Kansas City, MO 2025 part 2: Quiet Down!
Oct. 31st, 2025 12:20 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
taz_39**Disclaimer** The views and opinions expressed in this post are my own, and do not reflect the view sor opinions of my employer. DO NOT RESHARE ANY PART OF THIS POST WITHOUT PERMISSION. Thank you.
This post covers Wednesday and Thursday.
--- --- --- --- --- ---
WEDNESDAY
I went to bed at 1am and was awake at 6am, thanks to angry imaginary arguments with myself about...well, about a lot of things I guess. I had written a rant about it, but you don't need to hear it, and just rest assured that it'll get resolved and I'll be in a better mood when that happens :)
Right, Wednesday. Since I was up early I had coffee and stole more stuff from hotel breakfast. The first two eps of the new Hazbin Hotel season had dropped, but I wanted to delay watching them until afternoon. So I had breakfast, tried to line up an Orlando Christmas gig, and worked on Austin TX Foodie Finds.
After breakfast I gave my tenor trombone a bath at the kitchen sink.
"The Art Deco Prison" i.e. Kansas City Music Hall only has 1-2 bathrooms backstage and those don't have sinks (I know!! Gross!!) but I have been sick, and I want the germs OUT of my horns. Today is the tenor and tonight I will drag the bass here for the same treatment.
It was very cold outside but I bundled up and walked to UPS to print my Grey Stuff costume add-ons.
One is this little "It's delicious!" banner. Either I'll stick it to the hat somehow or hold it like a flag. Haven't decided yet.
The other is just a picture of The Grey Stuff to have on hand because it may not be clear what I'm supposed to be, especially if you've never seen the dessert. And a thrifted hat and sweater are hardly a GOOD costume.
When I was finished there I walked to a thrift store to donate my second Grey Stuff sweater that hadn't worked out, then hustled back to the hotel for lunch and to finally watch Hazbin Hotel. It's only the first two episodes and neither one was focused on my favorite character, Alastor, but they did move the plot forward a bit and sort of establish where the characters find themselves after the Season 1 finale (a battle against Heaven.) The animation quality is MUCH improved, and I'll probably watch both episodes again in coming days if for no other reason than to enjoy the eye candy.
The rest of the day was kind of a wash. I took a nap since I hadn't slept well. Walked to the theater still feeling angry and heartbroken (butthurt?) at having to play at half volume. Tim (trumpet) is well pleased, and no one else noticed at all. I even had a friend from BAC Music in the audience, who said the trombone sounded great. So I guess this is a Me Problem. I was naive to think that pouring my heart into each show actually made a difference to how it sounded. It only impacts how I feel myself. I'm disappointed, and it makes playing the show a lot less enjoyable. I will have to be the one to change my attitude and figure out how to embrace playing at half volume.
ANYWAY a good start would be to stop raging about it, huh! Sunshine and rainbows.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
THURSDAY
Slept pretty well (first night in a while that I have not had sleep interrupted by a coughing fit!) and the usual morning routine.
Bass trombone's turn at a sink bath. My snake bristle broke off inside one of the tuning slides! I managed to get it out but that was scary. After cleaning up that mess and repackaging the bass I got dressed and walked 1.5 miles to Chef J's BBQ. The restaurant is in the Warehouse District. I have so many memories here from so many parts of my life: the circus, working for BAC Music for 8 months, visiting with Tootsie the Musical.
But mainly, the circus train parked in this yard every year. I am surprised that nearly a decade later, it still hurts my heart to look at this yard and remember that it was once home, and can never be again.
You can CLICK HERE to read my Kansas City circus journal entry from 2014.
Our unit (Ringling's Red Unit) always played KC in Mid-September. The owners of The Beast and Edge of Hell haunted houses would invite us to do walk-throughs for free. Edge of Hell can be seen when walking or driving the overpass, and The Beast is next to the BBQ place I was going to. Actually I guess you could say they share the building.
Chef J's BBQ is fairly new (opened 2020) but they've already generated a lot of hype and are very popular with the locals. I got there 5 minutes before opening and there was a line of construction workers and corporate dudes ahead of me, many of them exclaiming excitedly about how good this place is and what they were gonna get "this time." The line moved quickly and I was in the door in about 15 minutes.
