Enough putting off writing. River has shamed me by writing their Falcon Ridge blog, This is My Home. I am going to put off writing my entry about Falcon Ridge as I did something worth writing about last night. I went to see Nora Brown, Sarah Kate Morgan, and John Haywood at Café Wha?. How the hell do I punctuate that? The question mark is part of the venue name. In that case can I follow a question mark with a period. I declare I can. You now have my blessing to do the same. I’m not a grammar nazi, I am the grammar pope and, in matters of doctrine, infallible.
The only one I was familiar with was Nora. My Regular Gentle Readers, if I still have any, are aware that I love Nora. She’s a banjo wunderkind from that hotbed of old-timey, Brooklyn. She just graduated high school in the fall. Like most recent HS grads, she has since toured Japan and Europe. Hey, I said she was a wunderkind. She’s also a very cool person. Last night was the release show for her new single, Live from Bristol which she recorded with Sarah Kate Morgan, a brilliant mountain dulcimer player from Kentucky. John Haywood is one of Nora’s banjo mentors. Nora is not just great, but she surrounds herself with great musicians.
I got to sit at the table right in front of Nora by myself. There are perks to being cute. I’m sure it has nothing to do with being a DJ. I must be intimidatingly cute as nobody joined me even though they could have. First up was John. As soon as he started talking, I was reminded of David Massengill though he makes David sound like a city slicker. John grew up about 100 miles from Bristol Tennessee, David’s hometown. Do not confuse that with Bristol Virginia where the single was recorded. That is all the way across the street from Bristol TN. Listening to John reminded me of listening to a field recording, he is authentic Appalachian music, it’s all natural, not an affectation. As soon as he sends me his music, I will play it on Gord’s Gold.
Next up was Sarah Kate Morgan, also from the coal country of Kentucky. She won me over with her first song, one that I often sing around Christmas, Children, Go Where I Send Thee. For those of you unaware I’m a Jewish Atheist who loves Christmas Music. I of course sang along. It was in sotto voce as she did not ask people to sing along. I can’t just sit quietly but I can keep it down to a level where others don’t run for the exits. Her third song was a sing-along so then I could sing full-throatily. If others don’t want to hear me, they should sing too. Do I know the name of the song? Of course not, it was Rock and Roll [woman’s name]. I will play something by her as soon as I receive her music.
It’s a rare evening when I discover two musicians I love, thank you Nora. Thank you, Carter Smith, for introducing me to Nora. Thank you, Facebook, for introducing Carter to me. This is a big part of what being me is about. When Nora took the stage, she still managed to surprise me, She’s always great and has gotten even better. Along with not blogging I have been taking far fewer pictures, but I got a great one of her.
This was as good an evening of music as I’ve seen, they were all sensational. I would say that the only damper on the evening was that I didn’t have a friend to share it with. That was true until I felt an elbow to my back. When I turned around to complain I saw Stephie’s face looking at me. Stephanie Coleman often plays with Nora. Do I need to say that I love Stephie too? I find it very amusing that I think of Steph as a kid and she’s almost twice as old as Nora, at least I think so. Steph never ages and always looks 23 but I know she’s older.
Sarah Kate, or is that just Sarah, joined Nora and they performed the songs on the record. Then they were joined by John, and we had what would be a dream set for me at the Budgiedome. Hey Anne, book them all next year at Falcon Ridge. Kathy, you can book them too. John, book them for John Platt’s On Your Radar.
After the show I introduced myself to Sarah Kate and John and said hi to Nora. Then I introduced myself to Eli from Jalopy Records who released the single. I might not have musical talent but I’m an excellent schmoozer. I just need to remember to get business cards.
The show was early so I had time to stop at Trader Joe’s afterward. It was my first time at the one on Spring Street. Is that new? It was a short walk away. It’s also easy to get home from, right by the C and E train and one stop to West 4th where I get the D train home. This was designed to be a great night for me. I’ve been lazy about traveling to shows of late. I have two I want to see in Brooklyn this weekend and I don’t know if I’m going even though Miss Tess is playing, and I adore Tess. Am I getting old? Nah, I’m still 18 inside where it counts.
I could record Gord’s Gold now but I want to wait to see if I get Live from Bristol in time for next week’s show. I have the entire show planned out, but I can probably swap out a few songs and make the show work.
Writing this came naturally to me. Without effort it came out in my voice. Maybe I can return to writing daily. That would be nice. I have so many thoughts in my head begging to meet other people. I’m also getting back to reading. I’m easing myself back into it with The Lord of the Rings. That deserves an entire entry, so does Good Omens and of course Falcon Ridge. I hope you missed my writing. I miss you reading it.
Wise Madness 