Last night, I participated in the Farm Bureau Talent Competition at the Cache County Fair and Rodeo. We arrived at the gate a little before 6pm and the security guard called for a Mule to help us pack our stuff. So we unloaded my keyboard, the stand, the stool, and the briefcase containing cords and CDs from the car and proceeded to wait around for about 10 minutes before Deidra decided that she would go park the car while I was waiting. Well, 10 minutes later, she comes back and I am still waiting for the stupid little Mule. So we decided just to pack it all to the stage instead of waiting longer. So I grab the long, awkward, heavy, expensive keyboard in one hand and the stool in the other. Deidra grabs the metal keyboard stand, which is also extremely awkward to carry for any extended amount of time, and the briefcase. We walk down a ways until we find the stage and we set all of the stuff on the ground and take a deep breath.
After searching for a while, I finally find the person I need to check in with and then I search out the stage manager to know what I need to do with all of my gear. Upon seeing my keyboard and other items, he says "Well, if you want, you can just use the Clavinova digital piano that is already up on stage." Piece of crap! You mean Deidra and I just lugged our heavy gear halfway across the fairgrounds when we didn't even need to bring it in the first place? I'm glad nobody made me aware of that when I registered for the competition over the phone. Deidra and I decided that we would stash the gear backstage anyway, since we didn't feel like lugging it all back to the entrance again right then.
After we go that taken care of, we sat down on the grass to enjoy the program. I was told that I was in the "Senior" division, and they were starting it off with the "Beginners." Well, actually, they had a couple of little high school punk bands that were performing as we first arrived. There's nothing like hearing little punks with cracking voices trying to muddle through Alice in Chains' "Man in a Box," which just happens to be one helluva long song anyway.
Anyway, they started with the Beginner division and it was a bunch of probably 3-6 year olds hula dancing, singing, and clogging. At this point, I started thinking: Maybe this is just for kids and I'm going to be the one old man competing against high schoolers. People will think to themselves 'Who is this lame-o old guy?' After the Beginners, they moved on to the Intermediate group, which looked to be about 7-12 year olds. At about this time, Deidra's cousin, Whitney, showed up to offer support as well. (Which, by the way, means that it's possible that you'll get three different blog versions of this experience.) After that group, they began the Advanced group, which were high school-aged competitors. As this group of performers started, they asked for the Senior division to meet backstage to get us all ready for our turn. I was still a little nervous about being the lame-o old man, so I kind of sheepishly went backstage to check out my competition. When I got there, I saw what I thought could be a young adult woman with a pretty formal black gown on, and soon realized she was a performer in my division. She still looked fairly young, but as soon as I saw a wedding ring on her finger I realized that if she was married, she was most likely a full-blown, out-of-high-school adult. My fears subsided and I prepared for my five minutes of stage time. There were only a total of four people in the Senior division (two ladies singing, one lady singing/playing piano, and myself) and I was the second to perform. I performed my song "Keep Me Down," and I thought it went pretty well, though the competition was stiff! All three ladies had beautiful voices and I was impressed with everyone’s performances.
When the judges had tallied their votes, the awards were handed out. They began with the younger children and I soon realized that there was a 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place award. Oh Great! I thought. I am going to be the one loser* that doesn't even get an award in my division. But instead, I was awarded 2nd place (which I was happy about) and I got a nice ol' red ribbon and $30. Not a bad payday for singing one song ... even if we did have to pack all of my gear unnecessarily. Combine that with the $75 that I made last week at my Raspberry Days Festival performance at Bear Lake, and I think my music career is really starting to rake in the dough! (Looks like I may not need any chickens after all, Warren.) Maybe I should quit my day job. I think we could make a living on $100/month, couldn't we, Deid?
* No offense to the young lady who didn't win a ribbon in our division or any other performers who were shut out in their respective divisions.
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