With or without religion, you would have good people doing good things and evil people doing evil things. But for good people to do evil things, that takes religion.
The good life, as I conceive it, is a happy life. I do not mean that if you are good you will be happy - I mean that if you are happy you will be good.
Too much sanity may be madness and the maddest of all, to see life as it is and not as it should be.
The only way to find the limits of the possible is by going past them into the impossible.
August 21, 2009 - 2:45 p.m.
One of these days I'll write a morning entry in the morning. Well it's still morning in the Mountain Time Zone.
I had a busy evening, two concerts in different boroughs. First up was Friction Farm at an unusual venue, the Gap store in Bay Terrace, my old hood. It was part of the Gap's 40th anniversary celebration. There was live music by local artists in 700 stores across the country. Did you hear about this? I didn't except from Aiden and Christine. Cary Cooper played a store in Texas. Do you know anyone else who played?
When I got there my first challenge was finding the store. I had been to the Bay Terrace Shopping center scores of times, maybe hundreds. I can make a bee line to the Barnes & Noble or even Walbaums. I didn't even know there was a Gap. When I got to the store there was no mention outside about the music. Even when I went inside there was nothing. I walked around till I found the sound system, Christine & Aiden were standing beside it. I'll show you some photos of the layout. This was extreme Neuro.
She found a comfy spot to watch the show from
The Crowd; that's Michael on the left
One fan lost his head
Christine and Aiden modeling the jeans they were given
The show was a lot of fun. I stayed for the full two hours. There were at least two other fans there just to hear the music, Mike and someone that I recognized from Anaïs Mitchell shows who had caught Friction Farm in White Plains. I was pleased when some of the shoppers stopped and listened. Some of them signed the mailing list. I heard lots of compliments on the music. I hardly ever get to hear Friction Farm or hang out with them so it was nice to be able to do both.
Friction Farm's songs often have political content but they never come anywhere near to being overly earnest. They always have a sense of fun. The one song that if you didn't listen to the words would sound like the typical, "I see the truth and you don't" style is actually about how people look like their dogs. They use the musical style ironically. Their music has real content but they put a smile on your face. What more can you ask for?
From there I raced 18 miles to Jalopy in Brooklyn to see Sometymes Why. Jalopy is a fun place. There are violins, some quite unusual along the walls.
See the one shaped like a crescent moon?
I have asked before but I'll try again. Who is this a bust of?
Sometymes Why is a magical band. Someone made a great observation, they are creepy and beautiful. Yes I’m using creepy as a compliment. Aoife, Kristin, and Ruthy are accomplished musicians and beautiful women. It would be very easy for them to perform bel canto versions of tradition folk songs. They didn't go that way. Their harmonies are unearthly but not heavenly, they challenge the listeners expectations. They in fact make Neuro Music. I often call them Neo-Trad but Neuro-Trad fits even better. They even have the unusual instrumentation, the glockenspiel, resonator ukulele, and dollar tambourine are as essential to their sound as the old time fiddling, guitar, and keyboard. They get you thinking, and listening, in ways that you aren't used to. The stage patter that goes with it sounds like girls at a slumber party. That's a big part of their appeal. The audience enjoys their enjoying each other's company. I have often compared them with Red Molly despite the fact that I'd never call Red Molly creepy. What they have in common is the trad influences and the sense of fun.
When I see Red Molly I'm surrounded by friends. That doesn't happen at Sometymes Why shows. The only friend I have that's also a big fan is Jessica. The more I see them the more I think that Carey should be a huge fan. She should be in the band. She'd fit right in with them.
It's a good night when I see two bands made up of five friends that I love. I got hugs, and kisses, and great music. My life has a lot wrong with it but I can't really complain.
OK, now it isn't morning till the Pacific Time Zone. I better get this finished. I'm going out to Jalopy again tonight; this time to see Piñataland with Deni Bonet on violin.
Pensees - August 26, 2009
Jews and Canadian Health Care - August 25, 2009
The True Story - August 24, 2009
R-E-S-P-E-C-T - August 23, 2009
Welcome to Neuroworld - August 22, 2009
Email me: GordonLew at gmail
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 License. Horvendile August 21, 2009
