Girl Party

I had a busy weekend, On Friday I saw Girl Party with Deni Bonet, K.J. Denhert, Sloan Wainwright, and Emily Cavanagh. Last night I saw Charming Disaster’s CD release party for Unnatural History. Let’s see how much ground I can cover tonight. Whatever I don’t get to I’ll finish tomorrow.

Friday was an exceptionally long day; I woke up at 5:30 AM and didn’t get home to 1 AM. During my free fourth period I walked to Computer Answers to pick up my computer. I left it there to get a new keyboard on Tuesday. I only had use of my school MacBook. That doesn’t let me work on Gord’s Gold. I’ve been rushing to catch up on that all weekend. I planned on working on it during my free time on Friday, but I didn’t bring the computer charger, so I just had to lug it around all day. I dealt with the stress by watching the Met Spring Training game on my school computer after class. Then the adventure began. I took the subway up to Grand Central Station. I could have checked out the new LIRR Madison Station but it was rush hour and I didn’t want to deal with that so I took the first train to Beacon. Beacon? Yes, the Girl Party was at the Towne Crier. I don’t think I’ve ever been to Beacon, I liked what I saw. I had a 24 minute walk from the train station and I passed two independent bookstore, a library, a performance space, an art studio, and several schools related to the arts. Nobody told me that Beacon was an art colony.

When I got to the Towne Crier Deni came out to meet me then I went to look for a table. As I looked for a good seat, I spotted Howard and his wife Cheryl. I haven’t seen Howard since January 2020, right before COVID-19. Howard goes to even more shows that I do so this is a long time for us to have not seen each other. After I was seated I heard somebody behind me call me name. it was Bob. He lives in Queens. I didn’t expect to see him there. He was with his daughter Jessica. I’m showing off that I still remember her name. I took my seat and saw Jody, she saw me and said hi. If you know me there’s a good chance that you know Jody as she’s one of the sign language interpreters at Falcon Ridge. She had  her back to me but Nancy was sitting with Jody. A little later I look at the far corner of the room and saw Su. She was talking to people, and I figured she was sitting with them. Then she came over to talk to the people one table over from me, saw me, saw the extra seat, and joined me. At a show so far from my usual haunts instead of being alone I was surrounded by friends. The only ones I expected to know where the performers. Deni is a friend. Sloan and I have talked often enough that I can saw we know each other. K.J. I’ve seen perform a number of times but I’m not sure we ever spoke more than three words with each other. Emily was totally new to me. Turns out that she’s the one that Howard knows best.

I’ve known about this show since Deni started planning it. The idea was all in the name, it’s a Girl Party, a party with girls. The rule was no sad songs. The show had fantastic energy; you couldn’t be there and not have fun. Fun is THE word to describe the night. The artists had little in common, as far as their singing styles went they might as well have been different species, but the chemistry was there. It helps that Deni can play her violin with anybody. There’s a reason she’s in demand as an accompanist. Is that the right word? You know what I mean. Sloan’s voice is pure honey, her contralto is unmistakable. She knows to not use it to show off, but only in the service of the song. People talk about her soulful singing but there are many great singers in the folk world. There are few that can keep up with K.J. on guitar. Emily is just delightful. My favorite moment in the show happened on the way back from the bathroom. Emily was dancing as she sang on stage. I passed the booth and saw the sound guy dancing. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a sound person dancing to the music. The energy on the stage was infectious.

After the show I had to wait for Deni and I didn’t run into another friend, I ran into two more friends that were sitting on the other end of the room. First, I saw Tina. I met her in the last year when she played John Platt’s On Your Radar. Since then, I’ve run into her a number of times even though she lives in Warwick. That is upstate so to a City Person should be near Beacon but it isn’t. Then I saw Amy Soucy. I think she’s a friend of Sloan’s. Even though she doesn’t live in the City she’s very much a part of my social circle. She passed the hug without thinking about it test. I was surprised when she told me that we haven’t not seen each other since COVID-19. I think she has to be wrong. I have a terrible feeling that I’m forgetting a friend that was there. I pretty much always have that feeling. I should mention Chris Flynn who plays guitar with Deni, and Stephen Murphy who backs up Sloan. This was an evening in my world.

The name of the show was taken from one of Deni’s songs and of course that was the grand finale. Come and join the Girl Party. I hope there are more.

The only thing that let me go to a show in Beacon is that Deni gave me a ride home. Road tripping with Deni was the evening’s Denouement or is that Deniment? The trip was a stressful as the weather turned. There was precipitation the entire ride home, most of which was a wintry mix. Those are not the best driving conditions. There were times it was hard to see and the wind was blowing the car to the side. Still, we made it home without incident.

It’s past my bedtime but first I have to put this entry to bed. Tomorrow I’ll write about Charming Disaster.