Well, there was the Fat Tuesday party benefit for the Bas Bleu Theatre, and before that there was this:
Someplace called the Qdoba Events Center
(More on that later) in any case, Bloco em FoCo was there and we rocked the house! It is possible that we could use this place for practice due to the fact that it is located very far away from anyone who might object to the noise. Time will tell…
In Boulder this Monday:
I got a call to fill in on the kendang Monday morning to do the children’s show
The Gamelan thing with dancers
Halloween is very near! So why not beat your drum in the evening:
In costume no less: the world famous samba band “Bloco em Foco”
It was rather cold outside on Oak Street Plaza so I chose to wear the very old (but warm) Yeti suit that I had on last Holler!Ween. It worked out as expected.
Witch and Devil Surdo players
I was told that there were lots of characters in the audience in costume as well but I had a hard time seeing anything in that yeti costume.
One charater in particular
Yes, none other than Cam the Ram stopped by to do a little dance and pose for pictures. Lotta ham on that sheep.
It could be spelled Oooopa! or Opaa!, or just plain Opa! Wiki Answers says it means to party, or get down and dance. It’s an expression of joy that we scream out when the waiter ignites a pan of Saganaki in front of us, or in front of other people– whatever. It is a tradition that dates back to, what, maybe 1968 at the Parthenon restaurant in Chicago. Not the same as this Parthenon: they didn’t have flaming cheese there. Lucky for us we have a little place in Fort Collins that follows that same tradition and it’s close enough that we can bike there and back.
Conga drums and banjo on the cart with the Black Sheep
We had an invite for drummers and dancers at the Taverna so I thought it might be possible to attach a set of conga drums to the cart and just for fun I added the “Bouzouki Banjo” on the back of the cart. The pair of conga drums were a bit top-heavy for the modified dog cart and they shifted a bit while in transit but they made the trip unharmed. I was glad I brought the bouzouki banjo; it added to the evening’s music.
Black Sheep parked at the Taverna
The Taverna Greek Grill opened less than a year ago on College Avenue near the Target store. We liked it immediately because the owners like to serve flaming cheese (Parthenon style) and they especially like to break dinner plates (on purpose). On the first month of opening the Taverna, the owners also performed a number of fire breathing tricks inside the restaurant. They no longer do this and I would assume that its because the fire marshal put a stop to it. Oh well, it was fun while it lasted.
Satori Dancers
I’m not sure how this was supposed to work. Were we a private party or something the restaurant owners were using to attract more business? I’ll say private party for now because it looked like the restaurant was full. They (somebody) wants to do it again next month.
Bohemian Caravan
The Caravan has been around since 2006. They call themselves a “motley crew” of dancers who like to improvise their dance routines at the spur of the moment anytime, anywhere. And any drum beat.
At the Harmony Library:
African Drum and Dance
I heard the beat of drumming from my kitchen window and followed the sound to this grassy area near the library to find the group called Falé. The group of drummers and dancers are dedicated to learning, teaching, performing and promoting traditional West African culture.
This time in Loveland:
Drummers and dancers doing their thing!
Panorama view of concert venue
This post was created by at least five apps on my iPad: Worst part — typing this out using the screen keypad.
In Old Town Square, Fort Collins:
Yet Another Community Drum Circle
This was sort of a last minute assortment of drums and people to celebrate the longest day of the year at 5:09 PM on June 20, 2012.
Some people biked in with their drums
The Black Sheep with Congas in tow
A night of carnival:
With Fort Collins’ premier samba band Bloco Em Foco
The band played at the Fat Tuesday celebration in the Ramskeller
We were LOUD as usual!
And this time the CSU newspaper attempted to get the band’s name but failed: We were listed as Loco En Foco. OK, so we are a little bit Crazy in Focus.
Smash the caterpillar:
and test your strength.
The caterpillar (I am assuming here from the monarch butterflies in the artwork) is used as a measurement of strength or more likely how much force can be applied with a hammer.
Live Music
Note the plastic drink cups located just to the left of the music stands. Were all these guys left-handed?
A Drum Circle of course
If this was not here, I would not be there! The spirit of the drum is alive and much welcomed here.
Targeting family members.
Apparently this is some sort of game of skill in which you take aim at the little wooden figures with a bean bag and try to knock down as many as you can. It’s neat in that while there were many of those rented blow-up attractions at this party, this one was obviously made by someone local.
Man, it was a busy weekend:
At Red Rocks
for the Alison Krauss & Union Station concert. We had general admission tickets which means you can sit behind the yellow rope near the top of the rocks or if you are early you can find a ledge on the side to sit on. This is our view of the stage for $34 a pop. We heard a lot of dobro solos that night because the band was having trouble hearing themselves play.
Attended the New Belgium Tour de Fat
with Duncan Madog and his media cart. Jeanne and I went as some kind of pinhead characters out of a Bill Griffith cartoon no doubt inspired after visiting with team Zippy at Ragbrai last July.
Drum circle dancing at the farm
at yet another special party edition of Bloco em Foco on the farm
And I traded my VW Cabrio for a custom made Black Sheep Bike
