'Cabaret'

[watervole]

Persephone Hazard has volunteered to perform 'Big Spender' or 'Cabaret' at Constitution, but we need to find a backing track or a musician.

Can anyone help?

A pianist would be perfect, but I doubt we'll have a piano...

Is anyone coming who can play the music, preferably on a keyboard, but I'm open to suggestions.  (we would need a rehearsal, but I'm sure we could work out a suitable time.)

Or a karaoke track would be good?

Comments

[seph-hazard.livejournal.com]

Actually, though I could do Cabaret, at this short notice I'd rather stick with Big Spender - I'm more familiar with performing it. And I really am happy just to compere. Actually, I assumed that you were emailing because you knew I'd been asked to and thought it might be nice if I performed too, my mistake, sorry!

[watervole.livejournal.com]

I was. You'll just have got my email explaining where the confusion arose. Clare passed on your email to me, so I wrote and thought it would be great if you could perform as well. (I'm doing the performer-wrangling, which is how I got involved originally)

It could be fun to do it as a pair. I've got an act (if I can get it to work) that would be good to finish with. You'd make a great opener if we can get the music. Why not see if we can MC as a pair in between? It also gives us both an excuse to try and grab more performers on Friday/Saturday morning.

We need more performers. I've got a few, but I need to go out and twist arms.

[crazyscot.livejournal.com]

I have tracked down three vocal-free versions of Big Spender without having to spend any money:

• The melody alone on a slightly stilted-sounding piano (http://www.hamienet.com/midi12258_Big-Spender.html);
  
• The melody on a Rhodes-type piano with a bit of gentle percussion (http://evenmoresapphiredreams.bravepages.com/H/heybigspender.mid) [beware, the link is to a .mid file]
  
• Brass, strings and percussion playing backing only (http://www.esnips.com/doc/31224fbb-292c-4aed-b82a-21c0f070f01a/Karaoke---(Shirley-Bassey)---Hey-big-Spender).
  

I'll bring all three on my iPod, we can hopefully find a spare few minutes to have a listen and see what you think. On Friday, we can have between whenever I've set the tech up in the Long Room (mid afternoon or so) and the opening ceremony (6:30), then as long as we like after Henry's GoH spot (9-10pm). On Saturday, we've got before 10am (yeah, right) and the sound check itself (7-9pm).

- Ross (tech)

[seph-hazard.livejournal.com]

Oh, aren't you marvelous! The middle link is teh broken. A quick run-through (goodness, that confused the cats!) of the first and last shows that they both work fine, the last is probably better (though the first is easier [grin])

I'm staying with la_marquise_de_ for the duration and am as such at her mercy a bit - a fine place to be, but does mean that I'm not sure what time I'll be getting to the con today. I'll be getting into Cambridge at threeish and will want to settle in at hers a bit first, but as the Marquis is on the committee it may be that I'm there in enough time before 6.30 to catch up with you then :-)

[kalypso-v.livejournal.com]

I remember Dave Walsh doing "Big Spender" to a soundtrack, though I can't remember whether it was karaoke or mime. It was stunning, anyway.

[watervole.livejournal.com]

Probably mime. Most drag acts are.

[happytune.livejournal.com]

Don't know when you need it by, but I have decent backing tracks of both, and could send them through within the next couple of weeks.