The Lost Church, San Francisco
Recently Completed Performance
The Living Odyssey recently staged its 8th installment “The King in the Hall” in the San Francisco venue The Lost Church. The performance covered books 17, 18 and 19 and featured a new approach where some sections of book 17 and 18 were omitted in order to keep the story to a presentable length and to create two clear halves: one Odysseus, disguised as a beggar, testing and observing the suitors, the second, Odysseus, still disguised, meeting Penelope for the first time in 20 years.
The performance was full of terrific music by local artists as well as a few covers performed mostly by me. As in the past, the songs were chosen to resonate with the story and create narrative pathways through other stories and different parts of our collective memory and experience…. And just to create breaks and a fun, interesting show. Excluding me there were 11 musicians and 6 different acts.
-You can relive (or live) the show with these photos by Amanda Roosa, the list of songs and artists below or, more extensively through a copy of my “show flow” (outlining the musical interjections and the plot) at the bottom of the page- Enjoy!
List of Artists and songs by order of appearance
3/22/19
(song by artist unless specified)
FIRST HALF
1- The Crux- http://www.thecruxmusic.com/ (Josh Windmiller, Joshua James Jackson, Zak Garn) “The Piper and the Devil”
2-Solstrom- https://solstrom.bandcamp.com (Michael Sallstrom, Dave Pascoe) “I wonder”
3- Solstrom (song name unknown)
4- Chelsea Coleman- https://chelseacoleman.bandcamp.com/ (solo)- covering Kendra McKinley’s- https://kendramckinley.com song “face to face”
5- The Quilters- https://www.facebook.com/thequiltersband/(Ray Porter, Jerome Porter, Gianluca Bullock, Zak Garn)- “Grave digger”
6- The Quilters- the zoo
MIDDLE
7- The Crux- “The Loyalist”
8- Annie Cilley- http://anniecilley.com/ (Annie Cilley, Josh Jackson)- “Better Man”
9- Annie Cilley “Old River”
SECOND HALF
10- Jamie “Master and a hound” (Gregory Alan Isakov cover- https://gregoryalanisakov.com/home)
11 Late For The Train- https://www.lateforthetrainband.com/ (Laura Benson, Dave Pascoe) “Blue”
12 Jamie et all “Furr” (Blitzen Trapper Cover- http://www.blitzentrapper.net/)
13 Jamie “Old Bagum” fragment
14 Chelsea Colman “Your Liberation”
15 Jamie “Time Will Tell” (Isakov cover)
16 All “Leave Her Johnny” (group song)
THE SHOW- FLOW (Draft for artists)
(TLO #8 The King in the Hall The Lost Church SF 3/22/19)
[0 intro talk,
…………..
[1 Piper and devil by The Crux]
Two men come down a beaten road- one is Eumaus the old swineherd who lives outside of town and habitually avoids the company of the suitors the other is Odysseus disguised as a beggar.
They meet Melanthius the new head goatherd- son of the old man Dolius- who worked under Odysseus back in the day- he insults them and leaves them to go bring food for the suitors.
[X.1-First break- a few moments only- Michael Sallstrom song]P287
Odysseus and Eumaus pause outside Odysseus palace complex/hall (with the lyre’s music drifting round them). They see an old dog, Argos, who O trained as a puppy- somehow still alive- they talk about the dog- he recognizes O with his last breathe.
Eumaus and O enter the hall separately. Telemachus welcomes Eumaus and tells him to give the beggar food. O takes the food. The singer raises a song throughout the house.
[2.1- Second break- Michael’s song?] p290
[cut]
[2.2 face to face- Chelsea (Kendra)
p296
Penelope calls Eumaus and tells him to summon O so she can ask questions about what the world says about O.
[cut] 297
O refuses to come till later- he does not want to rile the suitors.
The swineherd goes back and takes his leave of Telemachus who tells him to come back tomorrow. Eumaus leaves, the suitors dance.
[3 Grave digger- the Quilters-] p299
[book 18 start]
A local tramp comes along and tries to kick this new competitor (that is O) out… they comically fight over the right to be THE beggar but it ends up getting serious. O wins begging rights.
[X.2 Zoo Starts] 304
O has a conversation with the third prominent suitor Amphiminus- who is good at heart but weak- warns him of the danger of O returning- the warning does not save him in the end- he remains with the suitors. Suitors dance
[4 The Zoo- The Quilters] p306
[cut]
bottom 310
During the suitors dancing it has gotten dark. They light braziers and set the maids to tend them but O tells them to tend to Penelope instead.
They mock the beggar for his high and mighty ways- O warns them he will report them to Telemachus- they rush off. O tends the torches instead. O thinks ahead to what must be done.
[Loyalist tease P312
Eurymachus mocks O asking if he would like to work for him. O responds by imagining the two of them going back and forth at the skills of farming- he ends by telling Eury he is sick with pride. Eury tries to throw a stool at him- misses, hits the steward- suitors enraged- Telemachus tells them they are going crazy and should go to bed- Amphiminus suggests he is right and they do that. That leaves just O and Telemachus.
[ outro- 5. The Loyalist- Crux] P315/ 316] P315 NEW SPOT!
OFFICIAL INTERMISSION
Interlude
O and Telemachus prepare for ambushing the suitors by clearing the hall of weapons- O sends T to bed. O is now totally alone as he waits for Penelope to come question him.
MUSICAL SET
[6 Better Man- Annie Cilley! ] p317
[7 Old River- Annie Cilley ] p317
PART 2
Penelope enters and sits- the maids again mock O. Penelope requests a seat for him and they begin to talk. P asks O’s background- he compares her to a king then tells a made up (ish?) story about being from Crete as he describes meeting O, P weeps.
[9 Master and Hound- (Isakov) Jamie] P322
P asks O to describe O and O does- really lays it on. P weeps again thinking about Troy and the loss of O
[10 Blue- Late for the Train] Top p324
[condensed text}
O reassures her says- he is coming back soon- he’s just at hand. P disbelieves but tells maids to bathe O- O declines but agrees to be bathed by an old, loyal retainer (who happens to be his old nurse Euryclea)
End part 2 (holding spot for TML in case p326
[cut]
bottom 327
Part 3
Nurse begins to bath O recognizes old scar.
[11- Fur- Jamie plus group- somewhere here] 328
The story of O’s scar- how he visited his grandfather and went hunting and killed a boar and got a scar
[x.6 Old Bangum fragment Jamie] p330
Nurse recognizes O, O tells her to be quiet.
Penelope and O resume conversation
[12 – Witch and the Warlock- Jamie (cut)
13. Your Liberation- Chelsea
bottom 331
P describes her pain- can’t sleep
P asks O to interpret her dream about an Eagle coming down to kill the geese she keeps in the hall. She says that in the dream the eagle told her he was O coming back to kill the suitors. O says “great, that seems pretty clear- O comes back, bad guys lose!” P says that dreams are not so simple- She doubts she can rely on this one. She goes on to tell him she plans to announce a contest based on shooting an arrow through twelve axes like O used to- says she plans to marry whoever wins. O says do it- O will come back for you! P says it has been a great comfort to talk to O but now she must go back up to bed while he sleeps here in the hall. She departs and, once upstairs weeps for O.
[14 Time will tell- (Isakov) Jamie] p334
[15- Leave her Johnny- all]
END