I’ve already been doing Halloween shows for my senior facilities, and it has me thinking about what Halloween is and has been. I know just a little bit about the story of Halloween being the night before All Hallows or All Saints Day. I wasn’t raised Catholic, so I don’t have a feel for that day, and so Halloween for me has always just been the spooky and comic costumes and scary and fun movies. As humans we seem to enjoy having some sort of celebration of darkness and the unknown. It’s logical to be somewhat afraid of the dark when you can’t see what might be lurking in the shadows. Of course it’s mostly a manufacturing of monsters in our brain although sometimes there really is something to be afraid of. We do get an adrenaline rush out of being scared - especially when something jumps out at us or suddenly screams at us. But I’d like to write more about what it does to us to be in that state of fear. I played over the last weekend at the Littleton Museum Harvest Festival, and much of my audience was young families with very young kids. I did a few Halloween songs during my show, and it was interesting to see how the kids reacted to different songs. I was very conscious to not sing songs that were too spooky, and sometimes the kids reacted in different ways than I anticipated. One of my favorite Halloween songs for kids is a song called simply “Boo!” by a band called Trout Fishing in America. It’s remarkable for the infrequent times when the song includes shouting “Boo!” during the song. Most kids jump when you shout this during the song, but some didn’t react much at all when I sang it during my show. Some of the other songs had concepts that were a little more nuanced that the younger kids couldn’t follow, and that’s to be understood. Overall it made me wonder if it’s okay to explore darker songs and ideas or if it’s better to be always uplifting and more a purveyor of love and light. I’m sure I’m making too much of it, but I believe there is something to the old adage that we tend to follow where our thoughts lead us. I just always feel better when I fill myself with good thoughts, and I sometimes think that I’m more encouraging when I put out uplifting and positive music and thoughts. Being in a state of fear releases all kinds of stress hormones and bad juju, I think. What do you think?
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What have I been up to?
I forgot to mention my senior facility shows last weekend, and they’re important to me. I had 11 of them, and one had to be cancelled due to a COVID outbreak. That’s the first time I’ve had a cancellation for illness this Fall, and I hope it’s not a harbinger of more to come. I know that COVID has hit harder in some places lately. Most of my senior facilities haven’t had their Fall shots this year yet.
My Wednesday online show was doing songs about birds, and it was as much fun as I thought it would be. Birds are such fascinating creatures! The audience seemed to think so too.
My Saturday show at Littleton Museum for the Harvest Festival was a little chilly, but there were a lot of folks and young families out to enjoy the crisp Fall morning and annular eclipse. It was so enjoyable! I had family members and friends come out to see me as well, so it was a great time.
My Sunday show was favorites and requests as always, and there were some nice moments with good friends. I love this group and this opportunity to share some music and encouragement.
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What am I up to this week?
I have 12 senior facilities this week, and they should all be wonderful. I say it often, but I feel these are so important in supporting the community and our seniors. I get as much out of it as they do!
My Wednesday online show 7-8:45 mountain time both this week and next week will be Halloween songs. I’ll definitely do a lot of fun songs as well as some of the more spooky songs although I’m conscious of what I wrote about above. I did some neat green screen effects last year, and I think I’ll do some this year as well although I don’t want to get too carried away.
My Sunday online show 7-8:45 mountain time will be favorites and requests as always, and I always love playing for my sweet friends and followers. Music is a gift I love giving.
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That’s it for this week. The Fall is going by too quickly. Stop and smell the falling leaves if you can.
Best always,
Tom
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Details this week:
Who: Tom Munch
What: playing and singing an online concert of Halloween songs
Where: facebook.com/tom.munch and tommunch.com/online-concerts
When: Wednesday, October 18, 7-8:45 pm mountain time
Who: Tom Munch
What: playing and singing an online concert of favorites and requests
Where: facebook.com/tom.munch and tommunch.com/online-concerts
When: Sunday, October 22, 7-8:45 pm mountain time