I just saw my friend Audrey Ryan play the Living Room. She has a killer voice and the last song she played, “I Should Be Alone,” was one of those songs that you can inhabit, rather than simply hear. She looped her guitar as she beat the kick drum with her right foot and the tambourine with her left and all I could think was, yes, you SHOULD be alone because nothing could make this song more perfect right now. She’s a one-woman band, and a great one at that. The lyrics were killer, too – something about I don’t want to be a toothpick in a little piece of ham and “I spent my twenties watching DVDs with a man I didn’t love/ What is this disease?”
It was a good music day, for sure. I had the pleasure of spending the afternoon with a brilliant three-year-old who told me “I want a red guitar like the one Jerry plays in ‘Uncle John’s Band.’” I swear to god. She also said before we went outside to play in the sprinkler and blow bubbles and make flower soup we had to “wait until after ‘Scarlet Begonias’,” except it sounded more like “skalabagonas.” Thanks to this one child my I now have faith in the future of our species. Her parents are obviously doing a marvelous job. We watched the Dead play “Uncle John’s Band” at least ten times before the bubble-blowing commenced, and each time was as mesmerizing as the first.
Rewinding a little further, this past weekend was the Great Waters Music Festival in Wolfeboro, NH and I am happy to report that I won the songwriting contest. A nice thing to add to the resume and the piggy bank, and it was pretty cool to share my water songs while listening to the waves lap against the shore of Lake Winnipesaukee. I met some fantastic musicians, including Emilia Dahlin (last year’s winner), Anais Mitchell, and Catie Curtis. Saturday’s highlight was the guitar-violin duel during the Waybacks’ set, which had me dreaming about the violin for days. I just might be ready to dust it off, though I won’t be playing like Warren for many lifetimes.
A tornado passed through NH the day before the festival, and we’ve been having some nice summer storms in here in NYC, too. These two pictures were both taken around midnight – the lightning made it as bright as day, as you can see:
I thought that was cool.
Also of note, a couple days ago I played the Living Room with my friend John Houx, who is one of my favorite songwriters and performers. He makes me want to lock myself in a cabin and write until my eyes bleed. Which is kind of what I do… minus the eye-bleeding. That’s gross. I debuted a couple of songs I’ve written since I’ve been home… once the harvest comes I’ll stick some mp3s up here for all of you.
Other music news… went to Ten Out of Tenn at the Canal Room Tuesday night. I’ve been a fan of Tyler James and Andy Davis for a while, so they were my faves. I really wanted to hear Trent Dabbs‘ “Riverbell Garden,” as it makes my knuckles dance… it looked like a fun tour to be a part of, as everyone was backing each other up and rotating songs. Of course nothing could touch “I Shall Be Released,” which ended the night in a big sing-a-long in the middle of the room. Dylan is always there. His music truly is oxygen. What would we be without it? Would we be?
Lastly, I went to Coney Island for the first and last time for the Siren Music Festival. I spent less time at the festival than I did on the subway, though – I liked Broken Social Scene a lot, but the sweat, screaming, and garbage was more than I could handle. I am so inspired when I see people swarming to these festivals where you can’t see a damn thing – it’s wonderful that people care that much about live music. (Or maybe it’s the pina coladas.) I just can’t do it anymore. I gave that up after IT (though I’d do it all over again to hear that “YEM“).
The sunset was stunning.
Hello, August. Where did July go? Hope you’re all staying cool.