I got the 1-meat plate, where you pick one meat and two sides.
Beef brisket, elote corn salad, and cabbage slaw (I wanted cucumber salad but they were out.)
I don't eat BBQ often so I'm no connoisseur, but this was delicious! The crust on the brisket was peppery, smoky, slightly crunchy. The meat came apart with a fork and was juicy and flavorful. The cabbage slaw was whatever, but the elote salad was delicious, creamy and smoky and tangy. They served the meat with three sauces on the side, I liked all of them very much but preferred one BBQ sauce over the other. The mustard sauce was also great. Well worth the long walk to savor that juicy, slow-cooked meat.
I'd brought my in-ears because there was a union meeting right at noon, and it got underway as I finished eating. This time Dane (flute and our union steward) actually showed up so I had less of an obligation to be there, but I listened carefully as I walked back to the hotel. Nothing important was brought up this time.
Back at the hotel I typed this post and input my notes from the meeting (yes I took notes while walking) and rotted my brain watching Legend of Hei for a while instead of doing more important things. Oh well. I'm in a mood right now.
Dragged my clean bass back to the theater a bit before call time, assembled it, went upstairs to be alone for a bit. It's no good to be angry and annoyed long-term, it burns too much energy and doesn't accomplish anything. So I had a little talk with myself and resolved to do my very best at the half-volume that I'm being asked to play at.
The show went well. I kept my promise to myself and played as expressively as I could...only quietly.
I did get to wring some enjoyment out of how pretty the bass trombone sounds when it's quieter. Like a growly little tiger :)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Friday: Halloween! I hope to do laundry, enjoy some local ice cream, and wear my Grey Stuff costume for a bit. One show in the evening.
Saturday and Sunday: Two-show days, nothing planned. Next city will be Nashville.
This post covers Wednesday and Thursday.
--- --- --- --- --- ---
WEDNESDAY
I went to bed at 1am and was awake at 6am, thanks to angry imaginary arguments with myself about...well, about a lot of things I guess. I had written a rant about it, but you don't need to hear it, and just rest assured that it'll get resolved and I'll be in a better mood when that happens :)
Right, Wednesday. Since I was up early I had coffee and stole more stuff from hotel breakfast. The first two eps of the new Hazbin Hotel season had dropped, but I wanted to delay watching them until afternoon. So I had breakfast, tried to line up an Orlando Christmas gig, and worked on Austin TX Foodie Finds.
After breakfast I gave my tenor trombone a bath at the kitchen sink.
"The Art Deco Prison" i.e. Kansas City Music Hall only has 1-2 bathrooms backstage and those don't have sinks (I know!! Gross!!) but I have been sick, and I want the germs OUT of my horns. Today is the tenor and tonight I will drag the bass here for the same treatment.
It was very cold outside but I bundled up and walked to UPS to print my Grey Stuff costume add-ons.
One is this little "It's delicious!" banner. Either I'll stick it to the hat somehow or hold it like a flag. Haven't decided yet.
The other is just a picture of The Grey Stuff to have on hand because it may not be clear what I'm supposed to be, especially if you've never seen the dessert. And a thrifted hat and sweater are hardly a GOOD costume.
When I was finished there I walked to a thrift store to donate my second Grey Stuff sweater that hadn't worked out, then hustled back to the hotel for lunch and to finally watch Hazbin Hotel. It's only the first two episodes and neither one was focused on my favorite character, Alastor, but they did move the plot forward a bit and sort of establish where the characters find themselves after the Season 1 finale (a battle against Heaven.) The animation quality is MUCH improved, and I'll probably watch both episodes again in coming days if for no other reason than to enjoy the eye candy.
The rest of the day was kind of a wash. I took a nap since I hadn't slept well. Walked to the theater still feeling angry and heartbroken (butthurt?) at having to play at half volume. Tim (trumpet) is well pleased, and no one else noticed at all. I even had a friend from BAC Music in the audience, who said the trombone sounded great. So I guess this is a Me Problem. I was naive to think that pouring my heart into each show actually made a difference to how it sounded. It only impacts how I feel myself. I'm disappointed, and it makes playing the show a lot less enjoyable. I will have to be the one to change my attitude and figure out how to embrace playing at half volume.
