"I Was Meant For The Stage ..."

"From the floorboards to the flys,
Here I was fated to reside.
And as I take my final bow,
Was there ever any doubt?
And as the spotlights fade away,
And you're escorted through the foyer,
You will resume your callow ways,
But I was meant for the stage."

~ The Decemberist ~ I Was Meant For The Stage ~

***

Over this past weekend, Russell and I has the opportunity to play at the Jack Singer Concert Hall in Calgary.  Definitely a dream come true.  This facility hosts many great acts, plays and performances year round.  As mentioned in a previous blog post, the east indian community held a cultural event, Diwali, and this year, we were one of many acts playing at the event. 

Differing from our usual band sound, we played with an author and classically trained singer, Mrs. Jayshree Bhatt.  Our item included Russell on bass, myself on keyboard, Harjitbhai on tablas, Vineet on sitar and a choir of 12.  Mrs. Bhatt chose 4 religious ragas to celebrate Diwali.  With the purity of her voice, the trance-like tabla sound, the angelic choir and our non-ethnic feel on bass and keyboard, we delighted the crowd with four songs.  

In between all this excitement, I had to carry around my juices, meds and potatoes to make sure I was on schedule.  Some spoke quietly to each other as they curiously wondered what "drugs" I was ingesting prior to performing ... I felt like a bit of a druggie, getting "ready" to perform.  And to my surprise, it made me laugh thinking ... hmmm what are they thinking.  As well, I had a few people who "know" about my diagnosis, and I know they know, but they don't know I know they know ... whatever, anyhow these few looked shocked that I was walking, talking and even performing on stage.  In their minds, cancer means weak, frail, and dying ... and in their defence, that is probably their experience with family and friends.  They were greeting me, cautiously, probably not sure what or how the conversation would go.  For me, it was life as usual.  I was more worried about my performance and my indian sari falling off then the impression I was making to the casual few.  At that moment, I really didn't bother with what others thought, and it was liberating.  

My parents said to me a few nights earlier, that they were proud of me, where I was, and what I had become.  What I represented and knew that I was beating this horrid dis-ease with a great deal of class.  I guess I had what I needed to be "seen in public". I had myself, my own sense of who I am.  I wasn't there to impress anyone but ... me.  And I did.  And it was awesome.  Once again, I had Russell on stage, beaming and glowing in the moment.  And every time I looked in his direction, his smiling face made me laugh.  He was meant to be on stage.  His emitted his passion and true love for music and it was contagious.  

Another moment of feeling I was exactly where I was suppose to be in my life ... and loving every musical moment.

"Music washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life" ~ B. Auerbach

" Fire ..."

"Sometimes I'm hot sometimes I'm not
Tonight I'm ready ready to rock
No sitting home all alone not tonight tonight I'm in the zone
Cuz I'm on fire fire fire fire fire tonight
I'll take you higher higher higher higher higher tonight"

~ Raghav ~ Fire ~

***

This is the best time of year in Calgary.  Seriously, summertime in Calgary is beautiful.  We have so many events, festivals, concerts and activities on the go ... there is quite a selection ....  And to top it off, the Royal couple are in town, Will and Kate, and the hype is big, real big.  But an even bigger HYPE in town is the Calgary Stampede.  The Calgary Stampede is an annual rodeo, exhibition and festival held every July in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. The ten-day event, which bills itself as "The Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth", attracts over one million visitors per year and features the world's largest rodeo, a parade, midway, stage shows, concerts, agricultural competitions, chuckwagon racing and First Nations exhibitions.  And I am a HUGE fan, and not because I enjoy country music (uh, negative) but because it is one big party environment.  Everyone is on FIRE!!  

The streets are filled with people dressed up in country wear, ahem some not wearing much and with different agendas, but hey whatever works for ya ... giddup!!   From memory, most people "check-in" the office in the morning, you know making an appearance and then ... off to the races - beer chuggin', vodka drinkin', flapjack flippin', baileys and coffee sippin', sausages eatin', egg scramblin' ... and thats just before NOON! ... hmmm think I covered it all - but the best part, if you play your cards right, it is absolutely FREE.  Yep, F-R-E-E!  Almost every shopping mall, community centre and church in the city has free food for the entire stampede duration.  The Stampede spirit is wonderful, besides a few party poopers who state "ugh, I just hate the Stampede!", people are generous and just looking to have simple, plain, good ol' fashion fun.  The party lasts for about 10 days, and afterwards the city is usually experiencing a massive hangover.  And this refers to those of us that don't even drink ... seriously, the high is SO high, that afterwards, it is just down-time ... until the next festival, street party or event is on ... which is usually the following weekend?!

This year we have an opportunity to experience the events in a different way ... besides working around my therapy schedule, which goes without saying, we have an opportunity to see a talented musician, RAGHAV.  Raghav is a Canadian born singer, raised in Calgary and a family friend.  He will be performing on Friday, July 8th at the Whiskey niteclub in Calgary.  And we have the pleasure to be there and cheer him on.  His debut CD "Storyteller" sold an impressive 1.3 million copies.  He also won a MOBO Award for Best Collaboration, and two UK Asian Music Awards for Best Newcomer and Best Single.  And in 2005, Raghav also won an Urban Award for Best Chart Act.  And if this wasn't enough to impress, Storyteller was the 6th best selling international album of all time in India and his CD, Indentity, had a #3 charted single that won a Southern Asian Music Award for Best Artist and an Asian Achievers Award ... yes, we can all give a collective WOW!  To state how proud we all are would be an understatement.  

So with the city is in full Stampede swing, concerts are planned, parties are set and people are buzzing and on ... FIRE! ... I decided to try to enjoy the aforementioned as much as I can.  Making sure not to push myself too much, but try to live it up as much as possible.  And it takes a lot of planning on our part, if it is a day trip, making sure soup, potatoes, juices and meds are packed ... if it is an evening event, making sure the therapy is complete for the day, monitoring my energy levels, etc ...  Some days I get excited to do things only to find out at the end of the day, I am just spent.  So, for tomorrow nights gig my plan is to REST UP, DRESS UP and just ENJOY THE SHOW!  

"Tonight I'm ready ready to rock 

No sitting home all alone not tonight tonight I'm in the zone"

Raghav ~ www.raghav.com