our king is well dressed
in which, if I have to have this holiday madrigal stuck in my head so do you, recapping a weekend of live theatre, tarot gift certificates arrive!, and the winter solstice show ticket link
Hey Hartlist,
How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.
One.
As I think I’ve mentioned before, I’m a bit of a Winter Holidays nut, and I was raised in a house where “Christmas Carols” meant “music from before 1900” and played on things like lutes, if possible.
My lute was in the shop, so I made this.
Is the air so dry in my apartment that I can barely croak? Yes. Is this the original key? It is not. Is this only half the song? Yes. Am I singing the bass part up an octave? Yes. Am I singing the soprano line down an octave? No… unforch.
And I’m still sharing it with you…. that’s how deep our love goes.
Fun fact: the ‘king’ in question is not Baby Jesus, but a dead bird that kids used to carry around from house to house on a plate to celebrate ‘the death of winter’. And now you know even more about my childhood.
The point is, when you have a band you can make your friends part of your obsessions. At this year’s Winter Solstice Concert you can hear me sing this with Susie on the high part and Matt & Sam on the low and also a bunch of other tunes that don’t sound like this at all.
What’s that? You didn’t get to hear “Cannonball” from the Cutting Room show the last time I posted it?
Why are these videos so huge? I can’t fix them. Anyway.
In all seriousness, I do love how often music events come together magically. This year I was sad that almost no one from the Wrong Band was free but, hey, I guess Matt Gelfer & I could do it alone. Then Susie & Mollie (fiddle/uke/accordion) from ye olde Dirty Waltz Band, were involved (reunion!) Then Sam the Other Gelfer Brother joined on bass. Then Nick (trumpet) remembered he was free that night. And of course the holiday show would not be complete without the hilarity of Jonny Porkpie (who now actually plays an instrument! after a year in quarantine).
I do think maybe the magic comes of being determined to do the gig anyway no matter what. “Leap and the net will appear” and so on.
Related, planning is underway for the Wrong Band to visit Ireland !!!!! this July, with Matt & Sam’s trio the North Folk. So get ready. And also we need a place to stay.
AND we somehow got a rehearsal with everyone together…tonight. So I should go practice.
I’ll leave with this: Go see live performance. Even if it’s not mine! I spent all weekend seeing theatre because now that it’s back I can’t get enough, and I just can’t get over how when it’s good there is just nothing like it. And if I may be this person for a moment… I don’t mean “a big broadway show” although that’s great too!! But, like….sit in a small house. See the actor’s faces. Watch them embody a whole freakin’ world and live through something right there in front of you that you’re both part of and observing. Feel live people all around you laughing when you laugh, and actually crying when you cry. (Wear your mask.) No smart editing or emotionally manipulative musical score. I mean what.
Put me in coach, I’ve missed it.
So, the 12/22 show will be like that. Except there will be an emotionally manipulative musical score.
That’s it for me this week, sorry I missed you last week!
Also I have my booster tomorrow and I am ascared send good vibes.
Love
RH
PS the shows I saw this weekend were “The Antelope Party” at the Wild Project and “Selling Kabul” at Playwrights Horizons. Two incredibly different plays that were somehow? kind of? about the same thing? We live in a scary time folks. But Arting makes it easier.