cake shop. mmmmm.
in Performance, Thoughts and Feelings
as Bill, bischoffs, brushing my teeth, cake shop, Cause, conestoga wagon, delancy street, good vibes, Got, hand, Inwood, NBD, opposite, pamper, shop, stop, turtle shell, uke, wild wild west
You know how, in Star Trek, they do that thing where the stars become long lines because they are traveling faster than the speed of light? Or is that Star Wars? Well, it’s Star something-with-one-sylllable-in-the-next-word, anyway.
The subway was the opposite of that tonight.
And I had my musician-turtle-shell-on-her-back getup going on. The keyboard (IT’S GOT STAPS!) like a backpack, the stand in one hand, and the uke in the other. And all of that stuff makes me tired. And the train suddenly just skipped Delancy Street. Just didn’t stop. It was all, “NBD, I’m not stopping at a stop that I normally make. CAUSE I DON’T FEEL LIKE IT.”
Must be nice, train; must be nice.
Sometimes I sure don’t feel like paying a bill or brushing my teeth or just plain getting out of bed, but do I just pamper my feelings? No. Cause I’m what some would call an adult. Unfortunately, I was riding on a little toddler train who just didn’t feel like stopping at Delancy AND SO DIDN’T. I bet Momma Train understood, but I sure didn’t.
Anyway, all that to say, I think it took about the same length of time to get from Inwood to the East Village as it did for the settlers to Conestoga wagon it from the east coast to the wild wild west.
I’m not sure, but it’s got to be close, at least.
But then I got to my gig and the place was just awesome. Lots of people, lots of good vibes, and, yes folks, the Cake Shop sure does have cake. I love it when a venue lives up to its name. I went on last and the audience was all listening and recording and swaying and smiling and saying inappropriate things.
Well, one guy did, anyway.
But I made it into a joke and we all had a good laugh.
AND!
The percussionist for the band that played before me (the Bischoffs; check them out, they’re incredible, actually) was happy to play with me for my set. He had never heard any of my songs before (with the exception of ‘ain’t my friend), and he just jammed with me like it ain’t no thang. Maybe it’s my niche; jamming with percussionists I’ve never met before, I mean. But, the coolest thing is that Amit wants to start playing with me around the city. How great is that? I’ll tell you (cause you might not have heard his beats): it’s super great.
Afterward, I met so many fantastic people and took pictures with them and just enjoyed them in general. There was talks of me being in a dance-off as the night got later, but that turned into more of a talk-off, which I was just fine with, to be honest.
And I am not setting my alarm but I AM going to bed.
Happily, I may add. And happy don’t always come easy, so I’m feeling mighty thankful right about now.
a show and some thoughts and some socks, too. dry ones.
in Performance, there are pictures here, Thoughts and Feelings
as confession, crowd, delicates, dry socks, facebook, gift, hand, irrational fear, kind, life, panties, precious gift, show, song, sound man, Taller, thought, time, underwear
I had a show last night. It was dreamy. Many people were packed into the small bar and they were listening. A listening crowd is a precious, precious gift; one that I don’t take lightly.
The sound man snapped at me while sound checking. Confession: whenever someone yells at me, I instantly feel a). five years old again, b). deeply hurt, and also c). kind of mad. But, I simply thanked him for his work and smiled.
Like this, I guess.
One guy came up to me and told me that I look “much taller!”
“Taller than…what?” I asked. “Than on facebook,” he said, “And thinner, too,” he added.
Which doesn’t say much for my pictures on facebook, I guess.
There is not much else I’d rather be doing than singing my songs for people. And every time I get to do this, I am reminded of this fact once again.
I also sometimes get the irrational fear that, now that people are actually noticing, What if I never write another song again?! Sort of like the other day when I was hand washing my delicates (which is an even more embarrassing word than just plain underwear, I think; and don’t even get me started on panties!), and the socks, in particular were taking a very long time to dry (I guess we say delicates because socks aren’t considered underwear, right?). I literally entertained the thought that my socks may just never ever dry. Like, AT ALL.
But guess what? My socks are now dry. Therefore, since that irrational fear did not materialize, I can also trust that I will continue to write songs.
