Thursday June 26th, 2008. Middleboro, MA. 17 miles. Grass/asphalt. Rain. (The Cranberry Capitol of the World!)
Yesterday in Berkley the Southshore Circus Band, a group of windjammers played a concert before the second show. It’s always interesting to actually hear the sounds of the circus as it must have been in the days when every show carried one or more big bands, and the music leaned toward marches. I don’t think I’ve been a show before where so many people find their way into the back lot. I can certainly the desire to explore every nook and cranny of a circus, but at the same time the yard is the home to the people who work on the show. Sometimes it’s nice to feel “off display” sitting shirtless as the Weber grilling chops. Your home is your home even if there are tigers parked at your door.
News from The Great Culpepper & Merriweather Circus is that the show is doing good business in high Colorado. Glad to hear that.. I miss the simplicity of Culpepper, and the people, even if I’m more at home with the complexity of a bigger show. It’s nice to be back on a circus where I know the elephants and the camels, but it’s hard not to miss Robin Dykes’s wonderful Culpepper cookhouse and the quirky cats in Trey Key’s mixed act of tigers and a lion.
A circus fan said to me today, “mostly I’m fascinated with the logistics of how it all moves. Me too. And how to move it better.
One element that constantly reminds me of just how special Kelly Miller really is are the production numbers. Only one other traditional tented show still mounts production numbers, and they haven’t changed anything in years. On Kelly Miller the opening genuinely sets the tone of the show and warms up the crowd. The production built around the trapeze act, the talented Sara Green and the web ballet is a nicely done testament to what all circuses once did. The salute to Oklahoma at the end of the show reminds that audience that Mr. North delivered a lot of circus over the previous two hours. Cliff Vargas would have approved.
Yesterday in Berkley the Southshore Circus Band, a group of windjammers played a concert before the second show. It’s always interesting to actually hear the sounds of the circus as it must have been in the days when every show carried one or more big bands, and the music leaned toward marches. I don’t think I’ve been a show before where so many people find their way into the back lot. I can certainly the desire to explore every nook and cranny of a circus, but at the same time the yard is the home to the people who work on the show. Sometimes it’s nice to feel “off display” sitting shirtless as the Weber grilling chops. Your home is your home even if there are tigers parked at your door.
News from The Great Culpepper & Merriweather Circus is that the show is doing good business in high Colorado. Glad to hear that.. I miss the simplicity of Culpepper, and the people, even if I’m more at home with the complexity of a bigger show. It’s nice to be back on a circus where I know the elephants and the camels, but it’s hard not to miss Robin Dykes’s wonderful Culpepper cookhouse and the quirky cats in Trey Key’s mixed act of tigers and a lion.
A circus fan said to me today, “mostly I’m fascinated with the logistics of how it all moves. Me too. And how to move it better.
One element that constantly reminds me of just how special Kelly Miller really is are the production numbers. Only one other traditional tented show still mounts production numbers, and they haven’t changed anything in years. On Kelly Miller the opening genuinely sets the tone of the show and warms up the crowd. The production built around the trapeze act, the talented Sara Green and the web ballet is a nicely done testament to what all circuses once did. The salute to Oklahoma at the end of the show reminds that audience that Mr. North delivered a lot of circus over the previous two hours. Cliff Vargas would have approved.
