Congratulate me, I’m finished taking the drops for my cataract surgery. For two months I’ve had alarms going off all day to remind me to put them in. My phone would play Golden Eye by Mike + Ruthy. I try and make my alarms and ringtones appropriate. I awake each morning to Jean Rohe’s Arise! Arise !. I try and choose ringtones that will remind me of the caller. Do other people do that? I know buying ringtones used to be a thing so perhaps they do.
People
That’s how much I wrote yesterday; not much of an entry. I didn’t have to leave that early so I’m not sure what interrupted me. It might have been a lack of inspiration. I’ve forgotten so we’ll never know where that last sentence was going.
What I do remember is that I made matzoh brei to make your bubbe cry for breakfast. It’s topped with ham and cheese; one of the best breakfasts I make and I make great breakfasts. Then I was off to see my gastroenterologist. Everything looks fine and now I only have to see her every six months. She needs to monitor me because of my Entyvio infusions. I’ve been having Crohn’s issues because of damage already done by the disease, not new flareups.
Getting to the doctor took much longer than it should have. I take the D train just two stops, that took 40 minutes. The motorman on a train ahead of ours heard a noise coming from the train and had to walk around it to see what was wrong. As far as I can tell he didn’t see anything but we limped into the next station where I had to wait for another train. That train had to come on the express track because of the train with problems on the local. All the trains had to be rerouted. I called my doctor to say that I was late. It’s important to do that. She took me even though I was half an hour late.
That upset the timing for the rest of my day. My plan was to see Mama’s Broke, one of my top NERFA discoveries. They are a trad duo from Nova Scotia. Google Maps said I would be a little late but I managed to do better than it thought possible. When I arrived I saw Howard in the audience. He loves Canadian bands and I had recommended that he go.
I had my usual trepidation seeing an act that I loved for the first time after NERFA. Are they really as good as I remember? All I saw there was one 15-minute set, maybe two. NERFA is a very different context for hearing music than at a concert; you are rushing from one act to another and don’t have much sleep.
That trepidation is usually but not always unwarranted, My quick judgements are usually accurate. They were this time. Seeing them do a 45-minute set I found that they were even better than I remembered. As true Canadians they did two songs about hangings. It isn’t Canadian folk music without a body count. What took me by total surprise is that they did a song in Ladino!, the Spanish derived language of the Sephardic Jews. Neither Amy nor Lisa is Jewish. I asked. I know three acts that perform in Ladino; the other two are the Guy Mendilow band and Lily Henley. I’m pretty sure that’s three more than most of My Gentle Listeners. The other thing all three have in common is that they are great.
Let’s see if I can get things right. Amy plays guitar and banjo while Lisa plays fiddle and mandolin. That’s when things are going as planned. On one song Lisa’s mando just wouldn’t get into tune so she picked up Amy’s banjo and Amy played guitar. When’s the last time that the banjo was the instrument that was tunable?
The show was in Rockwood 1 so we sat right in front of the stage. I loved Amy’s guitar and said to Howard, “Her guitar is not only older than she is; I think it’s older than we are?” When they had the tuning problem she said that their instruments are handmade and that two of them are over 100 years old. I’m sure the guitar is one, I’m guessing the fiddle or mandolin is the other.
Their harmonies come from the distant past, like field recordings from the 20s of a sound that has survived since the 18th century. The best contemporary comparison is Anna and Elizabeth.
Mama’s Broke’s genre is trad but they also write original compositions in that style that fit right in. They like to combine songs, “smush them up” in their parlance. Often starting with a cappella song then moving to a fiddle tune. All of it works. I could listen to their music all day.
After the show I was going to introduce myself and was surprised that Amy even remembered my name from NERFA. I had forgotten their names. I could have cheated and looked it up before I went but I prefer to be genuine. What I remembered is that they were trad, did foot percussion, and were fantastic. That would have to suffice.
They are playing again tonight at Jalopy but they don’t go on until 10:30 and that’s so hard to get to. I think I’m going to have to miss them. You shouldn’t. If I lived in Brooklyn I’d be there. I forgot to ask them if they are applying for Falcon Ridge. I’ll have to write them now. I’d love to have them at the Budgiedome.
I’m off to another doctor today, my rheumatologist. This one I can walk to. I love being able to walk to most of my doctor appointments. I love that I have Medicaid so I can see doctors.
Next up in my musical calendar is No Fuss and Feathers at Spiral Sounds Concerts in Jersey City on Friday night. That’s Good Friday. It’s also the first night of Pesach. I didn’t notice when it was scheduled as my Seder is the next night so there was no conflict. I didn’t realize it was Good Friday till my therapy was canceled. If you want your Friday to be good come to the show with me. No Fuss and Feathers is Karyn Oliver, Carolann Solebello, Catherine Miles, and Jay Mafale. You know them all. Come join me. Now it’s time for poached eggs ala Horvendile.
Wise Madness 