The problem with missing a day blogging is that I have to remember what happened two days ago. That’s more than a mayfly lifetime. You’ll have to forgive me I’ll have to leave out the things I forgot.
Today is Thursday, counting backward on my fingers leads me to believe that two days ago was Tuesday. That would make it May 10, and therefore the second Tuesday of the month. From that I can deduce I went to John Platt’s On Your Radar. That sounds vaguely familiar. The lineup was Paul Sachs, High Tea, and Tina Ross. It’s slowly coming back to me. Posting about it on social media every day helps burn things into your brain. I lost track of time, left late, and horror of horrors arrived after 6:30 when doors open. I always get there early to make sure things are running smoothly. When I got to Rockwood, I found Paul talking to Fred and Ellen. That’s like catnip to me so I didn’t go right in and joined the conversation. When we went at 6:45 doors were not open. I went downstairs to see what was wrong. I found John talking to Tina, soundcheck was over. The problem was nobody went upstairs to tell the guy at the door that we were open for business. I told him and they let the audience in. See what happens when I’m not there to check on things?
While I will go out of my way to experience new things, I also enjoy traditions and regular habits. When I’m at On Your Radar I always sit with Fred at the same table, front row house left of center. John takes the center table. Richard and Vicki, the right. In a chaotic world it’s nice to have some things that remain the same.
Tina was up first. I have never met her but she’s a member of Jack Hardy’s songwriter’s exchange as are many of my friends. They all remarked at what a great guitarist she is. What the didn’t say is that like Joni Mitchell, physical issues limit the number of chords she can play so she had three guitars in different tunings. I love when brains overcome physical limitations. Her playing was as good as advertised.
I was not at all familiar with High Tea. I posted their bio but I’m me, so I forgot it. They are the duo of guitarist/vocalist/songwriter Isabella DeHerdt and vocalist/ percussionist Isaac Eliot. It is common to find duos where the man plays guitar, and the woman just sings. A duo where the woman plays the lead instrument is a refreshing change. I quoted their website in the description. That buries the percussion lede, Isaac plays what was built to be a foot bass as a tom. Oh wait. I have pictures. They look like this.
If I had paid attention to the bio, I would have realized that I first saw Isabella when she was 13 or 14. She is in Kalliope Jones a trio that has played Falcon Ridge. Amelia Nields is in the band too. We even have a non-musical friend in common Maggie. She the eldest daughter of the family I spend Thanksgiving with. They are part of our Falcon Ridge family. That makes Isabella a friend-in-law once removed. They were quite good; I’ll be playing them on Gord’s Gold.
As you can have picked up from me stopping to talk to him before the show, Paul is a friend. He’s also a great songwriter. I usually describe him as a songwriter’s songwriter. I can’t define a songwriter’s songwriter, but I know one when I hear one. Being a great songwriter is a necessary prerequisite but it’s not sufficient. I think it’s a matter of technical virtuosity. It might also just be a fiction I tell myself. I’m becoming increasingly aware of that possibility from recognizing other people’s fictions. What’s not a fiction is that he’s a great songwriter in the folk tradition. His songs are short stories that rhyme. He’s also a great guitar player which I noted when I reviewed his latest album Flash Tattoo. “One of the album’s great virtues is that it never stands still. If the lyrics get in a groove, he will keep it moving with his guitar playing.”
For dinner I got what used to be 99¢ pizza but now costs $1.50. That is the largest component of our current inflation. I ate it while doing another tradition, not getting on the F train which is right by Rockwood but walking over to the D train. It’s partially because that means no transfer, but more because I get to stretch my legs after sitting or standing for a concert.
Yesterday I went to a recruiting event for a large charter school system. That meant wearing a suit and tie. I should have taken a picture. I looked professional and almost human. I liked the organization’s pedagogic approach; it’s not about a theory of teaching, it’s about using technology to organize the mechanical parts of the job and having the teachers and counselors concentrate on the students. They follow through on an idea I had years ago of teaching the students how to be adults.
When I got home, I made real dinner, that means I used the oven, not the stove top. It was actually super simple, a roasted dark meat quarter and a baked potato. I made the chicken barbeque style which I love but don’t do often enough. I realized why. It’s because that involves my hands getting sticky. My self-image says that shouldn’t bother me; that making mess should be a feature not a bug. Turns out that was another fiction I sold to myself.
I spent a lot of time preparing next week’s Gord’s Gold and this week’s hasn’t even aired yet. Tune in tonight on Folk Music Notebook at 9 PM ET repeated at 2 AM.
Wise Madness 