Yes, I will write songs while wearing dry socks and life will be good.
Because, really, does it get any better than that?
all full up tonight.
in I Lift My Eyes Up, Thoughts and Feelings
as airplane, beautiful mystery, black sky, body, cannot, choreography, contentment, face, feeling, fingers, free laughter, Furth, gift, hand, heart, holes, hou, kind, land, mind, mystery, patches, patchwork quilt, Peace, person, phrase, psyche, quilt, run, running through my mind, sense, shooting star, sky, song god, special person, thread, tonight, wear, wellness, yellow fire
All full up. Oh, it’s terrible English, I know–and I cannot remember where I first heard this phrase–but it keeps running through my mind tonight. I have this sense of contentment, of wellness, that feels even bigger than my body, if that makes sense. Like my fingers only go so far when I reach; but, [...]
september.
in Thoughts and Feelings
as breathing, chills, consciousness, ears, everything, excerpt from, fantasticks, girl, glen, gosh, hand, head, lifetime, memory, reason, time, vines, wax, woodchucks
Oh, gosh. This. Listen to this: You wonder how these things begin. Well, this begins with a glen. It begins with a season which, For want of a better word, we might as well call–September. It begins with a forest where the woodchucks woo And leaves wax green. And vines entwined like lovers, try to [...]
and this, this is life.
in Funny Stuff, Thoughts and Feelings
as 8th avenue, close ties, date, hand, kind, latent, legs, life, minstrel, mob, parents, person, second, six feet, smell, song, sports, uke, ukulele
It’s hard to think too highly of yourself when you’re the kind of person who manages to hit yourself in the head with a ukulele while strolling down 8th Avenue. Though, the word stroll might be misleading. I walk fast in New York. I don’t know why, but I try to pass just about everyone. Maybe [...]
high-five.
in Thoughts and Feelings
as apparent reason, bucket, city, city streets, hand, home, Inwood, italian city, italian poster, little man, older men, reason, rubber man, sort, street, today, tootsie, tootsie rolls, way, younger men
I hurriedly walked through the wet city streets, making my way home from the gym early this evening. I clutched my customary six tootsie rolls in my right hand. Yes, six. I work out, then I pick out six tootsie rolls from the huge bucket that presents itself on the way out. I always feel [...]
turns out nyc does just fine on the 4th.
in Thoughts and Feelings
as apartme, apartment mate, apparent reason, bad move, broadway show, building, creeper, crowd, dancing, Eating, fact, few days, fireworks, friend, fun, funny part, gif, gift, girl, good reason, hand, hoda, holding hands, holiday, holidays, hudson river, music, New, new york times, NYC, office, onlookers, reason, Roda, salsa, shake, shake shack, suck, Times, work, Yay
I have to admit: this holiday didn’t suck. It didn’t suck at all, in fact. Oh, non-sucking holidays are a gift. A GIFT, I tell you. And I have learned to appreciate them as such. And as my friend and (once again! yay!) apartment-mate Betsy just said: “You have had a very New York few [...]
otter party.
in Thoughts and Feelings
as analogy, appendages, bout, COME, date, everyone, everything, fall, fine, first date, hand, History, holding hands, Jess, nope, otter, otters, otters hold hands, party, point, Rat, river, sea otter, sell, sleep, snake, Snakes, someone, sound, spiders, wake
You probably already know this, but I’m a little late to the party. The party where everyone knows that otters hold hands while they sleep so as not to drift away from each other. Best party ever. I mean, have you seen otters? Already adorable. They have that down. But otters holding hands? COME ON. [...]
can I have some?
in I Lift My Eyes Up, Thoughts and Feelings
as Ave, baby tees, beiber, bus, candy, droves, expectation, fashion ave, french fries, girl, hand, little baby, Meaning, skinny jeans, street, street tomorrow, surprise performance, teenage girl, tomorrow, way
It’s really just too bad that I’m not a screaming teenage girl. Because, see, Justin Beiber is giving a surprise performance at the Macy’s on 34th street tomorrow. And right, if I know about, then you can pretty much guarantee that it is no longer a surprise. Meaning that there will be droves of girls [...]
