Rain, Rain

I love rain, and I love you music. So, you can probably imagine how much I love the absolute genius that is Paul DeMarinis’s RainDance. After we saw the prototype in his studio, I actually went home and marked my calendar for when it would be up on Santana Row, and on Memorial Day, I had the distinct pleasure of Rain Dancing under Paul DeMarinis’s incredible creation.

We got to Santana Row at about 3 in the afternoon. Parking was a nightmare, and we were wondering how in the world we were going to be able to find this one exhibit in the midst of all of the hullabaloo that is Santana Row. Well, I looked up and there it was: RainDance. So, I’m still not quite sure how this thing works, but from what I can gather from the, now many, times that I have used it, Paul has created a metal structure that emits two thin streams of water. Whoever is using it must have an umbrella. When the water hits the umbrella sounds are emitted. The look of RainDance has changed since our time with DeMarinis. One of the things that struck me first was the color change. There were four structures and each one was painted a different bright color: blue, red, green, yellow. Each umbrella was clear and very deep, which is to say the umbrella could cover all of your head. This, I found, gave a more surround sound experience. The walkway was elevated on wood that was covered with green turf. The whole exhibit was bright and engaging. If I hadn’t come expressly to see it, I probably would have stopped anyway just to see what all those colors and sounds were about.

It was incredibly busy when we arrived. Kid after kid after kid was walking through holding their huge umbrella’s over their 2,3,4, foot frames. Those umbrellas really swallowed them up, and I found that I couldn’t hear the music. I wondered if it was broken, but I waited my turn, rather impatiently. Becca went before I did, and as soon as she stepped underneath the streams of water a song BLARED out. It took me by surprise because I could hear nothing when the little children went through before me, but I think that because Becca is so tall and more of the umbrella was out, people standing by could hear the music. It was an interesting new element to the exhibit that I wasn’t aware of before.

The kids were taking an annoyingly long time, but finally, I grabbed an umbrella and went through. Each of the different streams played a different song, and I took my time, trying to soak it all up. Finally, when I finished I kept my umbrella and went through another time. Yes, I was that annoying child that I just talked about, the one who takes two turns and is really slow, and pushes the other kid down to get to the umbrellas…okay, so I didn’t do that last thing, but I can’t say I wasn’t tempted!

I think one of the best things about RainDance is that it is so relatable, and freaking awesome, for kids of all ages. There were kids who could barely hold up their umbrellas, senior citizens, who also could barely hold up their umbrellas, there was even a young teenage couple who went through together, just minutes after they had grossly been making out in front of all the innocent children. It’s just so universally fun, and I can’t imagine it ever getting old for anyone.