The Big Flute and the Autumn Flute Fair

What a weekend!

But first, I'll need to say this: I am going to make this as brief as possible as primo sleep time is fading away.

I took leave from last Thursday to today inclusive just so that I could take part in this year's edition of the Autumn Flute Fair. I got to be a part of a concert with the King's Flute Choir, playing The Big Flute, instead of being just my usual bug-every-dealer-in-the-Fair mode.

I met Chara; it wasn't awkward. It was just like as though the five years didn't happen, and really, did it? Everyone's different post COVID-19, me included. At least we spoke on friendlier terms and shared a little about our lives thus far, just like it all was before we decided to go serious.

SOTA as a venue was alright, though the behaviour of their assigned support staff/ushers/security folk was... odious. I can understand about them needing to do their jobs, but man, when they are front-of-house, their attitude kinda stinks. For instance, on day one of the Flute Fair, me and a bunch of people who have repair appointments at the earliest time slot were just sitting on the public seats outside the Gallery (where the repair technicians and the dealers' floor of the Fair were), knowing full well that we weren't supposed to go in because it just wasn't time. An officious woman from SOTA stepped out of the Gallery thought it proper to walk up to each of us and tell us ``Exhibition not open yet---it opens at one o'clock ah!'' Internally, I was just thinking, `no shit, that's why we're sitting here!', but externally I just frowned.

At the concert that I was not playing, another equally officious woman from SOTA was policing the seating with the rigour that would make the drill sergeant blush.

``No pockets! Move in!''

That was the command that was barked about. Now, there was nothing wrong about asking folks to move in to fill in the spaces; after all no one likes gaps in a concert call audience that prevents others from filling in easier. But there has got to be a better way of doing so.

And that woman barked that command at the dude who rented the concert hall from them to run the concert in the first place, when he was doing his usual I'll-move-around-to-oversee-things. He's a chill dude, and that was one of the few times I saw him get upset enough to stop explaining things, and just get up to walk out; the kind of action that often took these days when I realised that the situation was something that I just didn't have to put up with.

The level of power tripping from these front-of-house staff was just appalling.

That said, back-of-house staff was chill and helpful. They got shit done, smoothing things out, and were a joy to interact with.

But back-of-house was not the thing that the audience sees; the entitled attitude of the front-of-house staff was offputting. Maybe it's their way of showing that they were ``classy'', but I wouldn't be surprised if it was this attitude that made the SOTA venues less enticing for rental for events.

Or maybe that was the intention all along.

Anyway, there was naturally more that happened over the past few days, and I could write about them, but it is getting way past stupid o'clock, and if I do not crash out now, my sleep schedule is going to be utterly fucked by the time I need to start heading back into office.

Till the next update then.