Watching Radio - Again
Garrison Keillor and Prairie Home Companion were in Rochester, MN, last Saturday for their live show. If you listened, that was me applauding from Row BB in the upper level. What fun it was. Keillor is such a charming host and his style exudes calm and wonder, tinged with irony for good measure.
What struck me first was that his warm-up is just like the show. About 4 years ago we went to the Letterman show in New York. There the warm-up was noisy and boisterous. Jokes got us going. Yelling and cheering and clapping along with the band playing loud music. Just exactly what you would expect on a TV show.
But the PHC warm-up was Keillor coming out on stage, talking in his down-home style, then singing a couple of duets Andra Suchy as they walked up the center aisle. In other words it was just like the show.
The second neat thing was watching him pace around the stage when he wasn't on himself. he's watching and checking and talking to a stage manager. He would then sit and listen to the music. Then he would roam a little more moving to the music being played. He truly seems to enjoy what he is doing and likes the music. His foot is always tapping time, even swinging out and stomping a little as he started the opening theme.
Probably the neatest part was watching him tell the News from Lake Wobegon. He stands center stage front and starts talking. He roamed back toward a music stand two times, seeming to check an obviously very short outline. No notes in hand; no apparent script. He just tells us the story. At one point he moves around front and sits on a park bench, leaning back and talking as if it was just coming out of his head for the first time.
Such storytelling is a lost art. To see someone like Keillor do it is to have your faith renewed in the possibilities of stories as an oral medium.
Then, there was even a 5-7 minute post-show song with the local singers, Sweet Dreams. It was nothing short of wonderful.
All in all, it sure is fun to watch radio.
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