I’ve been busy, that’s a good thing. It’s been three days since my last blog post. I wanted that to sound like the beginning of a Catholic confession, but I don’t know what comes next. I only know that much from movies and TV but as I feel guilty when I don’t blog it seemed appropriate.
Saturday started with getting my Entyvio infusion. It’s a time suck but other than that not bad at all. They ran things a bit differently this time. I spent a long time in the waiting room but once I got into the treatment chair they got right to work. I prefer waiting in the treatment room as that’s comfier, it’s a recliner. It’s also quieter, there was somebody watching videos on his phone in the waiting room. How do some people not know to use earbuds? I want to see two people do that and get in a fight.
As I get the infusions regularly it becomes something of a social event akin to seeing a regular barber. Someone asked how the wedding went; the last time I was there was Dan’s and Anna’s wedding day, I left right from infusion center and was wearing my suit. It’s silly but I always enjoy how happy the nurse is when he or she sees my veins. I’m amazingly easy to insert an IV in. It is also a bond with my father, as a little kid I loved the way my father’s veins popped out; when I became an adult the same thing happened to me. Everyone that works there is so pleasant; we enjoy each other’s company. The actual procedure is nothing. They put an IV in one of my enormous veins and I listen to music or podcasts on my phone. Sometimes I take a nap.
Saturday night I headed down to Voices in the Heights in Brooklyn to see Katie Martucci and Billy Woodward. Voices is in the First UU Church in Brooklyn Heights that used to host First Acoustics. My old stomping ground. I always tell people how easy it is to get there and then I screwed up. It’s only one train for me, about an hour’s ride, and I can do that with my eyes closed but I left a minute late and the 4-train left as I got to the station. On the bright side it gave me time to grab a slice of pizza. On the downside it meant I would arrive late. I arrived just as Dan was introducing Katie. I thought she was on second and I had a larger margin of error. I had to run directly to my seat. Good thing they knew me. I just said I’m on the list and they trusted that I was vaxxed until the break.
It was a night of firsts; my first time at Voices in the Heights, my first time at the First UU since First Acoustics stopped having their shows there, My first time seeing Katie solo and my first time seeing her indoors. I know Katie from the Ladles and Tucci Swing. If we can work it out, we’re seeing Tucci Swing tonight.
Katie was marvelous as I knew she would be even though the music, and even her stage manner, is different than when she is with her bands. Maybe it was just the better view, but I never notice how much she looks like Abbie Gardner when she flashes the big toothy smile; the legit smile that affects the eyes. That smile effects your mood. Try it, just grin with you mouth and you won’t feel anything; widen it so your eyes crinkle and you’ll feel the endorphins. You don’t just smile because you are happy, you are happy because you smile.
During the break I went to say hi to Jeremy, Dan’s son, who was doing the sound. I know Dan through Jeremy who is another favorite musician. As I was talking, I felt someone tug on my pants from behind me. When I went to see who was molesting me; I saw it was Peter. He was doing the live stream. This was my typical experience; I knew everyone running the show. Peter lives in Hastings, the Bronx is on his way home, he gave me a ride. I had to stay later because he had to break down, I helped, and helped put the chairs away because I can’t not help with that sort of thing; then we headed north. That was great, I got to have a fun ride home with a friend instead of taking the subway. We even ended up sitting in the car talking when we got back to my building.
Yesterday was another two-parter. The first part was seeing the new shark exhibit at the American Museum of Natural History with Dan. He’s a member and we got early entry to the exhibit. Dan said that part of the museum’s conditions for that was that I had to put in my blog that I’m Dan’s sexiest friend. At least that’s what I think he said. I’m sure I misheard when it sounded like I had to say that Dan is my sexiest friend. That makes no sense. I haven’t been in the Museum for a few years. I used to know it inside and out. That was put to the test. First, the exhibit had timed entry, ours was for 1:30, it was only 1:15 when we arrived. I told Dan that’s not a problem, they will let us in early; he was skeptical; I was right. This was not my first rodeo. After the sharks we went to the renovated hall of gems and minerals. I could find that without a problem and as always, I loved it. I loved hanging out with Dan but don’t tell him that. I couldn’t stay at the museum as long as usual as Lena is visiting from Virginia and she was meeting me at 3:30. I could not find my way through the museum with my eyes closed as there was other renovations going on and path I wanted to take was blocked. We finally found the exit I wanted to take, right by where I was to meet Lena, and they changed things. They put the Butterfly Conservatory in the Sea Birds Wing. That’s a separate admission so I couldn’t reach the exit. I was a few minutes late meeting Lena.
We then headed to Barbès to see Hannah Read and Nora Brown. We got there just when I planned but they weren’t letting people in yet. Most people were unmasked, though vaccinated, so we waited outside. When we headed in, I saw Stephanie Coleman sitting down. That wasn’t surprising, the last time I saw Nora she was playing with Stephanie. Nora primarily plays banjo, some guitar. Steph and Hannah are multi-instrumentalists who fiddle and sing with Norah, Hannah also played guitar. Hannah wasn’t backing Nora; it was a co-bill. I have traveled down to Brooklyn to see them individually before. This was another first. Hannah was visiting her native Scotland when COVID-19 hit. She’s been stuck there ever since and was just allowed to come back. This was her first New York show. Her last one was a show with Nora, Stephanie, and bassist Jared Engel at Barbès the weekend before everything shut down. They all ended up on stage together last night. It’s a tiny stage, they had trouble fitting. The top of Jared’s bass kept hitting a sign hanging over the stage.
This was another amazing show. Hannah said that the vibe playing in NYC is unique, that there’s nothing like that in the UK. Barbès is one of the small clubs where that vibe is intense. There’s a community of musicians and fans in Brooklyn that I love. I hope that I’m still in it even though I no longer live in Brooklyn. The music was very trad even when it was new originals. Nora is only 16 and lives in Brooklyn but when she’s performing, she’s an old woman from Appalachia bringing the mountain ballads into the City. I love that both she and Hannah give us the background of the songs.
After the show we headed back to Lena’s hotel on the upper west side, the Arthouse. As soon as I walked in it looked familiar; exactly like the place that Tara O’Grady played every week. I was a regular. The name didn’t ring a bell. I wrote Tara, it is the same hotel, just the name changed. It had been the NYLO. Lena wasn’t comfortable eating in a restaurant yet, so we did takeout from Serafina in the Hotel lobby. I had thin crust pizza.
Today’s schedule is a video visit with my psychiatrist and then heading back to spend the day with Lena.
Wise Madness 