This was a milestone way to the end the year
as an artist you have a vision and the only way to realize it is to keep playing the tough shows, the whack gigs, the trial and error opportunities in order to get to the good ones
i have had a vision for two years as to what my band and project could be, and this felt like a major arrival
the band and team for this run had magic energy in it and made me feel joyful and supported on stage
photo slide show below by mariya stangl
i usually often feel stressed before a show bc i have to manage so much and because performing matters so much to me i always want it to be extraordinary
but on this run i usually felt so excited and stoked and peaceful and confident to get on the stage bc i knew the quality of this version of my live show was really strong and because the team on the stage makes me feel so i happy i knew i would have fun regardless and be able to deliver
i felt very centered and collected in my energy and intention each time i took the stage on each of the ani difranco west coast tour dates
by the time we arrived in our home city of la and played our last show, i was moved to tears backstage telling my team how much they meant to me, how far this show has come, how proud i felt, and how deeply the impact of my message and intention was being received because of the vibe each person brought to the project and how much each teammember pulled their weight
i talked about how sometimes we want to give up, bc we dont know if we are close to reaching our dreams, and we start to doubt ourselves. i said imagine you were running a marathon but they didnt have any mile signs so you didnt actually know where along the race you were and how close to the finish line you were. you could be at mile 24, with only 2 more miles to run and 20 more mins to go, and maybe youd give up bc it was so hard at that point and you didnt know if you had the strength to keep going. but if you knew that you were close, you would be able to find the strength to keep going
we have to live life believing that we are at mile 24 and that we can keep going
and last night with my team i felt like i had crossed the finish line of a certain chapter, this feeling like it’s all starting to come to life, that the message is resonating, that the message affects people of all backgrounds and genders, and that people want to support
on two occasions fans came up after and justed donated $250 and $100 respectively at the merch table, hoping we dont stop and just keep going
i felt this way back in may at lightening in a bottle when the whole crowd sang the anthemic “the future is female” chorus with us, and again in june at roskilde when we crowd-surfed and then in september when a bunch of new orleans fans danced on stage with me and then again after this major run opening for the legendary ani difranco
i will not forget this group or this feeling or this run for a long time
if you have a vision, just keep going
band:
lara fm on backing vocals
lp giobbi on synths and dj rig
ale robles luna on drums
bibi mcgill on guitar
kiran madame gandhi
photos by jp marcus
show at the downtown palace theater opening for ani difranco nov 14th 2017
Live audio here: https://soundcloud.com/madamegandhi/madame-gandhi-live-downtown-la-palace-theater-111417
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