My husband and I celebrated our thirty-seventh wedding anniversary on May 3rd, and I’ve been thinking about what’s kept us together all these years. Paradoxically, one of those togetherness factors is separation – especially when it comes to music. About a decade ago, when the City of Albany was building the pedestrian bridge over Route… [Read More]
Paul Simon – How terribly strange to be seventy
Yesterday was Paul Simon’s seventieth birthday, and he’s still going strong. Nonetheless, I can’t help remembering his lyrics from “Old Men,” released on the Simon & Garfunkel album “Bookends” in 1968: Can you imagine us years from today, sharing a park bench quietly. How terribly strange to be seventy. These days, he’s not sitting sedately on a… [Read More]
Dave Matthews concert – a senior imposter at a summer ritual
“I hope I’m as cool as you when I get to be your age.” Thus spoke the lithe and shirtless underage guy at the Dave Matthews concert on Friday night. Then there was the one who high-fived me and said, “I hope I’m just like you when I’m 80.” He was off by too many… [Read More]
Country concert distilled as poem
Sometimes a poem’s the best way to capture the essence of an experience. Case in point: my excursion yesterday to “Country Throwdown,” a marathon country music concert in Saratoga Springs with many bands, including Montgomery Gentry, Jack Ingram, Jamey Johnson and Little Big Town. There was lots of excellent music, but maybe it’s time to… [Read More]
Support The Egg – Don’t let the music die!
The New York State Budget proposed by Governor David Paterson this week eliminates funding for The Egg, by far my favorite venue for live music in the Capital Region. I’ve volunteered as an usher at The Egg for several years now, and I can’t begin to count the number of fabulous shows I’ve enjoyed there…. [Read More]
Hit On at The Egg with the Tragically Hip
Last night, while I was ushering for The Tragically Hip at The Egg in Albany, an aggressive young lesbian put some serious moves on me. It’s been decades since that happened, but somehow it seems emblematic of how my life gets ever more interesting as I age. Whether it’s downhill skiing or ushering for groups whose… [Read More]