Leaping Beyond Drama and Nonsense this Divali...

Like the ever aware frog, I pledged to be more present throughout my next tour—both onstage and off.

I am midway through this tour, and I’d give myself about a B-/C+. I’m still getting worked up about little details (when to check in, how to stay current with emails, where to eat…). But I’m quicker at noticing unwelcome drama and nonsense and am able to reset fairly quickly.

By setting an intention to enjoy what’s going on around me I believe I have invited some truly exceptional experiences. Like our Indian Buffet in Indiana:

A few highlights:

Lawrence, KS: great coffee and thrift stores (Matt got a distortion pedal and I got two dresses). And the show was absolutely awesome, which was a very auspicious way to kick off this BEYOND DRAMA & NONSENSE tour.

Fairfield, IA: had to go straight to the gig (not ideal), but we rolled with it and had a GREAT SHOW!! Our friend Carol bought Matt three kinds of throat lozenges for his sore throat. And our new friend Dave agreed to set up a show in elephant-rich Kanchanaburi this January.

Chicago, IL: We arose SUPER early on this day off and drove to Chicago, excitement mounting all the way. Marathon fever was coursing through our veins as we hopped on the train to see our neighbor from back home cross the finish line. He qualified for Boston with a minute to spare, we went out for fish and chips, and then collapsed at Clare and Dan’s place with beer and Wes Anderson’s classic film “Rushmore.”

Ann Arbor, MI: This night kicked off a series of five collaborative shows for the Celtic Roots Revue (with stellar Lissa Schneckenburger, Bethany Waickman, and guests Nic Gareiss, Liz Carroll, San and Laz Slomovits, and others). A dose of traffic, an unexpected long commute to meet our co-bill pals, and a bevy of special guests to accommodate meant that I never took time to warm up and get centered. As soon as I recognized that I was getting in my own way, I was able to just let go and enjoy all the amazing musicians/dancers on the bill. High highs, low lows on this day.

Evanston, IL: Driving to Chicagoland with two more people changed things up. We shared snacks and ipod hits. Pre-show felt a bit like the previous night (giving other people time and taking care of special guests when what I really needed was time to tuck in). But my friend Clare perked me up by bringing tall white boots and a yellow paisley 60s-style dress in JUST MY SIZE!!! I felt like a super hero onstage.

Lansing, MI: Our pal Rachael invited us over for Indian food on our way to the show. I was coming down with a cold (worry and fret about other people takes its toll). I assumed Rach would order take out… but when we arrived she had four pots on the stove and was cutting and dicing. The house smelled like being taken care of, and she put me to sleep while everybody else chilled out. One long nap, some olive leaf extract, and a home-cooked Indian meal later, it wasn’t too tough to float into the venue and just enjoy the nice venue and night of music.

Bellville, OH: Not knowing what to expect at all from this venue/presenters, we arrived with a heart for any fate… what a deep treat that the home, food, company, and gig were truly wonderful! Our host Melanie shared a paw paw with me—I had only ever heard of this fruit (in a folk song, actually), but it turns out the fruit is native to Ohio. With a mango texture, and a floral coconut-meets-banana flavor, the paw paw was my takeaway for this night… that and the COMPLETE WORKS of FROG & TOAD that Matt found for me!!

Bloomington, IN: What kind of food could we expect to find on the way from Cleveland to Indiana? With signs on sticks galore, we thought the best we could do would be a Subway attached to a gas station. So when I saw a sign for “Truck Wash and Indian Buffet” in Spiceland, IN (no joke), I took it for a desert mirage. Fortunately there was a follow up sign, and fortunately we followed it. Happy Divali! Happy saag paneer! With bellies full of dal, we hit Bloomington. The show was HILARIOUS—a great cap off to our co-bill shows with Lissa. I served paw paw in the middle of the show, and I learned that Indiana also lays claim to the paw paw. They call it the Indiana Banana.

St. Louis: Back to the duo show format, today’s highlights included Honeycrisp apples from a farm stand, reuniting with our music pals Brian and Eileen and Shannon’s Aunt MaryAnne, and seeing Matt’s family friends from childhood. It feels good and easy to be a duo again.

I've got five more shows to go on. Glad to have checked in, since I have another week to put my new perspective in play.

Presence is a clean slate and a lighter travel bag

When frogs sing together, I don't imagine they spend much energy judging the performance. They probably just notice how things feel-- how it feels to sing in the warm night air and how it feels to sing together.

Certainly we all process and relate to sounds differently. And certainly I'm not the only one who turns a critical ear to my own sound output. On a good day, I'm in the business of paying attention to what I'm doing, noticing what's working and what isn't.

I wrote about practicing music with awareness in my recent article The Inner Game of Irish music, suggesting that when we listen attentively to ourselves, and when we trust ourselves to hear and feel what is working and what needs to be adjusted, we enjoy playing... and we offer ourselves the opportunity to make lasting, meaningful improvement.

Being aware of the process has led me to rethink my stage shows, too--not just the playing, but all the bits in between when I get to connect to my listeners. I've been REALLY trying to savor this time. Every night is different, and there's always something different to comment on. That's such a great part of my job!

So now I'm trying to take the awareness game to the next level. Before our last show and onstage, I pledged to try and extend this practice of presence and appreciation to my day to day travels: sometimes I can get overwhelmed with details on the road and I miss some of the cool stuff along the way. (Or I transform what could be a chill day into a more stressful one...)

I think the first step is to lay back and just prepare to leave (and not WORRY about preparing to leave). If I can do prep work for a tour with presence and joy, I can certainly do the tour... and all the traveling, checking into lodgings, finding meals, checking email on the road... with a certain amount of ease and humor.

Last week I cleared out my studio. This symbolized a clearing of old nonsense and baggage. Why not clear out my tired old I'm-so-overwhelmed story... and just pack what I need and prepare to enjoy the trip? And then once I'm on the road, why not just be on the road and do what I need to do in each moment? What's the big deal?

The frog gets the idea of just singing, without worrying about how it's all going and how it all fits together. Teach me to leap, little frog, one step at a time.

In Pursuit of a Cleaner Work Pad

I did it. I cleared out the mess. I now have one current To Do list of music to write, learn, or practice. The piles of paper have been thinned. Thanks to my friend Christopher for inspiring me with these photos of nine famous people work spaces. Note Al Gore's Frog on Wall...

Here are my modest BEFORE and AFTER shots: