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
September 16, 2013 - 6:32 p.m. For the second night in a row I didn't get enough sleep. I've had to large coffees today and might need a third before my next class. One student was falling asleep this morning and I told him that if I can stay awake so can he. Last you heard from me I was on the Bolt Bus back to Brooklyn. Now I could have slept on that but I love My Gentle Far Too much to do that instead of updating. In fact I could be taking a nap right now. The bus stops at 7th Ave and 33rd Street a block from Penn Station. I went inside to fill my water bottle and grab a pretzel then went on the Seventh Avenue line. The express goes right to Brooklyn Heights where I was headed to see Bobtown at First Acoustics. I got on the platform for the or when an MTA employee on the platform said both trains were making local stops. Now if I had known that I'd have walked over to the eighth avenue end of the station and taken the . Then the came � on the platform. On then did she say "The and are running on the platform and the on the express platform. As I had just missed the train, I left the station and walked over to eight and took the A. Great I only have 20 minutes to write this then I have to go to therapy. I couldn't finish it between classes. I might have to come up here after therapy, I don't want to rush this but I don't want to post so late either. I had a choice of getting to the show very early or just as it started so I got there two hours early. I used the time well. I did a coffee run and saw there was a street fair around the corner so I went back and handed out flyers and invited people to come to the concert. I don�t' know if that worked at all. I'm sure the cover of Acoustic Live didn't hurt either. What did work was John Platt playing Bobtown on the radio that morning and saying that they had a show that afternoon. At least two people came because of that. The crowd was decent and included many people seeing hem for the first time. I sat with Richard and Viki. They were the only people that don't volunteer at First Acoustics I knew. I have a strange relationship with Bobtown. I discovered them at NERFA last November and didn't see them at a gig till this year but because they were my top NERFA discovery and Katherine and I ran into each other socially and became friends they immediately got "I'm with the band" status. Yet I think this is the first time I've seen them do a full length headlining gig. This is a good companion piece to my last entry about ilyAIMY. They are both breathtakingly good but unknown to the world at large. In the small world I inhabit everyone knows they are great or knows that everyone else thinks they are. To the larger world they are "ilyWHO and Whattown." For the most part the audience last night didn't know them but they walked away fans and self-described groupies. The casual listener will like them because "they sound pretty" and they are lots of fun. They have pizazz. That's not a word I often use but they have it and I don't know a synonym. The serious listener is rewarded with amazing music. They appeal to the Bach part of my brain. It isn't just that their harmonies are more than 1-3-5, it's that they constantly change. They'll throw the unexpected at you. As I always love there is rich variety within each song. From song to song they range far afield from field hollers to Blue Oyster Cult. They have a banjo, accordion, slide whistle, washboard, and kazoo. I don't know if it's real music under the fun or fun over the real music. Either way I'm in.
I even took videos. I wish I wasn't so tired now. It's late too. I didn't finish this before therapy and I fell asleep at the computer when I got back. It's all Bobtown's fault. I was keyed up after the show and instead of crashing when I got home I stayed up late. I am going to give in to the inevitable and finish this up. Here's the slideshow. I'm going to eat dinner, head home, and crash. Then I'll think of all the brilliant things I wanted to say about Bobtown. You are going to have to just see them yourself and discover how special they are. I signed the Pro-Truth Pledge: please hold me accountable.
Memories: Not that Horrid Song - May 29, 2018
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