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 05, 2015 - 12:14 p.m.

Sticky Wicket

Ugh not a good start to my day. I have procrastinated far too long. My brain can be so good but it can also be so screwed up.

OK so yesterday I did something good. I went to the CD release party for Mark Allen Berube's Sticky. OK this is cool. On cdbaby album page it says that if you like Mark you'd also like Randy Newman, They Might Be Giants, and Warren Zevon. Now it just so happens that John Platt played a song from the album, Vampire Women of Jersey City on Sunday and followed it with Werewolves of London by Warren Zevon. Mark and I were talking about how perfect that was as Mark and Warren come from the same place. I have seen They Might Be Giants with Mark. And last night he brought up a song by Randy. Yes CD now gets it right. Oh wait, did Mark suggest the list? If so it's far less impressive. No big deal that he knows what he's like.

I was doing merch so I got there early. The show was at First Acoustics, one of my home fields. When I arrive I saw Seth about to go in. First Acoustics was having its first ever open mic and Seth was playing in it. He was the first one to show up. This was very much a home game for me. At one point I counted 18 friends. There were other people I knew. I decided I can't name everybody but it was mainly people I saw at the New Year's Day parties. In addition to them there was Gene, Isabel, Chris, Richard, Viki, Brian, Karen, …. OK I can't even name all of them.

Let's try this, what friends performed at the open mic. I am so going to be in trouble with the people I forget. I know I'll forget people. In addition to Seth Morgan, there was, Karen Dahlstrom backed by Katherine Etzel, Honor Finnegan, Bev Grant, Karyn Oliver, Claude Draillard aka The Frenchman, Elisa Peimer, Jon Sobel, Scott Wolfson, and and and… OK maybe that's it. Please don't hate me if I forgot you. I shouldn't be ashamed but I keep forgetting that I have Alzheimer's. I had never heard Jon play before. He was great. Notice I used last names here. That's because they performing. Social references get a first name shoutout.

Anyway as you can see this was not your typical open mic. Every single one I mentioned after Seth has appeared in John Platt's On Your Radar.

This was not a figurative CD Release party. There was an actual party with food and drink. In honor of Mark it was all vegan but the deviled eggs. Guess what I ate.

And how about the show? Well OK this was Mark, one of my very favorite songwriters and performers. This was not his usual acoustic show either. He got backed by the Sticky Chicks, Carolann Solebello, Karyn Oliver, Meg Braun, and Catherine Miles. he also had Matt, sorry don't know the last name, on electric guitar, and I will venture Dave I don't know his last name, on drums. Yes this was a rock show! Even Mark played electric for the last few songs. He did every song on the album. I don't have to review the songs, because, look at this, I already did, Cup of Orgasm .

The songs are even better live. I have heard "Bride of Frankenstein Hair" a zillion times but this was the best. It was clearly written with a band and backing vocals in mind. And it helps having Carolann, who the song is about, on the stage.

Often at CD release shows the songs are done in the order they appear on the album. That's not what Mark did. He had them grow in volume. He started with the sad solo songs. OK I don't think that "Lying in a Box" is sad but it is a song about a guy lying in his coffin and it sounds like a dirge. OK it is sad but it's so clever I don't think of it that way. He ended with the totally sacrilegious "Holy Guacamole". This was funnier in a church under stained glass window depicting Jesus. Is it Jesus? I think so.

Did anyone catch that in that last paragraph I made a change to the Wise Madness style manual? I put the period after the close quotation! I have adopted the English style as it based on logic not looks.

After the set people hung around and partied and then we all sang "Happy Birthday" to Coco. It was a day early. She had a good birthday party. A really good birthday party. She deserves it. She's a special person.

I did not take any pics but Brian did. I'll just post one, it's of me and Honor.

That's a sticker for Sticky on my forehead. I am insane.

There were other special people there too. One of them gave me so groceries I needed. I have amazing friends.

The groceries made me not have to stop at Trader Joe's on the way home. I now had potatoes! I wanted mashed potatoes but I didn't have half & half or enough butter to make up for that. So I improvised. It needed more fat so in addition to the milk and butter I added olive oil and velveeta. It worked! It came out perfect. It's one of the things I make better than my mother. my mashed potatoes are very creamy. One tip, heat whatever fat you use before you add them to the potatoes. Just pop it in the microwave. You can make it vegan by just using olive oil.

After dinner I called Katrina and we talked for two hours. Yes I can talk a lot.

OK. I have to get going. I have to eat and go to therapy.

But before you go you need to buy Sticky if you don't already have it. Click on the album cover to order it.
Sticky


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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 05, 2015
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