First Time On Stage with Cirque du Soleil!

Today was my first day on stage playing with the band for Saltimbanco. The show has two acts with an intermission. Since there were two shows tonight, I played the first act in both shows. How did I do? I think I did about 90% potential on the first show and 95% on the 2nd. I hit a "clam" on the first opening solo, but it wasn't horrible. No complaints from the music director, which is always, a good sign. I have to admit, it was nerve wracking and I felt like I was on "high military alert." I pretty much know the music; it's the cues and all the little unexpected stuff that was putting my stomach in knots. There was no dress rehearsal for me. As a matter of fact, there were really no rehearsals at all. I ran through each song once or twice during sound check with the band over the last week or so. Before I went on stage, I was approached by about five different performers and asked, "You know the cue to start the song in my act?" Then one of the stage managers walked up to me and said, "We don't say 'good luck' or 'break a leg' around here. At Cirque we like to say, "Don't f@!# up!" That gave me a good laugh :-)

And about the unexpected "stuff," one example was that Cirque wardrobe people me some special red shoes to go with my costume. There are a bit wide, so when I go to hit a particular pedal to change sounds, I have to be careful not to hit any pedals or buttons adjacent to this extremely important pedal. Yikes! But the one that completely caught me off guard were these two: I start the show with a quiet solo piano piece as the band and I are covered with a parachute-type material. It gets rolled up very quickly to expose the band and the rest of the stage in the middle of the first tune.

So I see my cue in the dark and I start playing but I don't hear the piano in my monitor! (We wear earpieces and can hear ourselves and the other musicians in them). So I play half the tune by just knowing which keys to press and hoping the dynamics are cool because it sounds like I have my fingers in my ears with the in-ear monitors. Then BOOM - the sound pops into my ear...no problem...I'm a professional...I've played in biker bars...this was fine. Then as the band kicks into the very dramatic build up as they roll up the sheath exposing the band. It's rolling up VERY quickly and catches the corner of one of my keyboards...lifting it up and knocking over the two mic stands that are in front of me. But...no problem...I've played in biker bars...I've seen people thrown on stage in a fight... I can handle this.

I undo the sheath. Jean-Louis, the bassist grabs a mic stand while he's still somehow playing the bass. I grab the back of the same stand and pull it back up...continuing to make it through the tune. Apparently, this is not an uncommon occurrence. Great! The rest of the set went pretty smooth. I made it to the end of both 1st acts and survived.

At the end of the evening the cast came off the stage after the finale where I was backstage practicing the 2nd part of the show on my practice rig. They formed a circle around me then cheered and applauded. That was pretty cool. I've played in biker bars, and I must say that being part of this production - a Cirque du Soleil show, is pretty damn cool!