The pictures got me.
There he was again: dark hair, thick brows, strong nose, full lips, bronze features.
Yet during his minutely choreographed memorial at ACL Live on Saturday, the Austin DJ and music designer was back.
Those untamed, quizzical, almond-shaped eyes alive, staring at us from a screen above the stage.
Denizens of the city’s nightlife, charity, arts, music and media scenes joined the family and his partner of 17 years, Kevin Smothers, for a final farewell.
Calla lilies poked out from a clear tower arranged by the Avila family. Selections from Michael’s favorite music provided the soundtrack for the sunny afternoon.
From the stage, Amy Holloway welcomed the crowd: “We can’t think of Michael without thinking about music,” she said. “Close your eyes and think about our friend and family member as you hear the lyrics.”
“Michael will be in our fondest memories and in the songs that seem to randomly pop up on our song lists at just the right moment,” Holloway continued. “Often when it seems almost uncannily appropriate. It’s happened to me already. The perfect song plays when I’m missing him.”
Debra Boylan strayed from her script to recall how she and Michael were “borderline obsessive fans” of Tori Amos, following her tours around the country. (I’m listening to Amos as I write to remember why.)
I was privileged to be invited to read from the I Ching.
Here’s an excerpt: “The clouds pass and the rain does its work. And all individual beings flow into their forms. Because the holy man is clear as to the end and the beginning, as to the way in which each of the six stages of life completes itself in its own time, he mounts on them toward heaven as though on six dragons.”