Raquel in a Roman Field

I took yesterday off from everything I didn’t get dressed. The biggest effort I made all day was making hot dogs and fries in the air fryer for dinner. No, that’s the second biggest effort, the biggest was attempting to make an omelet in the air fryer. I cooked it in a cake pan. It came out edible and tasty even if it wasn’t exactly an omelet. You can’t slide it out of cake pan and the consistency is not he same as an omelet. It made an acceptable meal. I woke up not feeling my best, digestive issues, so I eschewed the concert I was looking forward to, Brooklyn Cumana at Amy’s house, aka The House of Love. This is my February break week from school and I’m packing a lot into it. On Saturday I went to Voices in the Heights to see Youth in a Roman Field and Raquel Vidal. Today I’m going to the City Winery Loft to see Talisk. Tomorrow I’m going to see Antman: Quantumania. Wednesday my sister Alison and I are seeing a matinee performance of Moulon Rouge. On Thursday I’m having lunch with Carey. I have nothing planned for Friday but on Saturday I’m see Katie Martucci and Akie Bermiss at the Owl. This staycation will not be about staying in my apartment, just my City. It looks like Sunday is a day of rest. I’m worn out just reading my itinerary.
Voices in the Heights is a concert series that takes place at the same church, First Acoustics called home, The First Unitarian Church of Brooklyn in Brooklyn Heights. It’s been so long since I’ve been there that I wasn’t sure where I used to eat before the show and I had to think about how to get there. Fred went too and we met at the Clark Diner, which was my traditional place, for dinner. The MTA made sure I had drama on the trip. I would normally take the 4 the entire trip but because of construction the 2 was stopping at Columbus Circle and I can switch there from the D. That shaved more than 5 minutes off my trip. They are doing construction on the D line, so the train ran only once every 15 minutes, but the timing was perfect. That is in theory. The train left Bedford Park Blvd on time but then traveled very slowly at the start. That ate into my time needed to make the transfer. I was then punished for being out of practice using the Columbus Circle Station. I knew I wanted to be near the back of the D to switch to the 2. I got out of the train and saw the sign to the 1 train, with no direction. The 2 stops at the 1 platform. Unfortunately, that was only the uptown 1, I needed the downtown 1. To switch I then had to walk the entire length of the station on the unused middle platform. If I had walked 30 feet to another stairway at the beginning it would have led me to the downtown 1. How could they not label the stair I took as to the “Uptown 1?” The upshot is that I got to the 2 as the door closed. Grrr. Of course with all that I was only ten minutes late meeting Fred and we had plenty of time to eat our excellent dinner.
Raquel was up first. I have only seen her as part of Diamond Hotel when they played John Platt’s On Your Radar. She was someone I figured I’d be seeing more often but it never worked out that way. This was only my second time seeing her. Raquel is part of Team Dar; she’s an attendee and now on the staff of Dar’s Songwriting retreats. She learned from the best. When I became a great songwriter and I’m going to host songwriting offensives, not retreats. Raquel was joined by Kellie Lin Knot who played her own songs and sang harmony with Raquel. They made beautiful music together. Maybe it won’t be ten years until I see Raquel again.
Something similar happened with Claire Wellin and Youth in a Roman Field. I saw a bit of them at Caramoor then caught the full set at John Platt’s On Your Radar. They became instant favorites. Then I didn’t see them for years. Part of that is COVID-19. I caught Claire at a solo show at Pete’s Candy Store and reconnected. I saw the band’s album release show for Get Caught Trying at the Mercury Lounge, and now caught them again. They have become one of the bands I see the most often. That is very well deserved. The album made my best of the year list. It’s so much not nice people making nice music nicely. That is despite the fact that Claire is genuinely nice. My trip home was easier than the trip there, I just took the 4 and walked a little further.
I did accomplish something yesterday, I recorded Gord’s Gold and sent it into Ron. I’m now going through my backlog that I have not reported to the Folk DJ list yet. I should catch up today. I’m also finally doing my laundry. Our elevator has been out for three weeks, so I’ve tried to put it off. I can’t any longer. My clothes are in the dryer now. The guy came to fix the stove. Somehow the gas got switched off. I certainly didn’t do it. I wonder if the rat somehow managed that. Speaking of which he might be gone. I realized that it had opened up the hole I filled in with steel wool. This time I packed it extra tight and sealed it with duct tape. I have not seen or heard the rat since then so perhaps I locked him out. That would be nice. I’m not getting rid of the traps or the poison yet.
I have seven minutes to the laundry is done. I will post this before I have to get it.