seedoflife’s Neighborhood

First, I want to state that I have this lofty goal to eliminate my credit card dependency. However, my compulsion to support certain 'why-are-these-people-still-under-the-radar?' musicians @ established music venues makes it quite difficult.

Tuesday night when I saw Ari Hest play at the Hotel Cafe I knew the online ticket purchase was worth it-- as are all my purchases, of course. The opener from Ireland, Declan O'Rourke, told the audience that this was his first time playing (or first tour playing?) in America. He had a great sound and one novelty song stands out. It's about an old black crow and it was highly entertaining because there was a fun song introduction and then part of the chorus was him cawing. Not counting that particular song, to me, live, his style was like an Irish version of Ari's so it shouldn't be too surprising if he gains a large following here fairly quickly.

"I can make you move against your will. Don’t it make you sad to lose control?" Broken Voices by Ari Hest

Ari was fantastic with his band, and played a bunch of songs from his early material and CD The Break In, plus newer songs from his project, 52, which included my favorite song, Broken Voices. At some point Amy Kuney came up to sing Cranberry Lake which she co-wrote and sang in a duet with Ari. That was great because I've been wanting to see her live for a while now too.

Ari's vocal ability is amazing. His tone ranges in his songs from baritone to falsetto with impressively flawless lung control. It bowls me over me every time I see him live.

I ran into @KristinJuel during the evening which is always refreshing. Sitting with her I discovered my new favorite bass player, Rob Calder, who has an interesting way of dancing to the beat while he plays.  Very entertaining to watch!

The only downer of the night is that there's a rule that non-flash photography is allowed in Hotel Cafe, but video recording is not. Kristin got busted for taking video with her digi cam at some point. That was too bad but at least they didn't confiscate her camera. She had also taken a bunch of still photos. Overall, it was a good night for live music.

"You're the song that I sing that I don't need to practice." from In the Creases by Amber Rubarth.
Tomorrow is Amber Rubarth's show @ The Mint-- http://themintla.com is their site. I refuse to hyperlink to it because it has music that auto-plays and defaults to the loudest volume setting. Way to facilitate an obnoxious user experience.

I love Amber's lyrical ambition and like Ari, she is now based in NY so I try to see her whenever she's playing here. Can't wait to hear her new songs and old ones again that I like. A lot.

I have to wonder what life would be like for us if my husband had gotten a job that he applied for in Jersey. I also wonder what it would be like if he had ended up with a philadelphia job, for which he also applied. I may have still been living in Salem. I may have moved to another bigger apartment. Who knows....

How will you use technology or the Internet to help you plan and prepare this year’s Thanksgiving feast?
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Well, I dont get to have Tday dinner this year as I would normally, so the only way it will help is coordinating with other people to see where they will be. :( I like cooking for the big holidays. I get all excited and my expertise comes shining through. It's the only time I really showcase most of my cooking talent in one shot.

Dang! New York gets cold quick! I need my winter jacket already. The orlando vacations I was looking into are surely looking really really good about now! I was planning the trip for next year, but now would be a GREAT time to go south for the winter. Just walking out onto the balcony is enough to send you back under the covers for another month. The wind cuts like a few swords aimed right at your vital organs. Scary lol.

What was your favorite class in high school? (And no, lunch doesn't count.) 

I would have to say Journalism was my absolute favorite class. I had thought to make journalism into my career, but GOD had other plans for me. I still use many of the skills I learned in journalism and advertising with our ministries and businesses today, but if I had pursued those avenues my life would be much different now. Not better, mind you, but different.

Choir was not really a class, as it was the joy of my life. It was more like an ego requirement so that I could get in good with the teacher who was also the drama instructor and be able to showcase my talents in both arenas, which I did.