Outings

(not that kind, that was 21 years ago)

The delightful saluqi bought us tickets to go see Broad for my birthday last month, and the concert was last night. It's an ensemble of women singer/songwriters put together by Deborah Conway, with a range of styles from the individual performers. While not one of them is a performer I'd go see individually, the show was definitely one where the whole was better (for me) than the sum of its parts. It certainly helps that all of the performers are good musicians and singers, and did a great job together.

Abby Mae was the standout individual performer for me. Interesting blues-flavoured songs, and a fantastic voice which sounded like a cross between Chrissy Amphlette and Stevie Nicks (IMO). Also, she was a dab hand with the ukulele and theremin (also, you haven't lived until you've heard Alice Cooper covered on the uke - not by Abby Mae, I hasten to add).

Deborah Conway rolled out a rousing rendition of Man Overboard, although we weren't quite sure what was up with the big grin on her face throughout. Mind you, I don't think I could sing the line about pubic hair with a straight face either. It was also nice that the lesbian fangirls (of which there were many) restrained themselves from dancing in the aisles. A couple of them attempted a standing ovation at the end of the show, but it didn't take. Oh well.

There were a few quibbles. One of the performers, Sally Seltmann, does the naive waifish thing, which irritates me no end musically (and personally, when I encounter such people older than their teens). While I'm fine with lyrics about flowers, the juxtaposition with bubbles lost me. Also, unfortunately, her voice was nowhere near as powerful as any of the others, and it showed up badly in the rocky ensemble pieces. The volume was up too loud for the concrete shell that is the Canberra Centre. The backing drum and bass were cranked up way too loud. They overpowered the main performers - there were times where I couldn't even make out the lead singer's lyrics.

Despite those quibbles, it was an excellent night out, even with saluqi soldiering on through the end of a nasty cold. I'm very happy and grateful she treated me with this. :-D

That survey

( Cut for your pleasure. Um. )

Since I appear to be in a philosophical mood...

...some observations that have come to mind lately. They are not the wisdom of the ages, but they work for me.

1. "Treat others as you would like to be treated" is perhaps the best philosophy ever. Yay to Judaism for first enunciating it. In other words, respect is the most important concept in dealing with other people.
   
   ETA: Since there is a bit of confusion about what I'm saying here, I don't mean treating people the same as I'd like to be treated. Ick! :-)



2. Just about everything is relative. There are some near absolutes (violence is not a solution; (non-consenting) abuse is bad), but the degree you're affected by anything is generally very much relative to your circumstances.



3. "I'll never..." is a statement you should be wary of making.



4. "I'll always..." is a statement you should be equally wary about making.



5. Love doesn't fix anything. It makes you more tolerant, patient, forgiving, encouraging. It makes you more willing to try and willing to redeem yourself. But sometimes that isn't enough - fixing things is something you need to do for yourself, if possible - love doesn't magically make it happen.



6. While you may feel that you've found your true home when you discover you're a member of a certain subculture, you probably haven't. At best, you might have knocked an edge or two off your square peg.



7. Just because someone else is a member of the queer community, it does not mean they are also automatically trustworthy, sane, non-violent, honest, likeable, and immune to racism, sexism, classism, or homophobia (link via grey_evil_twin). This applies to members of any subcommunity, whether feminist, poly, kink, pagan, geek, peacenik, socialist, or whatever.

Regarding that last, I'm glad I came out when I was 18, and was able to get over the vestiges of my stupid misconceptions about the nobility of the queer subculture before I was old enough for it to matter particularly. I don't recall whether it was when I first heard the word "tuna" in a certain context, or was told I was "male-identified". That naivety had already been eroded by my working class upbringing (yes, there is some solidarity... some) and my encounters with feminists and the peace movement. However, I do still get surprised at adults entering some subculture at an advanced age who get surprised about the fact that members of it can be fuck-ups.

I notice that syndrome particularly in the poly comms, mainly, I suppose, because most of us are over 18 when we "come out" about that identity to ourselves (you can fool yourself for quite a while by saying you want to "play the field"). But I still find it hard to believe when otherwise presumably-sane adults appear lose all sense of judgement when they enter the new candystore. Subcommunity NRE, perhaps?