I became insane with long intervals of horrible sanity.
Edgar Allen Poe

The trouble with fighting for human freedom is that one spends most of one's time defending scoundrels. For it is against scoundrels that oppressive laws are first aimed, and oppression must be stopped at the beginning if it is to be stopped at all.
- H. L. Mencken

Many people would sooner die than think; In fact, they do so
-Bertrand Russell

What I have been telling you, from alpha to omega, what is the one great thing the sigil taught me — that everything in life is miraculous. For the sigil taught me that it rests within the power of each of us to awaken at will from a dragging nightmare of life made up of unimportant tasks and tedious useless little habits, to see life as it really is, and to rejoice in its exquisite wonderfulness. If the sigil were proved to be the top of a tomato-can, it would not alter that big fact, nor my fixed faith. No Harrowby, the common names we call things by do not matter — except to show how very dull we are ...
-James Branch Cabell

January 17, 2013 - 12:09 p.m.

Two Talented

The Chronoklepts have kept me pinned for an hour and a half! My rule is that I should start writing by the WfUV Question of the Day at 9:30. I set my alarm for 8:30 every weekday so I can make my song suggestions and post it on the FB group if nobody else has. Now it's 11:01 and I just started writing.

Last night I had a musical double header, Kath Buckell (pronounced buckle) and Miss Tess.

I got involved tagging photos on Facebook and left later than I wanted to. I got drawn in by the large number or mistagged pictures. Someone did not know how the tagging works but tagged anyway. I'm pretty sure that Blair Bodine is not a man. If she is I really am going to have to rethink the whole sexual orientation thing.

I had no time to eat between shows so I had to grab something fast. Since I was going to Rockwood that means Lucky Burgers. I never get burgers at lucky burgers, I get the chicken with bacon sandwich. I love that and I love the sauces that I put on the sandwich and dip the fries in. The order took longer than usual to come out but I still had some time. Then the order came and the guy got my order wrong. He gave me the sliders. I should have just taken it, it's the same price, but it wasn't what I wanted. I had no time to wait for them to make me the right thing. That meant not having time to eat dinner. I had not eaten since brunch and it was almost eight. I was starving. As I was waiting for my refund I said, more to myself than anything, "Now I don't have time to eat dinner." Instead of saying "I'm sorry" he said, "You told me number six, not number five." That's a hot button for me. The customer is always right and in this case I was right. In any event in cases like which is more likely that the server misheard or the customer ordered something he didn't want? Maybe I didn't speak distinctly that happens. Maybe there was some noise and he couldn't hear clearly. Maybe he just punched in the wrong number. Whatever it is you never blame the customer.

That is not a good enough excuse for my behavior. I got angry. I'm not sure how it escalated but it reached the point where I called him stupid. Yes I was hungry, upset with myself for not leaving more time, and he did something that always annoys me but I still shouldn't have done it.

He then did something stupid. Part of what was making me angry was that it was taking so long to get my money back. I didn't want to spend the time I would have spent eating on getting back my money. He finally hands me $11. I paid by credit card but the line was down and I figured that was what was taking so long so he switched to cash. Then as I'm leaving he tells me to stop, Why? Because he gave me cash and he had to do it as a credit card refund. I told him "no" and walked out. It wasn't like I was stealing or anything they could run credit card and take my money. At most it is an inconvenience and staying would inconvenience me. He shouted "stop thief!" and ran after me. I ended up going back in, giving back the cash and voiding the credit card charge. He said I should have told him that I paid by card. I said, 'you should have remembered as we had a whole discussion about it since the system was down, and he should have asked me if he didn't remember. And then I insulted him again, "Oh right you are too stupid to do that." I might have to go back and apologize. Of course part of me also wants to go back and complain to the manager.

After that debacle I want to Rockwood and was able to get a seat because people had just left stuff at a table without sitting there and I asked them if I could sit . The show had not started yet, Kath and her band were just taking the stage.

I was still worked up from the incident but halfway through the first song that was gone. I've seen her many times but I'm still blown away every time I see Kath with her band. She is someone I met at my first NERFA. I sat with her my first meal there. There was absolutely no buzz about her. I told her about the open mic for people who don't have showcases and saw her there and really liked what I heard. It wasn't enough to blow me away but enough that I invited her to play the Budgiedome. When she sang to me privately at the Budgiedome I was blown away. Then when I saw her with her band I was blown to a whole new dimension. This was her natural habitat. She's a folk rocker not a folkie. I was delighted to find that a buzz grew about her. I was of course part of that buzz as I told everyone how great she was. Now she's an up and comer.

The only thing disappointing was that I didn�t have much time to talk to her. I waited for her to get her stuff off stage, set a quick hello and goodbye, got a hug, and left. I got a musical fix but I still need a Kath social fix.

I checked to see if I could eat at the Rodeo Bar, my next stop. I should have known. I've been there often enough.. Kath's show ended a little before eight and Miss Tess went on at nine. I figured I'd miss the beginning of her set. I made such great time I didn't. I actually had to wait for them to start. That was good it gave me time to order dinner and talk to Tess.

This was the first time I saw her do a full plugged in show. I was back in that blown away dimension. Tess is an amazing singer and confident enough to get an amazing band that she lets show off their stuff and they are good enough to never become a distraction. They know how to play in support.

I've been working on how to place her music. It is eclectic and touches on my genres. My first thought is swing. But there is country, she covers Hank Williams. Many songs made me think of Mary Ford and Les Paul. She could throw "How High the Moon" in the set and people might think it one of her songs. I asked and she does cover it. A huge part of what is does remind me of the Sun Records before Rock and Country diverged. She could be bizarre world Jerry Lee Lewis. The musical spirit is the same but instead of being a male piano playing "blond haired god" of questionable make that bad morals she's guitar playing beautiful woman and as far as I know, virtuous. Sort of think that she hasn't killed anyone or married her 13-year-old cousin.

This is the second time I saw her in a couple of weeks and the third time in a couple of months. I can see I'm getting another obsession.

Tess's music is different enough from what people are used to that some might have to learn to like her music. That happens to all of us. We don't have the musical vocabulary for everything. We have to learn it. The more music your exposed to the more you'll like. I was preadapted to like Miss Tess as I love all her influences. In some ways it was the music of my childhood. No it wasn't what was popular when I was a kid but I grew up watching Abbot and Costello movies and they would have great musicians like Ella Fitzgerald and the Andrews Sisters in them.

As I was watching Miss Tess I was thinking that it isn't just that I get to watch her and Kath in intimate venues. It's that they really are much better than most of the stars. They have music that goes straight into your limbic system and makes you feel good while having intellectual content. They work on every level. To paraphrase Beethoven, I must despise a world that doesn't know that Kath and Tess are greater musicians than Adele. There are alternative universes where they are the big stars and Adele is playing for a tip jar and a drink ticket.

It's after noon and I've written 1491 words already so I better call it quits. I'll have to save for another time the idea I have on my list of topics to write about as "making sausage." Intrigued?


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please hold me accountable.





Memories: Not that Horrid Song - May 29, 2018
Wise Madness is Now In Session - May 28, 2018
The NFL and the First Amendment - May 27, 2018
On The Road Again - May 26, 2018
Oliver the Three-Eyed Crow - May 25, 2018



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Horvendile January 17, 2013
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