Post-OVFF

(Above: Toastmaster Paul attempts to rehearse before the official launch of the convention despite distraction from friends.)

I went to the very first OVFF with my friend Reid (my first boyfriend, now married to one of my best friends, Luisa). This was waaay before Urban Tapestry, and I attended on my own for several years as well.


The filkers out there can correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe that OVFF is now one of the biggest and longest-running filk conventions.

One of the advantages is that the convention tends to attract some great musical talent from around the world, though I did notice this year that there weren't many Europeans. One disadvantage is that because of the size and multiple programming tracks, it tends to be an intense and hectic convention, especially for newcomers.

The filk circles also tend to be big and competitive, which is one of the reasons I quit going to OVFF for many years. I strongly recall the end of one convention when I saw a woman playing flute in the hallway.

Delighted to see another flautist, I greeted her and said I regretted not hearing her earlier in the convention. She turned to me with a scowl and snapped, "How could I do any playing with YOU always around?" Then she turned and walked away without giving me a chance to say anything.


The intensity of the woman's resentment shook me, and I didn't go to the convention for years after that. I became paranoid whenever I took my flute to a filk circle...was I scaring away other flautists? Was I "filk-hogging"? Was there some unwritten rule that forbade more than one of the same type of instrument in a circle?

OVFF is now 22 years old. I've started attending some years again, this year with Allison and Jodi. I'm more confident as a musician and an individual than I was 22 years ago, but I still find the convention intense and hectic, often with competitive personalities...but I have fun anyway :-). I go into the convention better prepared. I don't have to attend ALL the programming, for instance...believe it or not, it took me years before I realized this. I don't even have to go to the open filk circles if I'm having more fun just chatting with friends in the hallway. I make sure I get enough sleep; I used to be able to survive with very little, but these days I need more else I get punchy and oversensitive, plus I want to get back into productive workmode as soon as possible after the weekend. I take more frequent breaks, finding quiet time in our hotel room.



I want to emphasize, of course, that the rules all change when Urban Tapestry is a guest of a convention...in that case, we all know that our duty is to be accessible as possible, and our focus is to keep the attendees happy. If I'm paying my own way, however, my time is my own. There's an interesting discussion going on in Eloise's Livejournal about filk circle dynamics, by the way. I've noticed the discussion has spawned other LJ posts and discussions as well.


At OVFF this past weekend, however, I was paying my own way. I attended much of the concert programming this time, and was impressed by the calibre of talent. The main guests: Mary Crowell (Guest of Honor), Judi Miller (Honored Listener), Tony Fabris (Interfilk Guest) and Paul Kwinn (Toastmaster) gave excellent concerts, as did Brooke Lunderville, Tom Smith and Kathy Mar. Allison, Jodi and I had fun participating on one of Tom's songs with Seanan...yay for Seanan being there, since neither A nor J nor I had heard the song before when we got up on stage!

I especially enjoyed Paul's concert. I remember how quiet Paul seemed when I first met him...quite the contrast to the confident performer he is now! More on Paul at OVFF in an upcoming Blathering.



I was delighted to hear more of Brooke Lunderville (who goes by "hsifyppah" on LJ); I was blown away by one short insta-song Brooke performed at GAfilk some years ago but hadn't had the opportunity to hear much else. Kudos to the OVFF concom for giving this talented young woman a concert of her own. Brooke was ably assisted in her concert by John Caspell, an ex-Torontonian (see photo above). Brooke also did a wonderful job of performing Talis Kimberley's "Archetype Cafe" in the Pegasus concert. My favourite of Brooke's songs: her Livejournal song (can't recall the exact title), which I had missed hearing her perform at FKO. Very funny and accurate. :-D

Brooke's concert was definitely one of my personal musical highlights of the weekend, and I'm very glad I was in the audience. She has an appealing stage presence with good audience rapport...I'm looking forward to seeing more Brooke performances. She also has a wonderfully twisted sense of humour and drawing style; check out this Tetris analogy she drew after I posted in Eloise's LJ discussion about how difficult it is sometimes for a trio to find a place in a filk circle. :-D

Another highlight: being able to get to know Cat Faber better. Allison, Jodi and I went out for dinner with Cat and her friend Donald on Sunday night and actually had a real conversation with each of them! As opposed to the snatches of conversation once usually gets at a busy convention like OVFF.




This is one of the reasons I tend to steer clear of dinner outings involving more than six people during con weekends. Though the idea is fun, with bigger groups you only tend to get to talk with people beside and across from you at the table anyway.

More highlights in future Blatherings.

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