The Headless armless legless man from Worcester

Last weekend, I treked up north for a show in Worcester Mass.
It was only a 5 hour busride, so spinal damage was minimum.
I got off the bus and into a cab with a driver who started telling me
all about Worcester in an accent that is hard to describe. We shall just say that it was "New Englandy"

The highlight of the conversation was his warning to me about my safety on the mean streets of Worcester.
He pointed to a hill with railroad tracks and told me all about a body that had been found there with no head, no arms, no legs. Apparently there were no witnesses as to what might have happened or to who the torso might have belonged.

By the time I got to the venue I was scared to even go out onto the sidewalk with all the tales of crackwhores and murder.

I had some coffee, a blt and got to spend some time chatting with Lara Ewen, a fellow Brooklynite who came up to open for me. It was funny since we had never met, but we hit it it off as she is a kindred spirit out on the road doing her thing.

Lara's friends, the Noonans came to the show and stuck around for my set. I was delighted by their hospitality when they offered for me to stay with them in Barre Mass. Barre is this beautiful town smack dab in the middle of the state with a quaint charm. Lara describes it as the town where the show Gilmore Girls is filmed and I couldn't think of a better way to describe it myself.

The Noonans live in this beautiful farm house connected to a barn. Kim Noonan, a very skilled artist and vibrant soul, gave me the tour of the house, which was built in the 1800's. She also shared her art with me, which was quite spectacular. We all sipped herbal tea and chatted into the wee hours. I fell asleep on the plush sofa and awoke with a startle at around 3am. The Noonan's three cats were all on top of me. The ring leadeer, butros butros was kneeding his paws into my chest. I freaked out and sent the cats running.

In the morning I was greeted with fresh coffee and homemade banana muffins. Chaz, who is also a musician asked Lara and I to sing backing vocals in his home studio on a track he is working on. So there we were laughing and singing "I'm the Mudlark" haha
Oh, I love Mass.(the state not the church service)

Lara and I became road buddies on the way to Boston. She dropped me off at the bus statin and we said our goodbyes.
I took the Fung Wah bus back to New York. Though I was glad to be home, a part of my heart is still in Barre Mass.

French Saturday, Chinese Sunday

Photo by Carrie Thomas

For some odd reason, my weekend was very thematic as though a sorority girl had planned out a list of activities. Maybe tonight is hula night and tomorrow is a 50's themed poodle skirt mixer. Who knows at this point?

Saturday was my French themed adventure with the lovely Mr. Carpentier. We started the evening by dropping my Chez Brigitte for some homecooked French comfort food just like grandma used to make, or at least Mr. M's grandma. My grandma is more of a batter-it-and-fry-it kind of a girl.

The food hit the spot and I give this hidden dining gem 41/2 stars or two thumbs up, depending on your choice of rating system.

After our din din, we scooted uptown to see Hannibal Rising at a theater on 34th street. Interestingly enough, the majority of the movie was set in Paris. We were joined by mister Jimminy Cricket, as my ex-roomate, the Finnish Wonder used to call him. We decided to have a post movie drink at Barracuda, but it was too crowded, so we decided to visit Xes. Once again, the strange French theme continued as they were showing the making of some calendar with French Rugby players on the video screen. I was both horrified and transfixed.

Livers saturated, We all hopped in a cab back to Mr. M's lovely abode, where we decided to watch The Triplets of Belleville, one of my favorite movies of all time, animated or otherwise. I had brought it over for Mr. M to watch and had forgotten it in his DVD player. Coincidence, or just another part of French Saturday, pre-ordained by fate and the mysterious workings of the universe?
I fell asleep watching the triplets and woke to the sound of my phone alarm playing this horribly annoying Chinese Song and kicking off Chinese Sunday. I had a bus to catch.

I was running behind and running through Chinatown as chinese new year seemed to be exploding all around me. The ground was cold and littered with confetti. Small children were throwing small fireworks with small hands. A general jovial jubilation was sweeping through chinatown as I shoved and inched my way ever closer to the Fung Wah Bus. This bus, for those of you that don't know is a $15 each way bat out of hell ride between Boston and New York.

You clench your clawed hand to the railing and watch the space time continuum being bent like a prezel and just pray you make it to your destination in one piece.

For some reason, the Fung Wah bus was not what I had pictured in my head. I had imagined live chickens in cages. In fact there were no chickens, and I was quite disappointed.

I got to Boston in one piece, meeting up with Ryan, Erika's Bass player. We navigated the train system to cambrige and dropped all our gear at All-Asia before leaving to grab a cup of coffee. It was good to have a bit of downtime before the show and it gave me a chance to try and fix my bed-hed which was at its all-time cracked-out high thanks to the Fung Wah trip and having rushed to the bus without time to shower.

Sunday evening, I performed at All-Asia Cafe in Cambridge Mass. The show went very well despite a late start due to some sound issues we had to work out. Once we got the show on the road, though, the evening was a delight.
I want to give a very big and warm thank you to George who brought boyfriend and girl friend in tow.
It was a pleasure to meet all three of you and to hang out after the show. Thank you for the beer and the food and the cab back to the bus.
All of your words and genuine enthusiasm for my music mean a great deal to me.

It has been difficult for me lately as I trudge forward with a strong sense of purpose and and an ever-growing weariness. You made me smile and realize that though things have been feeling a bit daunting and up-hill, I am doing what I need to be doing and there are kind, warm people listening. Thank You.

I caught the 11:30 Fung Wah bus back to NYC, arriving at 3:30 in the morning, exhausted but ultimately really happy, feeling that the trip to Cambridge had been a good show and a much needed though temporary escape from the city.

For those of you who weren't able to make it, below is the set list.



Set List for All Asia in Cambridge
(almost in the order played)

1. Walking Song
2. Sirens of Brooklyn
3. Lemon Scented
4. God in the Telephone Book(unreleased)
5. Follow
6. Follow me Home
7. Mr. Carpentier(unreleased)
8. Life Was Simple(unreleased)
9. Before You Go
10. Flapjacks(unreleased)
11. This 2 Shall Pass

Due to a late start and my incessant banter, Marlboro Man, Down So Low(unreleased), Throw That Box(unreleased), and the Siren(unreleased) were intended to be played but cut from the list.