Sainte Victoire
The title of this post is the name of the album from the French singer-songwriter, Clara Luciani. The opening track, “La Grenade” was first heard on “Le 6H00” on France 2 on the first full day of my trip to France in September. The song and the album quickly became favorites of mine and rallying cries for the eventful year that was 2019.
This year didn’t start in the best of places. I had a sinus infection that took the joy out of the holidays. On top of that, I was reeling from a botched donation pickup as the truck had no room for all the items that the donor had nor were the items listed in the record. As it was a priority pickup, the donor’s complaint made it’s way up the ladder of leadership and I was written up soon after. All I could do was cry and kick myself for the mistake made. I’ve lived in fear of messing up every day since as the next mistake could be the end. But the month would finish in a better place by seeing Noche Flamenca at Joe’s Pub and the organization’s holiday party the following Wednesday evening. Our kitchen renovation that started in November was finally completed after the correct size marble top for the buffet table arrived. We also replaced the front windows of the house with new ones to modernize the house and keep the cold away. The month would end with an impossible milestone, five years as a donations associate.
February began in the aftermath of my least favorite day of the year, Valentines Day. I needed a jolt of passion to shake off the doldrums of winter and did so by indulging in a hobby that I briefly gave up. In the shadow of MSG, I took a crash course in Argentine tango. It was awkward at first being that close to anyone, but I felt the passion and my feet come back to me as the afternoon went on. I was exhilarated as I left the dance studio. But in typical me fashion, I didn’t follow through with continuing the habit. The shortest month of the year ended with seeing my friend Dawn in a new light. I went to see the play, “City of No Illusions” at LaMaMa. She was part of The Talking Band,scoring the play about immigrants trying to assimilate into the country. It was a change of pace from how I usually see her, as the bass and percussion wielding front woman of the band ZapOte. On the cold Friday night, it was nice to have someone’s ear as it was after the show ended.
As winter turned to spring, a pair of birthday parties welcomed the season. At the end of March, there I was at Crystal Lake in Brooklyn for Jennifer Verducci’s birthday. The night took on the form of a roast, with my friend Jen Jinx as the emcee. I walked into the back room of the bar and there she was, and I couldn’t keep the smile off my face. The guests on the dais provided sweet, profane, humorous and loving remembrances with the birthday girl getting the final say. The following weekend was the second birthday party, for my sister’s friend Teresa at The Cabin on the LES of Manhattan. It was a lovely spring night with cocktails, conversation and windows that would help you watch the world go by. Saturday night would quickly become Sunday morning. How all of us fit in the space in the back, I’ll never know. My first concert of the year came in mid April, seeing Foals at Brooklyn Steel. The show was an electrifying set behind the part 1 of the album, “Everything That Will Not Be Saved is Lost”, with the encore of “What Went Down” and “Two Steps, Twice ” ringing in my head on the way to the L train. All of this happened before our biggest event at the end of April, and I worked the event itself on the public sale day.
The month of May brought my sister and I to Red Bull Arena in Harrison,NJ. We saw the U.S.Women’s National Soccer Team play their final tune up match against Mexico. I bought the tickets for it in November and my sister was willing to come along. As we arrived at the Occulus, the sea of red,white and blue was everywhere leading to the PATH train.The game got off to a bang and didn’t let up for the entire 90 minutes. The American Outlaws brought the ruckus in the section below us as the USWNT won the game 3-0. After the game, we were introduced to the team as they were sent off to the World Cup in France. It was a matter of time before the fourth star was on the crest.
June began with the album release show for my friend Erin Hall’s album, “Great Blue”. I wasn’t going to miss this as I hadn’t seen her and her band perform in a year. And there I was at Rockwood Music Hall reveling in the new album’s fuller sound while not losing it’s melodic charm. The last week of June began on a rainy note on Tuesday morning the 25th. But the weather cleared up and the heat arrived just in time for Wila’s birthday party at City Winery. The hot day turned into a spectacular sunset and a long night to come. The party continued on at a sushi restaurant and before long, Tuesday night turned into Wednesday morning. I made it through the day, sleep deprived but euphoric. But before the first half of the year concluded, my sister and I took our dad to the airport for his trip to Cuba. It was after the drop off that our conversation would set the stage for one more trip at year’s end. The year had passed the halfway point.
The second half of the year begun with three concerts in ten days. The first one came on Bastille Day seeing Fleur Seule and being introduced to the indomitable spirit that is front woman Allyson Briggs. I felt as if I wasn’t in NYC having brunch at the Blue Note but in a Parisian cafe. I went over to introduce myself after the show ended. Show number two was at the end of the same week. On Friday night, it was my friend Raquel and her birthday celebration. Her sheer presence, an army of guests and David Bowie’s music, the perfect way to spend the hottest night of the year. The following week brought show number 3, Elvis Costello and Blondie at Forest Hills Stadium. It was a night to sing every word of both sets as the sun set behind the stadium.
