Megabus 1, or Chicago Report

Remember that tendency I have to not write when I'm happy? That's my excuse for leaving you all so neglected while I was in Chicago.

I had an amazing time. Candyce and Billy Tuggle opened their South Side apartment to me, and set me up with a personal record-breaking four gigs in four nights!

The first night was a mini-feature at the Green Mill, the oldest slam, and oldest-running weekly show in Chicago. At 23 years old, and hosted by the inventor of poetry slam, Marc Smith (so what?!), the Green Mill is a fantastic show - a large and engaged crowd encased in a swanky saloon-style bar. I found my friend Roger from New York - he moved not long after I did - and couldn't wait to show off my new work. I did three pieces, one of which spanking new (I'd written it the night before) and rocked them all. Marc did a great job encouraging folks to buy my merch, and even slipped me an unexpected fee, which delighted me. I felt like a bit of a rock star.

The next night was Mental Graffiti, the other big poets' show in Chicago. In stark contrast to the Mill's luxurious booths and swaths of pink, Mental Graffiti is set in a long, narrow bar with awesome decorations and green lighting. Silent movies were being projected against one wall, which made for some interesting mood setting but also distracted me. More poets in this crowd: Roger and Marty, who were in New York at the same time I was, Tristan, Molly, Amy and Tim, all whose work I know. I was a little intimidated when I took the stage, to say the least. The fun part about Mental Graffiti? I did pieces that were less "slam-y" and brought out my "Westlake Station" pantoum, and a couple of other pieces. My old mentors said I'd grown. We went out for dinner afterwards and sat around talking shop. I got paid again! What a strange and wonderful experience.

Tuesday night brought me to what might have been my favorite feature of the week: at Trace bar in Wrigleyville, Billy and the other remembers of PolyRhythmic (a performance troupe) host a weekly open mic. The crowd was small, but I worked it - I'm very used to small crowds, and I liked them. PolyRhythmic's mic brought out my "B-side" work - some slightly older stuff, some stuff I don't perform often. As the feature went on, I felt more and more solid, and felt like I gave one of my best performances. Afterward, we went out for hot dogs and gyros, and tumbled into bed (couch) at two in the morning.

Wednesday, I spent hanging out with non-poets, and got to go explore some more of Uptown. We ate curried tofu on the rocky shore of Lake Michigan, and marveled at day's length (am I the only person who loves Daylight Savings?). I made it to my final feature at Heartland Cafe just in time - it was a small feature, to a variably engaged crowd. I realized that I now have a really good "trigger" piece - "Freude," my piece about singing in choirs. By "trigger" piece, I mean a piece that gets me into a good mood and good performance space, no matter how I'm feeling before I start it. "Freude" was the only piece I did at every performance. I'm in love.

And now the WonderBus barrels down the heartland. The landscape is skeleton trees and evergreens. Tonight, a break from touring to settle down home with cousins and giggles and all the delights of Minneapolis.