west uptowner

breathe root, originally uploaded by trevorsc.

We've been in Fortress Europe a week and I've yet to see any bona fide police aside from traffic cops. That's civilized. I had thought, given the recent disturbances around the G8 meeting in Gleneagles, and in the aftermath of the London bombings, that there would be a few squads of helmeted men with semiautomatics and dogs patrolling the streets during the festival. Perhaps I've yet to see them. I've seen plenty of cameras. I wonder about them though: I wonder if there is some sociological law of diminishing returns when it comes to security cameras: I mean, once they are everywhere, will people get used to them and stop caring about being caught on camera? Will their deterrence effect be diminished? I get pretty jaded about them back home. I suppose it's different in the UK, though.

Still reeling from the beauty of the buildings – Scottish Deco-Gothic is a new favorite.

Aug 9 shows:

7:53pm – we've just had another “Happy Birthday” come up through the floor from Jimmy Chung's Chinese. Maybe someone asked them to keep it to the times between our shows. That would be nice. It seemed quite short this time: as opposite to the operetta it seems like when it happens during the show.

8:45pm – we are getting some crazy radio static in the speakers right now... pulled the levels down a bit, and will keep the mains out until the first breath, but it's sad and annoying. Someone came up to me and mentioned it, I replied with thanks and some lame excuse about our rental speaker situation. Then a young woman asked about the process of creating the piece, and said wonderful things about it. Speaker problems? What are you on about?

We also have ventilation issues: we're trying to air out the space between shows, and doing alright by it, but when I fan the door to the alley, I get a big waft of pee smell.

9:01pm – just started the first long fade of the show and we get a birthday downstairs. Under the wire, boys.

9:42pm – still trying to troubleshoot this speaker issue. I can fade in the mains just before their first burst of sound, and fade them out at the end – the static is there during the show but you'd have to be a technician or a sound engineer to really be bothered by it. It's different every hour – now it sounds like robot chipmunks sending signals into space to request instructions from their Mothership. An hour ago it was more a 50's radio war drama, you know the kind, at the moment the recon unit loses contact with the field headquarters just as they are being ambushed.

# posted by trev @ 9:28 a.m.