Holy geez.
This night was more than special.
Tuesday, January 20th Phog Lounge held a group of musicians willing to put themselves on the line.
They knew they'd be playing to some famous speeches, but they didn't know which ones.
I thought I knew what I was doing.
I had twelve speeches ready, loaded, prepared to go.
I wish I had done more research into the
length of the speeches. I was telling the musicians that the speeches were 8 minutes long, unless they were longer, like, 18 minutes.
Well, the first speech was 25 minutes or longer, and the second was almost 40 minutes long!
The bands were expecting one thing, and then being forced to persevere and give it all they had to last the length of an entire set on
one song!
The musicians were:
Martin Schiller and Kyle Marchand of
What Seas, What Shores.
Adam Rideout of
Yellow WoodStephen Hargreaves of
Not_DigitalStefan C. formerly of
Oh VanyaChad Howson of
Another Saturday KnightThe speeches aren't perfectly represented here...recorded from the bar, there are some interruptions...technical and otherwise, but minor at worst. These speeches are MORE than worth listening to, and I am extremely grateful for the musicians who volunteered themselves to come out an perform in this way...exposed...brutally exposed.
Speaking with some of the people in attendance, it was the icing on the cake for their day, as it was held on the same day as Barack Obama's inauguration as President of the United States. Others said that, at first listen, Obama's speech was ordinary and uninspiring. But on the second listen, with a military drum beat and an emotional synthesized landscape of transitions, the speech came to life and was worthy of the praise being given it on the news.
It will happen again. It must.
I just hope the talented musicians (veterans now) come and participate in the next one.
Here's the first speech of the night:
Ronald Reagan- Tear Down This Wall - June 12, 1987 in West Berlin, Germany
performed by Stephen Hargreaves, Chad Howson, and Stefan C.Second speech:
Richard Nixon - Resignation Speech - August 8, 1974 in Washington, DC
performed by Martin Schiller and Kyle Marchand
Third speech:
This one has a little gap, where my batteries died, without warning. I stitched it together as best I could.
Martin Luther King Jr. - I've Been To The Mountaintop - April 3, 1968 (the day before his assassination) in Memphis, Tennessee
performed by Adam Rideout and Stefan (electronic)
Fourth and final speech:
2009 Inaugural Celebration in Washington D.C. National Mall thanks to Geoeye.com
Again, there was an issue with this speech that the performers played through. The streaming video of the speech was slow, and choppy.
So, there was some overlapping, and I again, did my best to stitch it together.
Barack Obama - Presidential Inauguration Speech - January 20, 2009 in Washington, DC
performed by Stephen Hargreaves and Stefan C.
Labels: cafe, canada, detroit, entertainment, events, indie, live music, lounge, MSFTS, ontario, phog, score, speeches, venue, windsor
