Vienna Teng in Saratoga

“You going to see Vienna tonight?” is a frequent question that I’ve been asking to my friends lately. I’ve been introducing more and more people to Vienna’s music, be it at work or at the various events that I attend. The reception has been pretty positive, and I hope that they are translating to more and more sales of her CD and attendance at her performances at coffee shops around the Bay Area.

There are a lot of musicians around the country trying to make it in the industry. Who or what determines who succeeds and who doesn’t? Obviously musical talent plays a large part in being successful, but success also depends on passion, networking, exposure, and presentation. Assuming you have the talent, I feel that passion is the most important component, however. As I was talking to Jeremy the other night, passion for what you do is what drives a lot of our mutual friends to dizzying heights of success in their chosen fields. “If you don’t love what you’re doing, get out… now!” is a phrase I’m fond of saying. When I watch Vienna perform or read about the wins that Nicole is collecting on the racing circuit, I wonder if I’m maximizing my potential or if I’ve found my passion, my second wind. So many things to do, so little time…

Tonight, Vienna played at The Blue Rock Shoot coffee shop in Saratoga. Though I’ve never been to downtown Saratoga, I instantly felt comfortable there, as it bore a striking resemblance to downtown Los Altos. With its bevy of quaint shops, restaurants, and coffee houses, downtown Saratoga seemed like a nice place to hang out in the evenings with friends or a date.

When I walked into the backroom of the Blue Shoot, I instantly saw Christy sitting down with someone who looked really familiar. It turns out it was Dave Hung, a guy that I used to cycle with back in the days of shaved heads and hardcore cycling. Apparently, he’s kept up his cycling and me? Well, I had a flat tire while riding to work yesterday! Going along Mathilda Road is a pain with the big rig trucks just a few feet away from you on the same road; that’s definitely not something that I want to do everyday!

Eric also stopped by with his sister, Wendy. I hadn’t seen Wendy in a number of months and was disappointed that I didn’t get to talk to her before she and Eric left, but I figure that I’ll have plenty of opportunity in the coming months to pick her brain about photography and other things art-related. I had brought my Leica M2 with me along with my Canon D30. The total amount of imaging equipment in the room must have been mind-boggling. A guy that I met at the performance, Frank Wang, brought his Sony DCR-VX2000, a lovely 3-CCD DV camera that he used to record Vienna’s performance. I had been eyeing that camera for a number of weeks. It’s going to be fun once I start doing some real DV work.

As usual, Vienna played a great set of songs from her CD and recent recordings. Eric’s Song is used as a waltz song at Richard Power’s dance classes at Stanford, and it’s quickly becoming one of my more favorite pieces from Waking Hour. Drought is a song that I prefer live, and Gravity (Lake Version) continues to maintain the top spot in my list of favorite Vienna Teng tracks.

Everyone in the crowd seemed to enjoy her performance. There were a number of random people at the coffee house who just happened to be there when Vienna began singing. Enraptured by her voice and lyrics, I counted at least 3-4 random people who bought her CD. Cool deal! Watching the money flow and the CD’s being distributed reminded me of the time when I was selling my handheld software over the Internet. The sales just kept coming in, a few here, a few there, a lot here and a lot there. There’s something special about creating something and seeing that something be desired in the marketplace.

The concert ended shortly around 10:00, after a performance that neared two hours in length. Christy, Dave, and I helped Vienna and Eric load up her car before we said our goodbyes and went our separate ways. After a long week at work, it was nice to unwind with friends and listen to some vintage and live Vienna. She’s off to Boston next week for a music course and then it’s back onto the circuit! All that hard work and passion… it’s going to pay off. I can feel it.