Yesterday’s agenda:
- Pick up prescription
- Walk at least three miles
- Go to John Platt’s On Your Radar
The only part I completed is the last. Today I have to do the walking and pick up my prescriptions. Perhaps I’ll walk to get buy more coffee from Maria’s Coffee. That means actually getting out of the house at a reasonable hour. Now would be a good time but I have to also write this. I should have added that to my agenda. I did that yesterday too.
I did an excellent job timing my trip to Rockwood Music Hall. I left a little later than I wanted to but had the good fortune to have a short wait for the train. When I got on there was someone not just unmasked but vaping. I try hard to not get up on my high horse when that happens. I did my usual pointing to my mask, when he didn’t seem to understand I said, “Please put your mask on?” He refused. Then to make it worse somebody else maskless who I hadn’t seen before as he had his back to me as I walked past him loudly objected to my asking. He was quite angry at me and started a tirade. I didn’t fight, the train changes crews at my station so it sits for a while, so I had time to walk up to the next car. As I sat down there, I heard the tirade still going on. As I left the car I said, “that’s OK I’ll move to the next car where people know there’s a pandemic.” That’s probably counterproductive and I shouldn’t do it. I can’t always live up to my self-expectations. In that car everyone was properly masked. For your own mental health when you are in a situation where there’s one or even a few unmasked people and everyone else is wearing one be happy at the 97% compliance rate not upset at the 3%. We don’t require perfection.
I timed things perfectly, but the Subway system had it in for me. To get to Rockwood I take the D train to Broadway-Lafayette then take the F one stop to Second Avenue. As the D pulled in the F started to pull out. They often, perhaps even usually wait for the connecting train. The exceptions are when the trains are running frequently. I hoped that meant that another F would pull in soon. After five minutes without a train, I checked the app. The next wasn’t coming in for another ten minutes. If it were late, I would miss the start of the show, so I went for the sure thing and walked. It was in the teens, but I was dressed properly and wasn’t cold. It did mean I got there later than I like. I was torn before I left between doing my usual getting their early so I could talk to Nico Padden during the sound check or arriving after doors to minimize my exposure time. I can think of arriving late and minimizing my exposure time as much as possible. Most of the regulars were not there because of Omiconophobia. Perhaps that’s not a good term to use as this is a rational, not irrational fear. I was torn about going and if I wasn’t involved in the show I might have stayed home.
I sat with the only other regulars who were there, Jeff and Carol, at my usual table. I hugged Jeff, Carol, and Nico as that’s not a substantial risk if we are both masked. I would have hugged Rorie who was playing with Nico if I had recognized her. She was sitting in a dark corner. I was so dark that I thought that Nico died her hair or perhaps let it go natural. It looked blond. When she stepped into the spotlight, I saw that it was still its usual iridescent pink. I’m sure that someone is going to say, “that’s not pink; that’s oshkoshbygosh.” I’m not great with color names. I’m terrible with color names but fascinated by how unreliable our color sense is under unusual light. Here’s how she looked in the light. That’s Rorie Kelly at the cajon. John is the interviewer. I just remembered I can’t assume that everybody knows that.
Kate McDonnell was the first artist up. All I knew about her is that I played her once on my Gord’s Gold. I have her album, Ballad of a Bad Girl but I have no idea how I got it. I just tracked it down. Radio promotor Kari Estrin sent it to me. I figured it was sent by someone I trusted enough to give a cold listen to. As soon as she started the title song, I knew that was the song I played; not because I remembered that but because it’s the kind of song I would play. Could I do a set of songs that mention Jezebel? Off the top of my head, I can only think of the Abbie Gardner/Red Molly song but there must be others.
I’m going to tell you a secret, Thin Lear’s real name is Matt! John wormed it out of him in the interview. You are now all sworn to secrecy. I was too but I had my fingers crossed. When Matt talked, he reminded me so much of Alec Spiegelman right down to their phrasing and understated sense of humor. That’s a good thing, I love Alec.
During John’s interview with Nico, he asked her a question about a project, and she threw John for a loop by having no idea what he was talking about. Turns out it came from a miscommunication with Christine Sweeney who played OYR last week and was supposed to accompany Nico. She was forced to bow out the day before but as John knows her, he figured he’d ask if she had any info on Nico he could use. Nico handled it with aplomb saying that Christine is a great friend but totally unreliable; “You can’t believe a word she says.” That was a joke of course. In Nico’s penultimate song, a serious one, she spoke of “Unreliable friends,” and I almost burst out laughing thinking, “She means Christine!” I was good and kept my mouth shut. I have some filters in place.
For the second month in a row, we finished On Your Radar with all the artists playing together. What do you cover when you have a group of musicians that don’t know each other? The Beatles of course, everybody will know it. They did, Blackbird.
I found a pair of prescription glasses as I was leaving. I asked around but the owner was gone. If they were yours Rockwood has them in their lost and found.
I did not have time to eat before the show. I stopped for dollar pizza on the way to the subway. The subway still had it in for me. When I went to change trains two F trains came before the first D. I thought with the new mayor that might change but it didn’t. That was a joke, but I should point out that the mayor does not control the subway, the MTA does, which mean that the Governor is the where the buck stops. I should also point out that while it seems nonsensical for the F train on my way there to pull out so the D train passengers could transfer to it when there would be a 15 minute wait don’t jump to the conclusion that the train operator is an idiot. I’m sure he or she isn’t. Running the subway is complex and things are not as easy as it seems to outsiders. I’ll give them the benefit of the doubt.
One slice of dollar pizza is not enough for dinner, but it was too late to really start cooking when I got home so I fried up some bacon and made a bacon and peanut butter sandwich on a mini-sub role. That has an enormous pleasure to effort ratio.
OK, time for me to get dressed and leave the house. I have errands to run and it’s much nicer to walk while the sun is shining.
Wise Madness 