I go out so often that my therapist asked if I felt that I had to go out; I told her, “no.” But it sure makes it easier to blog when I do. Last night’s adventure was going to Rockwood Music Hall to see Marcia Ball. I got the tickets from the WFUV member line. That was necessary as I couldn’t afford the $40 tickets.
I have been following Marcia for 24 years, her album Blue House had just come out. How long ago is that? I had it on cassette in addition to CD. That was the peak of WFUV being a source of musical discovery for me. It’s around the same time I discovered The Kennedys, Eddie from Ohio, Dan Bern, Jill Sobule, Nanci Griffith, Ashley MacIsaac, Natalie Macmaster, etc. I started seeing Marcia every time she came to town. For years it was a tradition that she’d do a Summertime Blues Cruise, I never missed those shows. I found myself standing next to John Cleese at one of them. I got to have breakfast with her at the old WFUV studio. She was on the morning show; as a premium during a pledge drive you could come to the station, eat breakfast, and watch her in the studio. She said she’s never forget my name as it was the same as her husband’s. Next time I talked to her at the South Street Seaport I asked her if she remembered it. She didn’t. When I told her, “You told me she’d never forget it.” That was enough to allow her to figure it out.
Fred was my plus 1. He was the first one on the line, so we got our usual Statler and Waldorf seats. I was there before him, but I went for pizza at Rosarios. When I was getting ready to leave Marty came in; he was going to see Marcia too. I found Ellen on the line with Fred and we were soon joined by Peter. My friends are the early arrivers. We all sat up in the mezzanine. That’s the place for the cool kids. There were tables on the floor, so we could have sat there but Rockwood is the one place I usually don’t op to sit close. I still have clear site lines from on high.
Marcia is different that most of the musicians I hear. She’s a New Orleans blues pianist with a band, electric guitar, sax, electric bass, and drum kit. That’s your basic 1950s rock band configuration. Many of her songs would not be out of place in a Jerry Lee Lewis set. In other words, she rocks. She is as dynamic a performer as I know. If you can sit still listening to her music your mind works totally different than mine and everyone in the audience. It’s music that goes straight to your pleasure center and releases endorphins. I’d love to see a study of what it does to the listener’s serotonin levels. Would it work as an anti-depressant?
I’d love it if she played Falcon Ridge. I dream of her playing the Budgiedome but I’m pretty sure our neighbors would object to the volume. Her band is loud. Her band is also great; she gave the guitarist and sax player numerous solos and the crowd reacted with cheers each time.
There’s only one problem with Marcia’s music; it’s difficult for me to write more than, “she’s amazing.” She’s not sending me down the rabbit hole of picking up the intricate threads that so much of the music I write about does. She makes me feel great. It’s pure joy even when she’s playing sad songs. She creates beauty in ways I don’t know how to describe. Perhaps that’s the best thing I can say about it.
I’ve won tickets on the WFUV member line two months in a row. There’s a one-month limit between wins. I need to get better and start checking every day as soon as I’m eligible again.
My achievement for the day was fixing the front buzzer. To enter our building, you first go through a gate to enter the property and be buzzed in the door of the building. Our buzzer at the gate often won’t turn off. If someone presses it, it stayed pressed and the buzzer won’t stop. I have to go down there and pull the button out by hand. We’ve complained for months and nothing was done. Yesterday when it stuck I did something about it. Who knows what I did? I followed the engineering flow chart.
I grabbed my handy can of WD40 and headed down to the gate. I pulled the button out and sprayed. I then worked the button in and out for a while added my WD40 now and then until it worked properly. I should have done this months ago instead of waiting for the building management to fix it. That all fits in with my self-image. I procrastinate, and I can fix things. A third ingredient is that I don’t think other people believe I can fix things.
Today I am going to help Jane do things, in preparation for moving, that I would be paralyzed if I tried to do for myself. I hope I don’t talk myself into feeing paralyzed. I feel the anxiety rising in my solar plexus. Now I’m going to have to meditate. Give me a few minutes, I’ll be right back. I’m back. I have not been meditating enough. Meditation is the proper response to me to anxiety. That or chocolate.
Now to eat breakfast. I’m thinking poached eggs and ham atop garlic bread with cheese. That convinced me; thinking about it made my mouth water.
Wise Madness 