Today’s edition of Wise Madness is about seeing the Anna/Kate Band. Now that I got the attention grabbing lede out of the way I can work my way up to it in my round-about manner.
I’m getting a late start today. I woke up my usual time, went to my computer, and within 20 minutes was asleep at the wheel. I couldn’t get up and moving until it was nearly 1 PM. I ate and when I was finished I discovered that I was having a Crohn’s attack; the food was not moving through my digestive system. That explains the sleepiness. The symptoms usually run in the opposite order, digestive then sleepiness. But now I’m awake and ready to write.
Yesterday I did something I’ve never done before; I wrote an edition of Wise Madness and chose to not post it. It was not inspired. I was in emotional pain and let it leak into the universe. I’ve published that before but yesterday thought better of it. Now I’m in physical not emotional pain and feel better about writing. In addition to the abdominal pain my arthritic left elbow is acting up again. I’ll take that over emotional pain any day. Physical pain happens to my body, emotional pain to me.
That is in no way spiritual, I don’t believe in a soul external to the body. Consciousness is an emergent property, not supernatural. It’s important to me that you don’t think that I think otherwise. When I make the distinction between my body and me that’s just a clumsy way of expressing my subjective experience.
How did I get off on the philosophical tangent? I’m leaving it in because tangents are how I experience the world and this blog is always about me.
I was feeling unhappy yesterday which was more not less reason to make the trek to Williamsburg to see Anna and Kate; proximity to genius is a good thing. It’s also a good album or book title. Somebody grab it.
I’m slowly learning, no matter how well I know to get somewhere I should consult Google Maps before starting my trip. My natural way of getting to Pete’s Candy Store, where the show was, is the 4 to the L, nice and simple. I was going to stop at Trader Joe’s on the way for some things I need. Google told me to not do that. The L was not running. I had to take the D to the M then walk for 17 minutes. I made it in plenty of time but did not get to eat or shop beforehand. I’m glad I didn’t try and grab a quick bite as I got there early enough to have some quality time with Kate and Anna. I was the first one there and they were the first act.
The Anna/Kate band is one of my top discoveries of the year. I saw them at John Platt’s On Your Radar. What I discovered yesterday, by being early, is that my new discovery were instantly old friends. It is hard to stay unhappy in a world where that can happen.
I have to work at figuring out which is Anna and which is Kate. I piggyback my memory on Anna and Elizabeth for whom I also spent time being confused. I resolved that one by the totally irrational connection that Elizabeth’s last name is LaPrelle sounds petite so Anna is the tall one and Elizabeth the shorter one. From there it was just a small step to Anna being the tall one and Kate the shorter one. Both Annas are blond and both Elizabeth and Kate are short. So there it is. I can remember because I map two bands whose music has nothing to do with each other on to each other. Hey I told you this blog is about me.
I got my quality time with Anna and Kate before the show and Kate gave me a great compliment; she said that I understand what they are trying to do. She told Veronica, who was sitting in with them on electric guitar, that I write the best blog. That does not mean as much to me. I can read my writing and judge for myself, but the only way I can know I get someone is if they tell me. I like to think that I do. They would not be one of my favorite musical acts if I didn’t feel the connection. Thinking of it now the act they most remind me of is The Sea The Sea. Their music is not similar but they are both duos with bands that use harmony to tell the story. They are both trying to do something, not just sounding pretty.
The Anna/Kate band is a full band, not just two queers with a ukulele, their original name and how they got started. It’s a fecund band, the other band members, both men, just had or are about to have three babies. One is expecting twins. This was a stripped-down version of the band with Veronica sitting in. I can remember Veronica’s name because I asked if it was with a c or a k. I don’t have a good memory for names but I compensate with tricks. Veronica is also queer so this was three queers a uke and a guitar. That doesn’t trip off the tongue as well.
While the full band makes things different more than better Anna and Kate singing a Capella offer more complexity than most large bands. They weave the two voices into marvelous patterns. They do, duets, harmonies, and polyphony. It’s all in service to the songs, not to their egos. The second song was one from Carousel that I did not recognize. I’m listening to Carousel now as clearly I don’t know it well enough. When I heard Kate and Anna sing it, I thought it was an original that harkens back to the great American Songbook. That led me down a rabbit hole. I want them to do an album or at least an evening of standards. They made the changes in the song to make it about two women and that came out as natural. There’s more political meaning in that than in a polemic.
There is more than music to an Anna/Kate band show, there is theater. Twice they came out into the audience added choreography to the show. Don’t think high kicks. This was graceful expressive movement. They said as much in their glances as in their music. Somebody really needs to book them with Anna and Elizabeth who are also theatrical. Come on my house concert and presenter friends. Somebody step up and make this happen.
The world being what it is they brought out an old song of their about sexual assault. Steph Jenkins did the same thing. While the problem is in our collective consciousness now, it’s always been there in the real world, unspoken but whispered.
Even when singing about such dark matters Anna and Kate make me happy. This is music worth traveling through three boroughs and taking three trains to get to. They are not nice people playing nice songs nicely. They aren’t just pleasant. They don’t just have beautiful voices. There’s substance and there’s fun. There’s people making music that nobody else could make.
As the L train was not running I expected a small crowd. I was delighted to find that I was wrong. There were plenty of people there. That’s why I was happy I got my quality time before the show. Afterward I was able to say my goodbyes then get going.
I hadn’t eaten and I was in Williamsburg so once again I went over to Crif Dogs and once again had the hot dog wrapped in bacon, spread with peanut butter, and topped with potato chips. My mouth waters just thinking about. This time I had it with cheese fries instead of tater tots. They don’t tell you but they are waffle fries!
Unlike last time I was a master commuter coming home. I took the G to the E to the D and got in the optimal car for the transfer each time. None of the waits were very long.
Wise Madness 