ANYWAY a good start would be to stop raging about it, huh! Sunshine and rainbows.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
THURSDAY
Slept pretty well (first night in a while that I have not had sleep interrupted by a coughing fit!) and the usual morning routine.
Bass trombone's turn at a sink bath. My snake bristle broke off inside one of the tuning slides! I managed to get it out but that was scary. After cleaning up that mess and repackaging the bass I got dressed and walked 1.5 miles to Chef J's BBQ. The restaurant is in the Warehouse District. I have so many memories here from so many parts of my life: the circus, working for BAC Music for 8 months, visiting with Tootsie the Musical.
But mainly, the circus train parked in this yard every year. I am surprised that nearly a decade later, it still hurts my heart to look at this yard and remember that it was once home, and can never be again.
You can CLICK HERE to read my Kansas City circus journal entry from 2014.
Our unit (Ringling's Red Unit) always played KC in Mid-September. The owners of The Beast and Edge of Hell haunted houses would invite us to do walk-throughs for free. Edge of Hell can be seen when walking or driving the overpass, and The Beast is next to the BBQ place I was going to. Actually I guess you could say they share the building.
Chef J's BBQ is fairly new (opened 2020) but they've already generated a lot of hype and are very popular with the locals. I got there 5 minutes before opening and there was a line of construction workers and corporate dudes ahead of me, many of them exclaiming excitedly about how good this place is and what they were gonna get "this time." The line moved quickly and I was in the door in about 15 minutes.
I got the 1-meat plate, where you pick one meat and two sides.
Beef brisket, elote corn salad, and cabbage slaw (I wanted cucumber salad but they were out.)
I don't eat BBQ often so I'm no connoisseur, but this was delicious! The crust on the brisket was peppery, smoky, slightly crunchy. The meat came apart with a fork and was juicy and flavorful. The cabbage slaw was whatever, but the elote salad was delicious, creamy and smoky and tangy. They served the meat with three sauces on the side, I liked all of them very much but preferred one BBQ sauce over the other. The mustard sauce was also great. Well worth the long walk to savor that juicy, slow-cooked meat.
I'd brought my in-ears because there was a union meeting right at noon, and it got underway as I finished eating. This time Dane (flute and our union steward) actually showed up so I had less of an obligation to be there, but I listened carefully as I walked back to the hotel. Nothing important was brought up this time.
Back at the hotel I typed this post and input my notes from the meeting (yes I took notes while walking) and rotted my brain watching Legend of Hei for a while instead of doing more important things. Oh well. I'm in a mood right now.
Dragged my clean bass back to the theater a bit before call time, assembled it, went upstairs to be alone for a bit. It's no good to be angry and annoyed long-term, it burns too much energy and doesn't accomplish anything. So I had a little talk with myself and resolved to do my very best at the half-volume that I'm being asked to play at.
The show went well. I kept my promise to myself and played as expressively as I could...only quietly.
I did get to wring some enjoyment out of how pretty the bass trombone sounds when it's quieter. Like a growly little tiger :)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Friday: Halloween! I hope to do laundry, enjoy some local ice cream, and wear my Grey Stuff costume for a bit. One show in the evening.
Saturday and Sunday: Two-show days, nothing planned. Next city will be Nashville.
no subject
Date: 2025-10-31 03:47 pm (UTC)I recently made an entry private after posting it for a bit because I realized how messy and TMI it was, but while I didn't want to delete it (I might need to reference it later for personal purposes), I frankly don't have the emotional spoons to really edit it right now. I don't think that's what you're referencing but I want you know I always appreciate your insights on my entries.
I'm sorry you're being asked to do something musically that feels like you're being told to cut the artistry and quality of your playing. It does sound frustrating all around and I hope Nashville brings a better pit set up!
no subject
Date: 2025-10-31 04:27 pm (UTC)This has been unfortunately more than a simple request for me to bring my volume down (which I am usually more than happy to do; it is VERY normal for people to ask brass musicians to STFU haha)
I just posted a friends only thing explaining what's going on with all that in more detail.
TL;DR: men. again. as usual.
no subject
Date: 2025-11-01 12:27 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2025-11-01 01:35 am (UTC)