Isn't this amazing? All the items connect to stories in the show.
This is a long one folks. Buckle in. I have a lot of thoughts around the Shaun Cassidy concert I saw last night.
First off, what a wonderfully intimate venue. If you click the link you can see a pic. My estimate was 400 to 500 seats. It's steeply raked and has seating around 3 sides so there's not a bad seat in the house. You're so close you can make eye contact. We ended up right at his eye level. Considering the other time I saw him in concert it was at the CNE Grandstand and he was just a stick in the distance (there were no video screens in 1979) this was like discovering him anew. At the end of the concert, he revealed his "last secret" (part of the wonderful structure of the show was revealing a few secrets), telling us that while we thought we were there to see him, in reality he was there to see us. I felt that throughout the show.
He talked about working as a magician as a teen, which was something I didn't know. Guess I shouldn't be surprised, considering how another young magician has had such an impact on my life in the last 5 years. I came to know Shaun from his acting. The songs I think I discovered just through the general zeitgeist because at that point my parents were strictly easy listening on the radio. (Probably why I love 70s singers so much.) He quit acting in the early 80s to focus on writing and producing but I swear, as the concert went on, I saw the years disappear from his face. Was that the power of music or a trick of my memory?
My in concert shots turned out like crap so you're getting the promo image. Brilliant idea to have a designated photo time. A reminder that flash does nothing under stage lighting wouldn't go amiss either.
I kept being reminded of the similarities. We're both storytellers. We're both producers. We're both artists making the transition from behind the scenes to the stage. We both believe in that magical connection between audience and performer. Obviously there's huge differences but in that space, with the music I hadn't heard in decades (yet sprung up in my memory to meet us in that moment), I saw on stage the kind of performer I want be. Yes, I love the theatricality of Peter Gabriel and Cy Curnin but time and again I am reminded that isn't how I connect. This weaving a show through a story, bringing the band's unique gifts into a cohesive whole, that's who I am as a performer. My dancing, singing, bright light self being the high priestess of a loving musical communion.
Maybe that's why I was drawn to him as a wee lass. My very first teen crush (as a 5 year old) was David Cassidy (who Shaun paid tribute to during the show). My next was Shaun. Both these men carried these lights within themselves. In David's case, the weight of shining on the hilltop buried him. Shaun was saved that fate by watching what happened to David so when it happened to him, he had a wider perspective. (He's said this in many interviews.)
Or maybe Shaun was like me in another respect in that his true passion was wanting to be a writer. As a teenager, I wanted to move to LA and write for Simon and Simon. (And don't think I'm unaware of the physical similarities between Shaun and Jameson Parker, who also became a writer. I have a definite type.) In university I discovered that my writing style didn't lend itself to screenwriting but it did to playwriting, which led me to theatre.
Bought this second-hand. Only listened to it once. Now that he's explained the appeal of Da Doo Ron Ron, time to listen to it again.
So to tie all this back to this blog, I've been at this crossroad for the last year. I have this wonderful place to live now. I love it. I also need to pay for it. My soul is calling to me to get on stage and sing, to sit and write. My bank account is calling to me to find streams of income. (One currently is building IKEA furniture, which can be fun but is physically exhausting to me.) This has led me to thinking of how to be of service. Some of my ideas are here on this blog (being a listener, working with oracle cards to help people gain clarity) and I keep being led back to coaching. I would love a contract that pays well and allows me to use my visioning, planning, and professional matchmaking skills that would give me some breathing space to develop other ideas. (If you know of something like that, please let me know!)
All important things, but the artist is being lost. I keep getting reminders like last night that I need to get back on the stage, that my role is to bring joy into people's lives. But how to square the circle? And how does writing fit into all of this? (Or wanting to collaborate with Keith again?) I did finally write a bit of fanfiction a couple of months ago. At that time, I had four other stories ideas in the same universe. Yet this need to figure out the whole career thing snuffed that flame out.
Then there's writing this blog. I really enjoyed writing reviews during fringe but it was not fun feeling I was on a deadline. However, at least it got me here again. I do miss regular blogging but each one of these is a couple of hours.
Pulling out this bad boy to watch later today.
The solution of course is to get off the computer. But I like hanging out with my community at Jays in the House. I enjoy seeing what's going on in my friends' lives. I love the inspiration I find on so many pages. And there are so many stories I want to experience. Shaun did a song last night he wrote with Todd Rundgren (that dude got around - the song reminded me so much of his work with Hall & Oates a few years prior, especially this one) that talked about the dangers of getting caught up with tv. As a storyteller, I want to immerse in the stories.
Concerts, shows, walks in the park, time with friends, card reading, singing, dancing, writing, reading, cuddling, sexy times, travel - all this is a full life. I wish I was independently wealthy so I could just spend my time pursuing these things. Since I'm not, that's not how my life is supposed to be. They say to figure out your calling, go back to what you wanted to do as a kid. My first dream as a 5 year old was to be a teacher. Then it became singing and dancing. Then writing as I entered my teenage years.
Maybe I need to trust that teacher piece a bit more. Make the space for the artist. Trust in the stories I want to experience as well as to tell. Trust that the way will be shown for all of it. Do what the cards have been telling me recently - trust my instincts. And maybe I might get to be like Shaun was on that stage last night. Leading a room of love.
My blond phase. What was I thinking? Note the blue jacket strategically covering the strawberry daiquiri stain.
After all, he's already been a talisman for me. When I was 12, I wanted nothing more than to meet Shaun Cassidy. I got to do it when I was 23. It was the first time in my life I had actual proof that dreams do come true. Time to dream bigger. Know and trust I will have them too.
In the meantime, I have a back catalog to get to know.
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