thirteen ways

I hope you wonderful folks out there aren’t getting sick to death of posts about our fabulous Ayre circus. It was a fantastic experience for me, both personally and musically, and there was bound to be some gushing. These concerts have been a high point in my musical life, both in terms of the quality and variety of the music, the talent onstage, the backstage support, the large and responsive audiences, the finger-tingling “magic” of the performances… 

The final concert certainly felt like a culmination. Segerstrom Hall (in Orange County CA) was fantastic (somehow a 2000 seat hall felt like an intimate chamber music venue), the atmosphere was electric, Dawn was in great voice and she gave her most raw and uninhibited performance of the tour. In the urban wasteland of Costa Mesa the only place open after the show was TGI Fridays, so we all indulged with some novelty oversized meals to go with our novelty oversized drinks: 

Below, Adrien Brogna, our unimaginably polite young guitarist (who only showed frustration when an airport passport control innocently asked him if he was from Paris: “Non, non! I am not French. I am from Belgium!”), chowing down, American-style, on some meaty ribs. Adrien had eaten most of his entree with a knife and fork, until harpist Bridget Kibbey reminded him that he was in America, and that “We don’t eat ribs like that:”

Below, some rowdy, drunken folks. L to r: The Mac, the Phot, the Berg (who with the Kib are exhibiting their “WOW” setup), J-Flo, the Kib, the Brog, the Alb, the Dawn, the Kap:

Our favorite horny bloke (”hornist” just seems too formal), Eric Ruske, had a 5am flight, so didn’t come out after the concert. So we came to him: 

Below, the note - written by Dawn, signed by everyone and kissed by the Kap and the Dawn - shoved under Eric’s door when we failed to raise him from his slumber:

Eric! 

We were here!

We MISS you now

We will miss you more tomorrow!!

Dawn