my formation as a musician occurred.  Now, onto an explanation of my Steppenwolf comment.

Near the end of the night, I spoke to Risa & Elran, trying to convey how grateful I was to be a part of something like the Monthly Mess.  I may have been slurring at the time, but my gratitude and enthusiasm were heartfelt and sincere.  In the book Steppenwolf, the climax of the story involves the main character, Harry Haller going to something called the Magic Theatre… which is advertised as “For madmen only”.  It is part of a therapeutic release for Harry who is a very troubled man and involves murder and suicide, but those things have to be taken in context with the novel.  The evening of the 27th was in no way as dark, grotesque, macabre or violent as some of the scenes in the magic theatre… but the backdrop and overall feeling I got the first time I read those scenes was one of aesthetic saturation, and never knowing what surprises would come next - and that’s how I felt in loft 211B.   Also, the Magic Theatre has several appearances of people from Harry Haller’s past… and besides the fact that to me, the building was a part of my past (recordings, jam sessions, parties and that one time I spent the night in the loft with this girl that I had a massive crush on… (nothing happened)), I saw several people from my past - some of whom I haven’t seen in years.  Finally, in the novel the Magic Theatre is exactly what the protagonist needs… it is dark & violent because he is.  The Monthly Mess was exactly what I needed, and, since I’m not nearly as troubled as Harry Haller is … well, you get the point.  So my comment, really was of my own personal experience of the evening, where the satisfaction I got was reminiscent of Haller’s in the Magic Theatre.  In the novel where I’m the protagonist - the Monthly Mess was the Magic Theatre.

See you at the next one!