Failure Loves Company

Last Saturday, I was one of two poets at the 7 Deadly Sins show at The Cameo Theatre and I had a blast.  I performed three sets and here are the poems, all of which are in Dodging Traffic.

Set 1 – Tailor Made

Set 2 – You + Me = Awwwww Yeah, Taking Civil Liberties

Set 3 – Reciprocation, Upon Seeing Your Profile On MySpace, Check Yes

The first set was early so the crowd wasn’t quite drunk, engaged enough for me to do anything sinful.  The second set, people were into the show more so I was able to engage them more and do some of my raunchier work.   The last set, I decided there needed to be some wrath with lust at the end.  Overall, I was well received and thanks to Jamesson Beane, met some new movers & shakers in the scene.

Sidebar: Originally I was going to do Archeology in my set but at the rehearsal, I saw one of the models covering her ears and I thought “do I really want to make people feel uncomfortable”.  As it turns out, the model was uncomfortable because she was sitting next to her mom when I performed it (the model is 17) and she actually told her friends about it as a reason why to come and support.  Oops.

Next was my book signing and as it turns out, I had one of those Spinal Tap moments (Flight of the Conchords for those who have not seen This Is Spinal Tap).  Other than my wife and a friend, no one came.  I have some theories on why:

1. The time frame, 12 pm, was far too early for anyone hungover to come in for a book signing.  I noticed that when I packed up my stuff and left, foot traffic increased tremendously.

2. The location of the store is challenging.  Parking is not easily accessible unless you want to pay a hefty fee or you score a distant, empty metered space.

3. As my wife pointed out, people don’t go to book signings.  If I advertised it as a performance and book signing, I would have attracted more attention and thus wouldn’t have been surfing the web for two hours surrounded by copies of my book.

It is a combination of all of these things I think were factors in why my book signing wasn’t attended.

Was I disappointed?  Sure.  Am I over it.  Totally.  I love being able to say that I had a book signing that no one came to – I didn’t have that kind of problem last year and frankly, it’s a cool kind of problem to have.

Next is New Orleans.  I found out I will be performing during the afternoon at the Apple Barrel (609 Frenchmen St – New Orleans, LA
(504) 949-9399) around 12:20 pm on November 7 as part of the 8th Annual New Orleans Bookfair and I have my two other shows as well (one at Neutral Ground later that night and then The Zeitgeist on Sunday).  I’m really excited and hope to rock many faces off.