| Filk cons (Facebook discussion) |
[Apr. 22nd, 2015|11:38 am]
eintx
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On FB there's a discussion going on.
An American (I think?) filker called Naomi Pardue posted about some things she regards as areas for improvement if we like filkdom to remain generally welcoming and open.
She sees the tendency of concerts instead of circles to dominate cons, the tendency of musicians to perform together in bands, soundchecks to take ages, concerts logically to run late and circles to start too late for people who need some sleep.
This makes it difficult for a single filker with a guitar to get noticed, and it makes it difficult for everybody to hear other filkers (newer ones, for instance, or shyer ones) than those who have concerts. (And apparently getting a concert is much harder overseas.)
Of course she got her share of "If you don't like it do your own stuff", "How dare you critisise the concoms?", "You're only jealous and want more attention, but BNFs worked hard for their superiour skills and deserve all the attention they get" and "Well, just stop being shy!" from those who didn't read the entry properly, but in general tone and content of the discussion have been surprisingly civilised.
I didn't dare comment over there because I have no experience with cons apart from a few European ones, but I do think she has some points.
(I remember looking at some American con programmes and realising that what looked like three different items in fact was one oversized concert of always the same six or seven persons and thinking "Now I only find this silly, but if I were there I would probably find it annoying".)
Our combination of main concert and auction is, I think, a very good idea because it helps to draw attention to the one shots. So you have a realistic chance of hearing and being heard there.
The fact that European cons are not that huge probably helps, too. You usually can find some time to talk with most people.
But I agree that earlier circles would be a great thing, too.
I'm not necessarily tired in the evening, but after my head and heart have been overflown with music and stories all day I sometimes don't have that much space left for several hours of listening.
(Plus I tend to get bored quickly in a chaos circle, because then it's mostly just the same five or six people singing, and yes, they are good, but still. This is only my problem, though, of course.)
I think Naomi's general question along the lines of "Will filk in future be about performing and recording or about being together and sharing?" is important.
It doesn't seem to be that much of an issue yet in Europe (although, as I said, I can't compare), and anyway, I _like_ concerts, but I can sense the tendency she noticed. |
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