Axiom went of in grand fashion last night. Truly a Saturday-worthy party. It was a bad grey rainy day and so I had Sam bring in some palm trees we'd made together up at DiCapo Opera about a month ago. As everyone trickled in, the flavor got to be just right and we rolled with it. All in all, the experience once again vindicated my long-held belief that Performance should be considered good until proven shitty, and not the other way around. Generosity abounded.
The atmosphere was friendly, but also had moments verging on the revolutionary. Frank and I set a tone early with our quasi-political pomo comedy routine which incorporated a little scene by Wonk Web Celeb Billmon. We were basically talking about our own amateur wonkishness vis-a-vis that of a true warrior, and we included a scene Billmon wrote that we thought was kind of fun. Billmon took video, so maybe some of that will surface. We were experimenting with getting into political territory without making anyone uncomfortable, making it something that people can then talk about, pioneering.
But as it turns out, we were probably a bit more timid than we had to be. Joe Felice brought some great guitar noodling to add to his high-energy activist rap and really lit up the air. Sam Tressler invoked the Boston Tea Party and trash-talked the IRS and the state of America to great effect. Frank Boudreaux read a powerful and thoughtful exploration of the pro-war mindset; almost chilling. On the whole I was a little surprised but mightily heartened to see that my art people were engaging with these kinds of Big Questions with such passion and grace. I was glad Emily's friend who's working on the Dean campaign could make it and see that there's some really good creative energy waiting to bust out.
Plus there was a lot of regular show that was just plain quality. Becky Poole and Noele played some really quirky comic songs (part of something they've got going for fringe) and Nick Capodice read two short and powerful poems. Fellow Meekerite Wes yukked it up with tales of being temp worker and Julia resurrected an old piece that talked about her relationship with Jesus as a child. Jeremy's cute co-worker Jessie read a poetic prose head-trip -- and drew on her hands with a magic marker -- and my friends Melissa and Casey read some letters from jail courtesy Eddie. Everything was quite lovely.
I made my closing remarks (good bye, I love you, keep working on the good stuff and don't be afraid to instigate) and we partied it out for another hour at the space, then moved it up to the Lyric for the afterparty. There were some problems with the DJs -- amateurs, it seemed -- but the crowd was right. Jessie showed up and we had two or three conversations and some good human fun. The drink flowed as we all talked politics and pool and summer plans. Before we knew it we were in real after-hours territory. As things came unravelled I walked home with the sky growing light and felt good about the possibilities.
Frank woke me at 8, forgot one of his bags so I ran it to him, and now I've just got the task of getting the apartment cleaned and my personal effects packed. There's a lot still to do, but I think I can handle it. Yes, I can handle it.
