Cafe Bonaparte September 6, 2006
Behzad Habibzai, Carlton Ashton, Miguelito and Richard Marlow. September 6, 2006 10:05pm (photo by Jill Hatzai)
Yeah, I know it's been a couple of days since I last blogged. It was kind of let down when my flamenco show at Citron was cancelled for Monday night for the Lay-bore hollowday. :-) But a friend came through at the last minute and invited me out for dinner and a movie, yay! Saw Little Miss Sunshine, which normally I wouldn't have chosen to see on my own--not so crazy about the dysfunctional-family-movie genre, but I actually enjoyed it. Of course, one of the scenes was set in Redondo Beach which is in L.A. I have many fond childhood memories of the many many beachside crab feasts with the family at Redondo. Mmmm..
So I still had a good time Monday night, but I still needed my Monday night flamenco fix and I didn't get it so it sort of had an effect on my mood the next day. I wasn't depressed or anything like that. We humans are creatures of habit and I'd been in the habit of performing every Monday night for the past five years at Citron. So my body, mind and soul were like nudging me when I woke up early Tuesday morning, Dude, what's up? Something's different.
I mean usually I wake up tired on Tuesday, but it's a good kind of tired--it's the you partied hard and late so you're tired kind of tired. Anyway, I got up splashed water on my face to wake up and propped myself in front of the computer as usual. I reviewed the pics from the previous night. Yeah so I took pics of the movie theatre complex and the restaurant where we ate afterwards. Whatever. Nothing worth publishing. Couldn't think of anything to write. Couldn't force myself so I didn't.
September 6, 2006 10:28pm (photo by Jill Hatzai)
Normally, I'd edit photos, check email, blog, myspace and three or four hours later the morning would turn into afternoon. But now my morning was wide open. What to do? Coudn't stand being indoors and needed some fresh air. So I do what I sometimes do--walked down Wisconsin Ave from Chevy Chase all the way to Georgetown. The weather was beautiful so I got my fill of fresh air. Got some exercise--oh so that's why I woke up aching all over the next day. I forgot to mention that I had a guitar case hanging off my left shoulder. It doesn't weigh that much, but when you carry it for an hour non-stop it starts to feel heavy.
Continued my hike across the Key Bridge and into Arlington and popped into Ispirato and spent some quality time with my bro.
Fast forward a few hours later, I arrived at Bonaparte at 7:25pm--my show was scheduled to start in 5 minutes yikes! Behzad arrived at about the same time so I didn't feel too bad. Setting up the system only takes a few minutes. The only pain is dealing with plugging it in. The outlet is located underneath one of the tables so if there are customers already seated, I gotta politely interject, "Excuse me. Would you mind if I reach under your table for a sec to plug in my sound system?"
Sometimes they're already enjoying dinner or are into deep conversation, and I kind of feel like I'm intruding which I am. Oh yeah, this is not to mention that I've got a huge-a$$ speaker right behind their table. Of course I will raise the speaker to the ceiling height in time for the show. But when I'm setting up it's right there behind the customer's head and it's intimidating enough to scare some customers to move to another table. I get a momentary glance from the waitress. She doesn't say it, but I know she's thinking Thanks for scaring my customer!!
Why am I telling you all this? Well it's my blog first of all. But I am doing you a service. I'm giving you an insight into what it's like to be a full-time flamenco in DC. Yeah, it's very romantic to be able to play flamenco every night and be able to boast when people ask what you really do for a living. "Yeah, I really do play flamenco guitar full-time! Yes, really!" I love it of course, but like every romance it's not without its concomitant problems. But it's better not to look at these little annoyances as "problems" but more like a small admission price to pay to enjoy the fruits of my labor.
Miguelito, Behzad and Anna Menendez. September 6, 2006 10:43pm (photo by Jill Hatzai)
Yikes! It's 10:28am and I promised a dancer friend I'd meet her for a rehearsal at 11:00am at the studio down the street. Gotta clean myself up. I'm a performer and you never know when the press will be taking pics. Just the other day I showed up at Andalucía and Monica said to me, "There's a photographer here taking pics of you."
"OK. Cool." Thinking to myself, thank God I try to look presentable every time I leave the house.
"They're from the Washington Post."
"Oh, great. Thanks for letting me know ahead of time Monica!" Grrrr I shoulda worn that other nicer shirt. Oh well. This annoyance is a small price to pay.
As for tonight, I'll be at Cabanas with dancers Ginette Perea and Claudia. Gotta go. Ciao for now!
Pssst! Just heard that the owners of Bonaparte are opening up a new place in Adams-Morgan.
« So much for rehearsal. :-) September 3, 2006 | Main | Saturday with Miguelito. September 9, 2006 »
Comments
I am intrigued by Carlton Ashton. I would like to know more about his flamenco background. I too am a man of color who dances flamenco...we are a rare species. I'd appreciate the opportunity to chat with Carlton.
Posted by: El Calvo | September 9, 2006 9:37 PM