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

May 23, 2007 - 6:52 p.m.

Brooklyn is Berning

Yesterday was a long day. Today I'm in recovery. Saburah is visiting from Toronto and I spent the day with her. I took the LIRR to Penn station and met her at 12:30 at her hotel. We spent the day hanging out in the city. I tried to take her to lunch at Petite Abeille, the great Belgian restaurant. One problem, they went out of business. Plan B was Jekyll and Hyde. Sab needs to use a scooter and there were steps down to the dining room so we ended up eating at their sidewalk café. That of course meant missing the all the fun stuff inside. At least the food was good. We then went for desert at Cones on Bleecker street. I took Sab there a few visits ago and she has become a convert to the Cones worship. It makes me very happy that she now spreads the Gospel of Cones being the best ice cream in the world. After that we hung around the village and East Village. We started at Seventh Avenue and made our way over to Bleecker and Bowery, the former site of CBGB's. It was very sad to see the for-rent sign. Sab stayed at an NYU dorm on that block when she stayed here in the summer of 2004. We visited the old dorm. It had been made far more wheelchair friendly. The security guard was just plain friendly. He remembered Sab well and we had a little chat with him. We then went off to Alphabets on Avenue A do shop for tchotchke. I bought a small slide whistle. Sab is a huge renthead so we couldn't be in that neighborhood and not go to the Life Café on Avenue B for iced cappuccinos. Sab then wanted to go to Love Saves the Day aka "The Best Store in the World." If your idea of fun is a store with vintage toys, memorabilia, and clothes then Loves Saves the Day is for you. Where else can you find lunch boxes from classic and not classic shows from the 60s to 80s?

The main even of the day was seeing Dan Bern at Southpaw in Brooklyn. I figured out on the map a way to get there using wheelchair accessible stations. It was actually pretty easy. We walked up to Union Square then took the R train. It was about a 5-block walk from the station.

I had never been to Southpaw before. The setup was not what I imagined. The front half is a standing room area very reminiscent of the Mercury Lounge. The back half is a raised dais with tables and chairs. Those were all taken when we arrived and we couldn't get Sab's Scooter up there in any event so we stayed in the front part. My legs were bothering me so I sat on the floor till the place started to fill up. I was expecting Jill to be there but she wasn't. I gave her a call and she told me that she was too tired. If she had known that Sab was going to be there she's have gone.

I knew I'd run into a few people I knew. First I saw Heather angling to get a spot at the front. I went to say hi to her and she pointed out that Phyllis was sitting at the front of the dais. It was really dark which is why I hadn't spotted her.

Sab and I went to the front ourselves when people started coming in. The show started at 9 with an opening act, Whisky Rebellion. These guys should have been great. The percussion section who used a washboard on some songs and a banjo on others. He didn't play the banjo as a string instrument mind you. He took brushes and used it as a drum. As he pointed out a banjo is a snare drum turned inside out. They also had a standup bass player. They were a Brooklyn band that played Country and Western. The problem was that their songs were just not that good and very repetitive. They had one that I loved about a guy trying to get back with his ex-girlfriend not because he wanted to but because his cat missed her. If the set was 6 songs I might have been OK with them but at 13 it was far too long. Especially when they went on at 9:00.

Dan came on at 10:15. He was joined once again by the amazing Paul Kuhn on cellocaster. He did a longer set than at the Turning Point. That let him do more of his hits, Jerusalem, Oh God, and Chelsea Hotel to name a few. He wasn't doing the audience participation thing as much but we didn't need it. The crowd was singing along to all the songs we knew. I love a show like that.

This was his first time playing in Brooklyn. He mentioned that he went through Crown Heights and saw so many of his people. Dan is Jewish. He then remarked that none of them would be at the show because it was Shavuous. He was wrong of course. Phyllis, Heather, and myself are all Jewish; as were a lot of the people I didn't know standing near me. I was wearing my What I Like About Jew t-shirt. Dan would be perfect for its successor show Jewmongous. At one point Dan, noticed my shirt. He didn't say anything but I could see him look straight at it and smile.

Dan's shows were uneven but he put on two great ones this week.

After the show Sab went to buy CDs. She didn't have any of Dan's. As we were leaving we ran into Rich aka the Archivist. He reminded me about the Bob Dylan Birthday Show at Stony Brook on Thursday featuring The Kennedys. He told me it was sold out. I didn't even know they were selling advanced tickets. He told me that he'd get me in so I'm going. It sometimes pays to know people.

Sab and I then took the subway back to Penn Station, which is near her hotel. We grabbed some pizza at the station and i walked her back. The problem was that we got to Penn Station after 1:19 AM. The next train back to Bayside was at 3:19. I considered taking a cab but that would cost about $50 so I waited around. The ride back was a bit unpleasant at there were quite a few drunk, loud, young adults on it. I changed my seat a few times and ended up reading Doug Adams instead of sleeping to block them out. I got home around 4 AM.

I've been to four concerts the last 6 days. The really amazing thing is that I went with a friend to three of them. I just realized that Sunday was particularly noteworthy as I had dinner with Gella. It has been months since I last shared a meal with a friend from New York.

I have more concerts to go to tomorrow and Friday night. I'm going alone but I'm friends with the bands. Tomorrow as I said is The Kennedys and Friday is We're About 9. WA9 is at the Minstrel where I sometimes volunteer. I'll be the sound assistant at the show. Afterwards the band, the volunteers, and whatever audience members want to go out for a bite. That makes it a really late night, I'll get back after 2AM but I'm going to do it.

I think I'll be reticent and not talk about some things I'd planned on. This is a nice long entry as it is.


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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 May 23, 2007
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