Keith at MV Artisan's Fair -- Saturday, 17May2014

Before they shut down the Mission Viejo Farmer's Market, they tried to enliven it with the addition of an "Artisan's Row". It didn't work, obviously, but they've started a new Artisan's Fair -- all art, no vegetables -- and asked me to play. I told her I'd be happy to, but only for two hours (not the entire four) since I'd need to have some stamina left to play at Laguna that same Saturday evening.

They set me up under an Easy-Up way over in a corner, to provide access to the nearest building's electrical power, but it was still too far, so I just played by battery. The worst of both worlds! Using up battery life that I'd need for the evening, and far away from any possible listeners.

But, despite there being almost no patrons, the artists were friendly and/or grateful, and clapped after every song. So it wasn't too bad.

I was hoping some kids would come, so I could play "Let It Go". Finally I spotted a dad with his two kids were way over there, so I started it up, watching the little girl recognize it, and excitedly tell her dad. Lots of kids have watched the DVD of the movie a million times, and know, not just the song, but the exact movements of Elsa as she sings it. This little girl was obviously singing along, because I could see her doing the whole routine -- magical snowball creation here, grand gesture there, etc.

A few people braved the long walk to come over and talk to me, and two even bought CDs. One lady asked for "Blackbird" and "Amie". Another lady came over with her grandson in a shopping cart, and pulled him out so they could dance together on "You've Got a Friend in Me" from "Toy Story".

And almost at the end, a lady and her crazy-dressed teen-aged daughter came over. The daughter asked for "Let It Go", and the mom asked for "Amie". I guess that song is more popular than I think it is.

The trickiest part is that I basically had the same audience for the whole two hours. Usually I have a (high) turnover rate, and could get away with five songs over and over. But I felt like I had to play all different songs the whole time, so after my usual 15 or 20 songs, I still had an hour left to fill. That's not actually a problem, since there are 280 songs in the book these days, but it was unusual.