On Your Corporal O’Reilly

Yesterday was the second Tuesday of the month and that means John Platt’s On Your Radar. I didn’t discover any new music, why? I’m knew all the performers, Robinson & Rohe, Mosa, and Fred Arcoleo.

I have a commuting idiot story, I had to meet Carey before the show at Penn Station. That’s convenient as from there I just hop on the A, C, or E and switch to the F to get to Rockwood Music Hall. Even easier I could walk a block to Herald Square and hop right on the F, but the weather was yucky, so I chose the former. I know Penn station like I know the back of my hand. I don’t have to think about getting around. I chose the A train, got on the platform. Made sure to be on the right end of the platform for when I got off. Got on the train, and then heard, “Next Stop 42nd Street. Ugh. As I don’t have to think I got on the train I always take, the one that takes me home, the opposite direction I needed to go. Good thing I had given myself a lot of time. I got to Rosario’s Pizza almost exactly on schedule. That’s where I met Dan and Phyllis for dinner.

Rosario’s is my favorite pizzeria, but I didn’t order pizza. I got something I can’t get anywhere else that I’ve been craving, their cheese and pepperoni filled pretzels. It’s like an inside out pizza that you then dip in marinara sauce. It is heaven on earth. This is where I gustatorily live. I just learned how to spell gustatorily. When we were eating we were joined by Ellen. The other person at our table is someone we didn’t know but who was also going to On Your Radar. Rosario’s is the place to be before or after On Your Radar.

The front of the room for the show was packed with my friends. It is almost easier to say who wasn’t there as opposed as to who was. OYR regulars did not want to miss this one. I love when it’s a family Fred and Phyllis shared my table, Coco and Ellen were behind us, and Dan was next to Phyllis at John’s table. We had to move some extra chairs down front for the regulars. People were excited and the room was packed.

I knew Fred socially for years before I saw him perform. I think I met him at one of Meg’s parties. He’s been part of my world for ages. I met Mosa, Melissa Frabotta and Phil Anthony, at NERFA after briefly seeing them at Falcon Ridge. Phil sets off a chain of associations with me. His name makes me think of Phil Minissale and Anthony da Costa who often played together back in the day. He looks nothing like him, but he talks just like Bri’s friend Matt who camps with us at the Budgiedome. That makes Phil fake Matt. Matt looks just like my friend Neal, which makes him Fake Neal. Put those together and Phil is Fake Fake Neal. You don’t want to be inside of my brain; you’d need a long thread to find your way out of the labyrinth.

No matter what else I write, what I wrote about Phil is going to be my favorite part of this entry.

All of My Gentle Readers should know about Robinson & Rohe. I have written about them countless times as the duo, as part of Jean Rohe’s band, as friends, Jean performing solo, and as Liam being the musical director of Hadestown. It just doesn’t get better than Jean and or Liam in any configuration.

I think Fred earned his spot on this bill at the On the Griddle workshop at NERFA. His song impressed the hell out of me as I told him after the workshop. John was on the panel, so he heard it too. He was joined by old friend of mine, John, and On Your Radar, Amy Soucy. This was such a home game. I hugged almost everyone on the stage and a good portion of the audience. Fred knows how to get the audience involved in a show. We were all singing along. Building a feeling of community is a big part of what he does. In the interview John asked about his day job, a high school English teacher. I now want to hear him sing the song An English Teacher from Bye Bye Birdie. Either that or write a song, Agha-bagha-boo.

Mosa appeared not as a duo but a four-piece band, the pianist and drummers were the only two people I didn’t know on stage. No, not true! I almost forgot that Fred was joined by a trombonist! Every folk show can be improved with the addition of a trombone. How is that not the first thing I wrote about Fred’s set? Oh no, my brain just went blank. Mosa ended with a great cover version of a great song. Everyone including me was singing along. Why can’t I even remember the genre? Three Little Birds keeps entering my head and I know that’s wrong. It must be a song that I find uplifting if that’s what my brain is associating it with. Melissa is confusing for my brain too; she looks and talks like Autumn the sister of Dan and Noah from the Lord’s of Liechtenstein.

I feel about Jean Rohe and Robinson & Rohe the way that the Prince of Mathematicians, Karl Gauss, felt about Isaac Newton. He lauded other mathematicians, but Newton was “summa” the highest. Go see them with a songwriter and they will usually start gushing about their songwriting. There is such depth to the ideas and the songs are perfectly crafted. The fact that they have gorgeous voices and brilliant harmonies are secondary to the songwriting, even though the voices and harmonies are second to none.

After the show I sadly had to turn down a dinner invitation to sup with Fred Arcoleo and Allison Scola. I had already eaten, I have to save money, I had to go shopping, and most of all my back was killing me. I threw it out reaching for a piece of bread, Friday night at Spiral Sounds. Last night was the first time since then that I did significant walking while carrying my backpack and I paid for it. I had to get home and take care of it. When I got home I put an icepack on. When I went to bed I put a heating pad under my back. I’m sitting on the heating pad now after icing it when I woke up. It seems to be helping. I won’t take my bag when I go out. Speaking of which I have to do that ASAP. I can’t do laundry because of my back so I need to buy underwear. When I get back from that I’m off to see the Knicks.