Laughing out loud

Anybody who knows me knows that I LOVE to laugh. I walk around with a giant smile on my face pretty much 24/8.

[24/8 is a discworld thing, simply accept it and roll with me minions I'm still high on life here]

I just got back from an event that had me grinning, guffawing, shaking my tush to some awesome music and people watching like crazy.

Four of my all time favorite things…..…well, of the things that can be done in public.

There's an energy generated from a performer opening himself up to a crowd of onlookers that doesn't happen in any other aspect of life.

And when you're ten feet from the stage and the performers are encouraging audience participation it doesn't get a whole lot sweeter.

A willing crowd, talented performers and a great space to entertain in, what could be better?

I only saw two acts because I was running behind after rescuing a damsel in distress [a story for a different day] and under my coat I was soaked to the skin and only keeping my teeth from chattering because I was laughing so much.

Because, oh yeah, did I mention that it was raining like Noah was building an ark today?

My hair was flat and I looked like a drowned rat and I still had a great time……

Mostly because the electricity the performers generated in the audience was palpable….these guys had the crowd in the palms of their hands.

When I hit the lower level entrance to the Detroit Superior Bridge Brian Gardner was on stage. He sings, he dances, he has a little patter, he has stunning backup dancers he calls Divas…. and oh yeah, he has BREAK AWAY PANTS……. About two seconds into my entrance his pants came off and then the fun really began. He bumps, he grinds, he walks on his hands. He jokes offhand about those dreams where you dream you're at work in your underwear….. it was such fun. Like Vegas, only free and in Cleveland. [and no tigers]

Then Aaron Bonk took the stage. Aaron if you remember is the fire eating, stilt walking juggler that I met in the park the other day.

Aaron demonstrated that his knives were actually sharp by slicing an orange in half and then he proceeded to juggle multiple balls, knives, a bowling ball and bean bags. He went on to perform several death defying feats, some requiring a helmet.

AND THEN………..

He worked with CHILDREN, and everybody knows that the first rule in show business is never work with animals or children, but Aaron pulled it off, no problem and they each only upstaged him a little bit.

After that he asked for a volunteer from the audience. When a sacrificial lamb was proffered to him he used a bull whip to separate the head of a rose from the stem while the rose was in the guy's mouth. Not kidding. In a volunteer's mouth. And the guy stood there calmly while it happened.

[I'll have to ask him if this was a set up]

Then he finished up his act with a passing of the hat and collected some booty and some promise of booty for later cause I SAW the hat and there were at least two thongs in the collection.

I walked the rest of the bridge and saw some of the amazing artwork that was displayed and got to talk to a few other folks.

I really hope the Bridge Project takes off and this space becomes a recognized, frequent [and funded] place for performers to showcase their talent.

It was a horrid weather day, the place isn't a cake walk to get to and there were STILL hundreds of people enjoying the food, the ambiance and the performers.

Hopefully lots of people give the city feedback and they drum up corporate sponsors to get this space funded so these local performers can make a living doing what they do best.

Making people smile.

Or in my case, laugh out loud.

A link to other folks yammering and tweeting about #bridgeproject