Live from Edinburgh

[mpbrockman]

Made it. Whew!

I'm in the Leith section of Edinburgh and looking out the window at the Queen's yacht Britannia as I type.

On my first night here I've eaten Mexican and gone to Wal-Mart (er, ASDA). Why did I leave again?

Oh yeah, because the Mexican place had a frickin' awesome serrano lamb stew!

People really nice so far (except for one bureaucratic fuckwit type at the King's Cross rail station in London). I apparently wear my nationality on my sleeve. I barely open my mouth and people say 'You're from America, then?'; but as unpopular as we're supposed to be abroad, I've felt none of this. Although the comment 'You're a quiet one' (unspoken: 'for an American') was leveled at me at one point.

Long (but mostly smooth) trip. Many more details I will leave for a later time, but I'm here and y'all are here in spirit. I'll leave notes when I can.

Best -MPB

[Rev. Jordan T. Maxwell]

i got good response there by saying i was a Texan instead of American...of course, this was before the Bush years and the erroneous notion that he was a Texan. :p

[kbadr]

PGraph has talked about playing up the whole Texan angle when (?) we go to Edinburgh. I was shocked to have Mark Sutton tell us that it was part of the draw when we went to CIF. If Chicago's impressed by Texas, the Scots will flip out.

[sara farr]

Tejas!!!!!

Do us proud, Mr. Brockman!!

[mpbrockman]

Well today I wore my big, ugly UT Hawaiian shirt on the bus today. I certainly generated a lot of looks with that, although whether it was due to the UT theme or the general orange-y obnoxiousness I couldn't tell ya.

For £2 I bought a month long internet access pass here at Fringe Central. So it should be easier for me to check in regularly as this is a place I will be stopping by regularly - it's sort of on the way to everywhere.

Does anybody know a piano player named Kim Krone (sp?) She's the current house pianist at our venue and she's from Austin! How freaky is that?

Off to grab a nap and then make my first night's round of show hopping. Amy & I don't start until Saturday.

PGraph, if you plan to do this I am already picking up huge amounts of useful info on how to do it properly (and what not to do) from some of the vets. I will write everything useful down and get you a cheatsheet when I get home. Roy and Kaci, your wedding was a topic of some conversation today since the Skinny Bitch ladies saw it online and were fascinated by the Junk Cathedral and enthralled by Roy's ukelele playing.

Off I go, then.

[Roy Janik]

Enthralled by my occasional use of a C7 chord?

but yes, Brockman, please acquire as much info as possible! So jealous!

[beardedlamb]

i would like to partake of this cheatsheet as well.

[mpbrockman]

Last 72:

2 shows down: 1 brilliant, one rough (actually the show ran fine and we made decent money, but the crowd was mostly silent) No worries, but Amy was a bit distraught. Me? Eh, another day - another show.

Had a cup of tea at Elephant House (where the first Harry Potter book was written). Pleasant.

Saw Greyfrairs and the little dog statue. If you're interested look it up, it's a cute story but I'm pressed for time right now.

See Edinburgh Castle everyday when I come up from Leith & get off at Princes St. Effing amazing. So are the surrounding gardens. The colors of the flowers and even just the grass are almost more than the eye can accept.

Jon Bolden; your twin got on the 22 bus today at Sandport station. Seriously. It completely disoriented me for a moment.

Sarah Marie; Monsters waaaaaay too expensive here (when I can find them). Living on Irn Bru and some concoction called Diet Blue Surge. It tastes... well... light blue.

Day off tomorrow (Monday). Having dinner on a crane several hundred feet in the air over the castle gardens with the house piano player from our venue (what if you have to pee?)

More soon. Computer time a bit at a premium here at Fringe Central now that everything is in full swing.

OK, off to grab a beef and onion pasty and then go see Skinny Bitch's opening show.

[mpbrockman]

P.S....

Oh, never mind. I'm not going to tell you about the weather. You'd just want to kill me.

[kaci_beeler]

This is awesome. I'm loving hearing about your Edinburgh adventure.

[sara farr]

This is awesome. I'm loving hearing about your Edinburgh adventure.

Me too!

[KathyRose]

Saw Greyfrairs and the little dog statue. If you're interested look it up, it's a cute story but I'm pressed for time right now.

For those too young to know, he's referring to Greyfriars Bobby, the true story of a dog, made into a lovely filmin 1961.

[mpbrockman]

Holy crap, Skinny Bitch tore it up! Katie and Leah just get better and better. A review of them from last year described them as 'French & Saunders on crack' - not a bad description of what I saw tonight. For those of you who've never had the good fortune to see them, cross your fingers that they make LAFF again next year.

After seeing them I went to a piano bar, was actually recognized (oh, how the past follows one about) and invited to play. So I did about a half hour of requests (Police, Willie Nelson, Marc Cohn, Beatles, Bon Jovi... I can't remember what else). It was fun to sing my ass off (something I don't do that much of anymore) and mess with a receptive crowd for a bit.

Tomorrow after our dinner on the crane (see above) I'm going to see a musical based on what I'm told is a long lost Ray Bradbury manuscript. It looks too cool (to me anyway). Aden, you want in on this...(?)

Oh, forgot to mention how spoiled I must be in terms of improv. Last night I went with Katie and Leah to see them do a guest spot opening for an improv troupe (a local troupe who shall remain unnamed). On the way out I said to the ladies 'Not nice to be way funnier than the troupe who invited you to guest'. Seriously, these guys were supposed to be some of Edinburgh's best and I thought I was at a 201 grad show trying to set some sort of record for gratuitous use of the word 'cock'.

File that under RBT; 'rude but true'. I've seen some good sketch so far, but nothing in the way of Austin-level improv. I'm sure there's some here (after all, I believe there are approximately 7.83 million venues), I just haven't hit it yet.

Oh, hey, fellow smokers. Not only do the cigarette packs here have 'SMOKING KILLS' emblazoned on one side; but on the other side they have pictures of open-heart surgery or some guy with a giant exposed throat tumor (and a bad moustache). It's not necessarily making me want to smoke any less, but it is hampering my appetite.

Two more odd little notes and then I must get to bed:

1) I am beginning to speak faster and faster. It's not so much the brogue that throws me - it's the speed at which the Scots speak. Texas-speak will get you run over. I think that's why I've been perceived as such a 'quiet American' to date. It's because I can't get a word in edgewise! The New York women have an easier time of it, but I'm having to make a conscious effort to talk faster. Luckily, the Scots I've met so far don't mind slowing down when the retarded American man asks them nicely.

2) Cobblestones. Picturesque as one could ask for; and a turned ankle every 100 yds. Especially when I wear boots. Given that I'm wobbling around while dead sober, and the Scots - well - like their drink; I'm trying to figure out how it is they stay upright with such astonishing regularity.

Practice, I guess.

230A here now (830P there). Bed for me!

[Jeff]

Brockman, I'm just registering my name here as somebody who really appreciates your notes from Edinburgh. I've only dreamed of going there, for years and years.

Thanks, and I can hardly wait for more!

[Aden]

A Ray Bradbury Musical??

I must know more!