Yesterday was Friday, it’s May, that means you should have a reasonable guess where I was yesterday, the Sunset Singing Circle, led by the inimitable Terre Roche. Is that true? Is it impossible to imitate Terre? I suspect that Suzzy could do a reasonable job. How about the remarkable Terre Roche? That’s certainly true. I rarely list overanalysis of language to Wise Madness’s distinguishing features, but it is, because it is one of my distinguishing features. Every day I see someone make a serious post on Facebook and my first response is to notice something odd about the words used.
The Torah says that there are three feasts essential to Judaism, Pesach, Shavuot, and Sukkot. The Sunset Singing Circle is one of the essential rituals in my personal religion. The others are, The Pesach Seder, Met games, The New Bedford Folk Festival, Falcon Ridge, NERFA, Thanksgiving with the Van Mercs, and Caroling with Terre. I’m surprised there are two actual holidays in the mix, but they are both about the people I spend them with.
Last week’s Sing was rained out. Last night’s came close. It was drizzling when I got to Wagner Park. I found the gang, Terre, David, Lori, and Lisa under cover by the bathroom. Shortly before 7:00 Frances who coordinates the event for the Battery Park City Authority showed up in a golf cart and miraculously the rain stopped. Frances even coordinates the weather. We went down to the new spot for the singers. We used to be on the lawn, now we are in front of us which allows us to sit on stairs or the wall instead of the ground. That’s a lot easier on my legs. Once we were set up the true magic begins with the singing.
The traditional first song of the season is Red River Valley. Last year we tried Here Comes the Sun and a hailstorm erupted. We learned to not defy the tradition. Terre and friends, including Lisa, Lori, and Richard, lead the way and the audience sings along. This is very much not a concert you listen to but music that we make ourselves. I’m not a good singer. I’m not an average singer. That doesn’t stop me from full-voiced singing. You shouldn’t let it stop you. Because people do that, I know that while below average that there are people worse than me. One thing to remember is to sing full voiced, not loud. We are singing as part of the whole, not performing for others. There are some people who see it as a place to be the center of attention. Fortunately, that’s rare. I don’t think My Gentle Readers need that caveat, but it is part of the experience, so I mentioned it.
There are magic moments, like when we were singing Sloop John B and a sloop sailed by. The park is right on New York Harbor. The Statue of Liberty is part of the backdrop. While it didn’t rain while we sang the skies never cleared and we watched Liberty Enlightening the World acted as a weather device. When we started the torch was lost in the clouds. Then the cloud ceiling rose, and the entire statue emerged. Then it descended; by the end we couldn’t even see the pedestal.
We got new lyric books this year. They are much better than the old ones but there were some mistakes that David and I caught and reported to Frances. This was the beta version of the new book. I’d call it a dry run, but conditions were far too wet for that. See, language. If I were speaking, I’d still say that, but it really should be “Listen, language.” More language. Fred was a little late, but we saved a spot for him, and he joined us. Richard was also a little late and didn’t join us to the second song. I have to learn everyone else’s name. They are essential parts of this tribe. I’ve taken part in the gathering of multiple tribes the last week-and-a-half. This does wonders for my mental health. It does put my physical health at risk when they occur indoors. I always wear a mask indoors. I still hug people. That’s not the main way COVID-19 spreads. I’ll have myself tested again on Monday. As long as I’m being socially active and the infection rare is on the rise it’s necessary. I just checked in NYC the rates seem to be stabilizing. Perhaps we are at the peak of this wave. I’m not jumping to conclusions. I’ll mask as long as that’s what’s recommended. I’ll test as long as we are advised to mask and I’m going out.
After the sing we headed back to the subway, David to the R, Fred and I to the 4. Fred gets off in a few stops and I attempted to keep up with the Met game every time the train pulled into a station, and I had bars on my phone. Once the 4 got above ground I could listen uninterrupted. Sadly, they lost, the only disappointing part of the day.
Tonight, I go to the gathering of another tribe, the Common Ground Coffeehouse, Nora Brown and Jake Blount are playing. Tomorrow night I’m seeing Alex Wong and Vienna Teng with Fred at Rockwood Music Hall. Maybe I should get tested twice on Monday! I’m living my real life.
Wise Madness 