What were yesterday’s adventures? That’s an excellent question that I can’t seem to answer. I can give you last night’s adventure. I went to see Big City Folk presents, Niall Connolly, Karen Dahlstrom, and E.W. Harris. Somehow even though the show started at 8:30, which means I didn’t have to leave till around 7:15, I didn’t find time for dinner first. So I did my, spend almost no money without cooking alternative, two slices of Dollar Pizza. There is now one on Houston directly on the way to Rockwood Music Hall Stage 3 and hardly out of the way to Stages 1 and 2. I ate them as a walked the block to the venue. I got there at 8:25 or so and doors weren’t open. I don’t get it. When I’m at a show they hurray us out the door so the next show can start on time. Yet if I go to any show but the first the previous show runs late and doors don’t open on time. They were supposed to be at 8:15.
I didn’t see anyone I knew so I took my usual table down front. That table should have my name engraved on it. I can’t say my regular seat as I sat where Fred sits for John Platt’s On Your Radar. Just as the Niall started Katherine and Lara came in. Katherine was the one person I was thought might be there, she’s Karen’s Bobtown bandmate. Their album dropped today so she wasn’t sure she could make it. She did.
I had seen Niall before. At least once and maybe twice. I think it was on a bill with Jo Kroger. That becomes significant later. I remembered that I liked him and that despite the fact that he’s from Ireland he doesn’t pronounce his name the way Seamus Blake taught his listeners it should be pronounced, neel, he says nigh-el, like Frazier’s brother. I can’t very well tell someone with an Irish accent that he’s pronouncing his name wrong. Of course I just did as I’m going to tag him. This is why I have no friends.
I remembered Niall being good, I didn’t remember him being great, he is. He’s, “how the hell have I not gone out of my way to see him again?” great. The man can straight out write songs. My mind never wandered, I paid attention to every word, as each was worth paying attention to. When I complain about singer/songwriters it’s usually because their words are just words, not ideas. Don’t ask me about his singing and playing, I was to busy listening to the song underneath. That’s how I get. It took me over a year to realize that Jean Rohe has a beautiful voice.
Karen I know better. I haven’t seen her sing solo in years, which is unfortunate, as I have always loved her music. Maybe I’ve learned to listen better but she too was better than I remember, and I remember her as very good. She started with an old song, and did one song she wrote for Bobtown but the rest were new to me. I particularly loved, Cottonmouth Blues. How can you not love a song about a venomous snake? Just kidding, the title refers to how your mouth feels when you are flustered. For some reason as a kid I was obsessed with cottonmouths and copperheads so I thought of the snakes. Oh right, I’m talking about Karen, not me. As you might have guessed, the song is blues. It’s not cute blues, it’s not prettified blues, it’s straight ahead blues with sharp edges. That’s a great vehicle for Karen’s alto voice. I’m going to borrow the adjective I used for Joe Iadanza’s performance, Karen’s singing is muscular. Even when dealing with her emotions the songs are not confessional. She’s not apologizing for anything. You accept her on her own terms. I’d love to hear her cover Springsteen. I hope she’s not cringing at that.
I had no idea who E.W. Harris was. I didn’t know if E.W. was man or a woman. E is one of those names that can go either way. E. is a he. The first thing he said when he took the stage was, “I know some of you are thinking what’s my weird uncle doing up there? Let’s just say he doesn’t fit your image of what a performer looks like.
It’s a good look for him as his music doesn’t fit your idea of what folk music, sounds like, or any other genre for that matter. He makes Neuromusic. I describe that as music that creates its own esthetic as it goes along., I have never once spelled esthetic correctly, thank god for autocorrect. Neuromusic is the music of Neuroworld; does that help? What do they teach kids nowadays? I will give the definition provided by Megan, who coined the word.
Neuro World – when the world goes into an altered state of consciousness, but you don’t…
I just realized that she wrote it as two words. That’s just how language evolves. Baseball was two words until World War II. Hey Karen, Niall, Katherine, and anyone else that has heard E.W.’s music, is that a fitting description? He recorded an album, Homunculus that is available streaming on Spotify, on Bandcamp, and cassette. You can’t get it on CD. Hey it’s imported from Neuroworld. It’s a concept album about a dystopian future featuring homunculi.
I went in expecting a good time and came out with better than I expected. Niall and Karen were even better than remembered and I loved E.W. too. Then I had the fun of walking to the D train with Katherine. I can get the F right by Rockwood but I always prefer to take a walk after a show and Katherine needed the D.
I’m in an unusual place for me emotionally. I’m not lonely. I’m seeing and talking to friends. Do I always do that? Not in the same way. In the last week I’ve had meaningful conversations with Alison, Sue, Katherine, Bri, Dan, and Carolann. There are times I go months without that. One effect is that I’m perfectly happy staying home alone. I had things to do tonight but decided that staying home was what I wanted. I love wanting to be home alone. I’m watch Agents of Shield and the Mets. If I’m good I’ll record a segment of Gord’s Gold.
I might be going out tomorrow morning, if I do, you’ll hear from me again tomorrow night.
Wise Madness 