Fridays are for open Mics

1/30

Welcome back, Nick

A woman seeking space. A man sleeping on the pews. A young woman, the same troubled person I’ve seen before, asleep.

I come to Open Mic after having watched the Yale-Columbia game with Nate.

Yale won

Pat O is still perfecting his traveling set including the song about his divorce, which always gets me, and the World War 1 centennial inspired Old Soldiers.

Pat O

A singer, Divine Life (…or Light?) does a solid R&B/hip hop set.

A Divine set....

Young Nick Lantigua is back with his original banjo work. And Alex Fry is here to celebrate the release of her first EP.(http://rippletunes.com/album/Alex-Fry/Brave-New-World-EP/957407570/t0)

Alex plays

And she’s brought a friend who sings harmony, especially on that insidious song from Once, Falling Slowly,

Alex and friend

insidious because of how it gets me. And as for me, I go with my Southern Lady, to recall my Yale days, (Texas girl in New Haven…), Love Again Tomorrow (due some special treatment by Milica on Monday) and Leonard Cohen’s Tonight Will Be Fine… and feel good about it….

2/6

Animals out of Paper

Morning  session with Jeremy, including a lesson to help me with my sense of rhythm. Pat O and I will spend a long session going through the strategy to see what steps can be taken to build the congregation.

Long conversation with Nairobey Otero, who’s got a production of the origami play (a real understatement) Animals Out of Paper going on in Mc Alpin.( https://www.facebook.com/animalsout )Last night she had her wallet and cell phone stolen during her performance. With Dzieci and Work Center in the building, it’s hard to imagine how that happened. I decide to watch her performance. Leila’s got to scramble around to find another theatre group rehearsing a play called Under God’s Tongue because either gym or chapel will interfere with Nairoby’s production so we decide to delay the Open Mic so that they ca get a solid hour and a half rehearsal at least.

Nairoby’s Animals…takes me by surprise. It’s a fine play. Written by Rajiv Joseph, it opens up the world of origami and as follows, whenever any world opens up for us, we find another door into understanding our own better. The level of professionalism is also impressive and I’m once again struck as to how Mc Alpin Hall can be easily transformed into another world by good theatre people. Both Nairoby as Ilana and her one co-lead, David Beck as Andy, are Equity pros and Manesh Sasikumar, is a bundle of energy and creativity as Suresh, Ilana’s apprentice. I learned a lot about origami, but was also legitimately moved by a good story.

Down in the sanctuary, Open Mic is going on. Joel is into another of his improv adventures.

Joel

 David S plays his own This is just a Test after some 80’s rock

This is just a test

and David L takes us to Waylon and Willie country again.  

Waylon and Willie and David

Alex (who I always love talking wrestling with, his son wrestles at Muhlenberg) is back again.

Alex on guitar

He’ll pull out his violin for RL’s Stay Awhile.  I’m sorry Don was here for one stand up guy’s crude and obscene performance that came off as disrespectful. There’s so much more….As for me, I open with Southern Lady, follow with Love Again Tomorrow (Milica’s  performance was snowed out Monday night…so we’re still awaiting…) and finish with Girl from the North Country, a good winter song. Tonight, I’m singing with Kristen Leigh in mind whose cabin in the woods has become uninhabitable.  The song is starting to feel like I’ve got my own take on it. And that feels good.