I became insane with long intervals of horrible sanity.
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.
Many people would sooner die than think; In fact, they do so
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 ...
July 24, 2012 - 12:26 a.m.
I had a great weekend but today's not so good. Nothing bad happened today, it's just the anxiety is acting up. Let me write about the good things and see if that helps.
On Friday night I headed up to Urban H2O to see the Falcon Ridge Preview Tour. Even though it's in Yonkers it's pretty easy to get to. I take the subway to Grand Central Station then Metro North takes me two blocks from the venue. It costs me about the same as gas and tolls would driving.
On Friday Falcon Ridge has the emerging artist showcase. 15 acts do two songs a piece and the audience votes on which they want back the next year for the most wanted workshop. The winners go on the Falcon Ridge Preview Tour. This Year's winners were my good friends Pesky J. Nixon and ilyAIMY, Louise Mosrie who was my big discovery at NERFA, and Blair Bodie who I somehow managed to have never seen or heard of before.
When I got there I grabbed a seat down front then remembered that I never end up sitting in my seat at Urban H2O. It's run by Mark from Spuyten Duyvil and I know way too many people there to not play social butterfly. I stand at the back and flit from friend to friend. It also made it easier to do merch for ilyAIMY since the table was in the back.
Pesky J. Nixon was missing one of its two founding members, Jake. It was his wife's birthday and staying married proved more important than the gig. Ethan, Dan, and Eric were joined by Kara, the fiddler, who doesn't usually tour with them, and Kristen from ilyAIMY helped out on cello. With Eric on mandolin they essentially became a string band. They are all good enough musicians to pull it off.
IlyAIMY are good friend but I haven't actually seen them play that often as they rarely find their way up to New York. On the bright side that means it's easier for me to find something new to say about them. Of course I'm not totally sure this is new. We'll make believe it is. They are playing at the Falcon Ridge Folk Festival, and are part of the folk community and play acoustic folk instruments but ilyAIMY is really a rock band. Just listen to the vocals, Heather's djembe, and Rob's guitar. Their harmonies and rhythms are the anarchy of rock, not the gentleness of folk. They evoke feelings of chaos. You feel you are in the midst of a primeval jungle with dangerous creatures hiding behind every tree. Everything is irregular, filled with syncopation and dissonance. Their voices don't seamlessly bend but compete. They don't come in together, one voice is significantly behind the other. This is not lack of craft, not a mistake, but an essential part of the music; it creates tension and excitement.
I caught Louise at Falcon Ridge last year and was impressed. I called her one of my discoveries of the Festival. Then as I didn't see her again for a while forgot her. It really isn't easy not having a brain. Then I rediscovered her at NERFA where I called her one of my top discoveries. She did more than two songs there, she had a formal showcase. From then on I knew to keep an eye and ear out for her. She's based in Nashville and it shows in her songwritring, though it evokes Appalachia even more. She sings real folk songs, not just confessional singer/songwriter material. Her songs tell stories. They concert other people and other times. They are very much my cup of tea.
Blair was totally new to me. Someone asked who her voice reminded her of. I don't know but I know who she reminded me of, Aoife O'Donovan. When she talks, not sings, she sounds just like her and she looks like a cross between Aoife and the Thompsons, Chris and Meredith. She is also based in Nashville but that's a recent move. Before then she lived in New Jersey. Her music is more obviously Nashville than Louise's. I'm really glad that I like her music as when I met her I found her delightful and there's nothing more awkward than liking a musician personally but not like their music. To give her a great compliment some of her songs reminded me of Amy Speace and I asked her if she knew her. She said that Amy was a good friend and not only that but she's part of Amy's songwriting group. Not only that but Louise is Amy's friend too. Folk is such a small incestuous world.
Ethan asked me for requests for their last song. I said, "Girls Just Want to Have Fun." They ended up not doing it. So after everything was over the members of Pesky J. Nixon came over to me and without saying a world started serenading me with it. There are times that I really appreciate being me.
On Sunday I headed out to the Huntington Folk Festival. Who were the headlinere's? The same people, the Falcon Ridge Preview Tour! That was in the evening. In the afternoon there are two "stages" playing acoustic sets. The stages are booked by Richard and Michael so it's no surprise that I know most of the artists; I didn't know till that morning that a 7 of the Chicks with Dip, aka my girls, would be doing an abridged version of the tribute to Joni Mitchell's Blue shows.
I was fortunate to get a ride to the show form the wonderful Coco and Bruce. Coco is a true kindred spirit. She runs the First Acoustics Concert Series in Brooklyn Heights. She is one of my Brooklyn Friends, the reason I moved here. The ride out was half the fun.
The Huntington Folk Festival is another place I spend more time socializing than listening to music. Skipping the musicians there were the aforementioned Richard and Michael, Lori not LORi, Joe, Rona, Bob, Fred, Carter, Gene, Isabel, Marty, and Viki. I spent significant time talking to them and I�m sure I'm forgetting others.
I had dinner with the musicians, one of the unofficial perks of being me. I just walked in with my friends and nobody questioned if I belonged. I was going to sit with Carolann and Mark but by the time I got to their table it was full so I went to the next table and sat with a new friend, Kat Quinn. She's a friend of Kathy's who introduced us when Pesky did John Platt's On Your Radar. I thought she lived in Massachusetts. That's where's she's from but she lives in Queens. I'm sure I'll be seeing her around again. She's a musician but I missed her set. When I saw her I thought she looked familiar, When she saw me she knew she knew me. She might have even remembered my name. I'm so bad I can't remember that. I also got to talk to Blair, my new friend of one day's acquaintance. The great thing about the folk world is that's long enough to be old friends.
After the festival Bruce and Coco drove me home. I got here around midnight.
I had tons of things to do today but instead waited around for my new camera to be delivered. My bell doesn't work so they were supposed to call me when they arrived. They didn't. Now I have to see if I can pick up the camera at Fed Ex Tomorrow. I need I for FRFF.
As I said in the beginning today was a bad day with lots of anxiety I was fine at therapy this morning but things went downhill when I got home. I did manage to make the changes I had to in the Budgiedome schedule but everyone has not gotten back to me to confirm I hope it works. It wasn't easy. I still have to do laundry, rent a car, pick up my camping gear from Gene and Isabel's garage, buy some more small things to replace what I have in storage and can't find. I hope I can get it all done in time. That pressure is not helping my anxiety.
Now I better finish this off, take a shower, and go to bed. I never even managed to shower today. Like I said it wasn't a good day.
I signed the Pro-Truth Pledge:
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
creative commons
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 License.
Horvendile July 24, 2012
| site search by freefind | advanced |
Follow on Feedly