August began with the late summer tradition, the staff appreciation party. It was aboard the Hornblower Infinity as was the case in 2016. But on the day at Pier 40 it wasn’t so hot. It’s one of the days where all of us are in the same place as we cruised around New York Harbor. I was still a sweaty mess but I didn’t let it stop me from tearing up the dance floor once the boat docked. The following weekend was my next concert at the Northwell Health Theater at Jones Beach theater with a triple bill featuring AFI, Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds and headlined by the Smashing Pumpkins. I missed AFI’s set upon arriving but I was at full voice for the rest of the night. The child of the 1990’s was enjoying his night on the beach. The last week of August was bookended by opening night of the U.S.Open on Monday and Alice Ripley at 54 Below on Friday night. The former was planned to coincide with a gathering of Syracuse University alumni while the latter was done on a whim. It was a star packed Monday night as Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova started the night with Serena Williams winning in straight sets. Rodger Federer headlined the second match and won in four sets, but it was his opponent, the qualifier Sumit Nagal of India that won over the crowd. Ms. Ripley was so translucent in Next to Normal that I went to see her solo show on Friday night. She along with her stage daughter and guest star Jennifer Damiano brought the Ripley The Band catalog to life. And for good measure, she took a swipe at Bat Out of Hell, the musical as part of her closing song.
As summer turned to autumn, the big moment arrived, my trip to France. It was seven years in the making and I enjoyed all thirteen days going from north to south. It was night and day, going from the clouds and rain to summer sun. So many places, from the chateaus at Amboise and Clemencau, to Normandy, the house and gardens of Claude Monet in Giverny, returning to Paris, the Palais des Papes in Avignon, Monaco and t the Promenade des Anglais in Nice to name a few. I didn’t want to leave and I was in tears in the last night of the trip. But my tour guide Corina reminded me that there will be more trips to come. As I sat in the airport in Nice, I found out that a colleague and former warehouse manager, Bill Gover had passed away. I would spend the rest of October in hiding as the post trip letdown, combined with the existential crisis hit me really hard.
I started out November with a pair of concerts. I went to see the trumpeter Bria Skonberg at the Jazz Standard in celebration of the album, “Nothing Never Happens”. Her smoky grooves were exactly what was needed to wake me from my slumber. I would visit my friend Dawn in her normal setting as ZapOte released their albun, “Nightshade”. All felt right as I hadn’t seen them in a year. The darker sounds accentuate the lyrics. Later that weekend, I had lunch with my friends Etta, Fred, Marguerite and Gary. I’d not seen them since Shannon,Ireland two years ago at the end of the Ireland trip. But that Sunday at Da Nico, it felt like time stood still. I was blushing at every mention of my writings. At mid month, my sister and I went to the Murmur theater in Brooklyn for a live taping of the podcast, Happier with Gretchen Rubin. During the question and answer session, I asked them for their favorite part of the European trip they took at age 17. They agreed that it was seeing U2 on The Joshua Tree Tour in 1987. I did the same thing during the Joshua Tree Tour in June of 2017. On Thanksgiving weekend, I went to see Noche Flamenca again, this time at the Joyce Theater. With tapas and wine in my stomach, I was able to enjoy the show, Entre Tu y Yo, a series of vignettes exploring the dynamics of sexual relations. But the key piece was saved for the mercurial Soledad Barrio as she brought the room to its feet. I left feeling the passion warm me up for the cold night outside to start the birthday weekend.
At the end of the week following out 34th birthday in December, my sister and I traveled to Mexico City. A long weekend only scratches the surface of how massive the CDMX really is. But we got a glimpse of the culture by visiting the Frida Kahlo house, walking around the Zocalo, attending lucha libre at the Arena Mexico, observing the country’s history at the Castillo de Chapultpec and it’s native groups at the National Anthropology Museum and g getting a glimpse of invention via the house of Luis Barragan. For the ex exclamation point, we took a day trip to the pyramids at Tenochitlan. The sun rose in Sunday morning as we saw the pyramids of the sun and moon in a hot air balloon. After visiting an artisans village, we arrived at the pyramids and we walked the Pyramid of Sun. I was exhausted and exhilarated after completing the climb feeling like I accomplished something big.
As I write this on Christmas night, I had an eventful year. That’s not even including the moments of advocacy work, going to see the Yankees play in May or going to see the fictional 90’s girl group 2Scoops at Joe’s Pub in August and seeing ZapOte last Saturday night to welcome winter at the Shrine World Music Venue.
This was a year where at times, I wondered what could’ve been. There were a few concerts that I missed, namely a quadruple bill featuring sets from my friends, Dawn, Eliane, Vivian and together with their friends Fabiana and Rosa, known together as As Lolas at DROM in March. I also missed The Rolling Stones at MetLife Stadium in June and Iron Maiden at the Barclays Center in July. I shouldn’t have been so picky using timing as an excuse for not doing more with my year than I did. I played it too safe. And there was the show that should’ve been, Massive Attack and the Mezzanine XXI tour at Radio City Music Hall. It was originally scheduled for March but for reasons beyond control, postponed until the last week of September. As I slept in the early hours of Friday morning in my hotel room in Bayeux, it was a moment where I wished that I could teleport to NYC for the show and then teleport back to France.
Yet, I haven’t made any forward progress in life as everyone else has been making moves to better their lives. It’s as if I’m stuck in the same place, with added pressures and responsibility from day to day sitting at my desk. I’m hoping that the new year and new next decade provides needed clarity and a sign as to what I should be doing with myself. I begin the 2020’s with a blank slate.
I’ll conclude this post with lyrics from the song “I’m Still Here” from the Stephen Sondheim 1971 musical, Follies: I’ve run the gamut A to Z. Three cheers and dammit, c’est la vie. I got through all of last year. And I’m here. Lord knows, at least I’ve been there. And I’m here. Look who’s here. I’m still here.
To everyone that reads this blog post, I wish you a safe and joyful holiday season and a Happy New Year!
