THE WIND + THE WAVE "The Feelings Club" Seattle, WA 2/10/2020

The Wind + The Wave

Fremont Abbey Arts Center

Seattle, WA

2/10/2020

(All photos by Mark Sugiyama for Eclectic Arts (c) 2020)

I decided to do something that I never ever do which is to write my review of an event as soon as I got home. Normally I eat, unwind, and then go to sleep. This evening I ate, blew my nose out a few more times as I've been sick all weekend, and then mulled over in my anxiety ridden brain whether or not I should write this now. Well, here goes.


"The Feelings Club" has a new member. Well, I'm an old member but I was like a ghost member, hiding behind the scenes to many that know me, even those that know me well. I continue to deal with issues of mental health awareness. I used to call it a struggle but for the most part I've kept these issues in check. But, of course, I'm already lying to a certain degree by typing that last sentence.


The past few years it's been up and down and all around. Sure, there are good days, even great days. But there have been some horribly dark days, too numerous to mention. I know what you're asking yourself if you're reading this - what the fuck does this have to do with the show?


The Wind + The Wave = Patty and Dwight. They brought their "The Feelings Club" show to the Fremont Abbey Arts Center tonight, here in Seattle. It was a new concept for U.S. audiences where Patty would talk about, well, everything. Her feelings. What makes her tick (and not tick). They asked folks to put their feelings into the feelings bucket on their website - and some would be read aloud at the show (anonymously as this was a safe space). To say this was going to be an intimate experience was a vast understatement.


I found myself tearing up towards the very end of the show. They played a rearranged version of their cover of Snow Patrol's, "Chasing Cars". I teared up again as I was driving home. It's been a rough few weeks, months, years, but I have acknowledged my feelings before - but only in the privacy of my own space. It's been quite some time since I teared up about anything. That changed tonight.


I'm not going to be callous and say that the stories that were shared by Patty connected with me. Her experiences were uniquely her own. However, the connection for me came within the feeling of anxiety, of over planning, of family issues, and a few other things she mentioned. OH - and they pulled written "feelings" (from the website) from a bucket "the feelings bucket" three different times. The second set of questions/statements - my "feeling" got pulled last before they launched into another song. I half listened to what was being said as I was honestly embarrassed that I wrote what I did. But, isn't that the point of all of this? To feel your feelings?


Dwight mentioned drinking and pot in his reply. Patty mentioned what she was doing right now is what gets her through her anxiety. Again I half listened but did hear enough to feel acknowledged.


After that I started getting lost in my own feelings as the show continued on. And let me tell you they weren't the "best" feelings but they were damn honest feelings for sure.


I can't even really review the show like I would any other event. It almost seems pointless as typing adjective after adjective would somehow be dismissing the whole point of the concert.


What I can say is that if the goal was to have fans (and media) feel their feelings, to show their true selves to one another, well then Goddamn - mission accomplished in spades.


What I can also say is there's a reason, well many, that I respect The Wind + The Wave. But I won't go on about that here.


When Patty and Dwight were done with the show - they said they would be over at the merchandise booth to sign autographs and take photos. I hightailed it out of there. I felt that if I had stayed to talk with both of them (like I did in 2017), I would probably would have broken down right then and there. And that feeling is not something I was ready to put on display in a public place.


I can't be more real than what I've typed. I know in my brain what I'll do. I'll wait until tomorrow, reread all of this, and probably start over with a new review. And no one will ever see this.


But maybe - just maybe - I'll leave it alone and publish it the way it is - raw and emotional.


If you're reading this, then you know what happened.


My name is Mark and I'm a member of "The Feelings Club",
Mark Sugiyama
Eclectic Arts
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Eclecticartszine AT gmail DOT com



THE WIND AND THE WAVE OFFICIAL SITE