monday morning musings...

It's raining outside. Sometimes I love the rain. Sometimes I hate it. Today I am in between. Rain usually makes me think a lot. Rain also usually gives me a headache - my sinuses don't like it. But my headache is waning and I have started settling into my rainy day thoughts.

It's also Monday morning. Sometimes I like Mondays. Sometimes I hate them. Today I am in between. I didn't want to wake up this morning. My puppy was so cute this morning when I rolled over to get up. She literally scooched all the way from the foot of my bed and sat her butt right down on my chest so her face was on my face. I guess she doesn't like waking up on Monday's either. :) But awake I am, and its the beginning of a new week. I like new beginnings. They make me hopeful.

My roommate Lindsay and I really bonded last night. We made an appetizer together for Mary and Tim's engagement party. She was a great date. (except I think she spiked my drink.) :) I think she is going to stay after Mary moves out, at least for a little while. This was a relief and eased my mind. I was stressing a little too much about it I think. We decided to go together to the Halloween Dance Party, so we are trying to come up with a great "dynamic duo" costume. If Nelly would show me how to do those cool blog-polls I could let the readers vote. (hint to Nelly - when do my blog-pimping lessons start?) :)

It is almost time for lunch. I feel like soup and a book today for lunch. I haven't had a chance to read in a few days with all that's been going on. I bought a new book this weekend. Another collection of Rilke's poems but this one has both the German and the English side by side. I get a lot more out of it this way rather than reading just the German or just the English. I think I will sit on my porch with my soup and my book and listen to Rosie Thomas. I need more time with my thoughts today. My mind is wandering into so many different rooms right now. This post is turning out to be similar to Nelly's "streams" I think.

For those of you who were anticipating the blog about Round Two of Over the Rhine on Friday night, I am sorry I have yet to post it. I was just too tired this weekend. So, although this won't do it any justice, I will post a mini-blog within a blog about Round Two. Here it is:

OTR ROUND TWO: DING DING!

Linford is a musical wizard. I would write a discourse on this guy if I had the time, energy, or space to do it. It doesn't matter what he's playing; piano, organ, guitar, bass, or all of the above. Its like magic in my ears when he sits at the piano though. He is a champion improviser. After hearing him twice in one week, I can say that its seems like he doesn't ever play the same song the same way. It was absolutely brilliant.

I met Rosie Thomas, and she is so nice. I bought another one of her CD's. I saw her standing at the bar before the show, so I went over to introduce myself. We talked for about 15-20 minutes or so and I just really like her. She's very down to earth and really quite humble and sweet.

I sat in the second row this time and I had 8 of my friends come along. It was great to introduce so many new people to such a fantastic band. That makes me happy. Karin was gorgeous as usual, but particularly enchanting on Friday. The show definitely had a "Friday night feel" to it in comparison with Wednesday night. She was a little more sultry, sang a couple of sexy Christmas songs from Snow Angel and she just had a little more sass. In the end, all I can really say is: what a voice!

(photo of my rainy back yard, from my phone)

Over the Rhine Live: Round One

(Photo by Brittany Holcombe)

ROUND ONE: DING!

Last night I had the great privilege of seeing Over the Rhine live in concert with my friend Brittany at The Grey Eagle in Asheville, NC. This was the second time I've seen OtR in concert and I have to say: they just keep getting better and better! I really like The Grey Eagle as a venue because its cozy. There's a bar in the back and couches up front. It was like having Karin and Linford in my living room. Talk about incredible acoustics too. Live music is one of those experiences that is unparalleled in my opinion. I absolutely love it.

Before I go any further with this blog, I have to mention, that Brittany and I ate dinner at this funky little place called "Eatie's Cereal Bar." They had all kinds of old school cereal and you can just fill your bowl up with whatever you want and then pick your milk. They had yellow booths and a big screen that played old Saturday morning cartoons in the back. I felt like a kid again! If you haven't tried a cereal bar lately, I highly recommend it. I had a combination of random cereals, but I think I was most excited about the fruity pebbles. :)

OK, on to the highlights:

• New discovery of the evening: ROSIE THOMAS. Where has this girl been hiding all my life? It was by far one of the best opening acts I've seen in awhile. Her lyrics were piercing and honest and her music was tender and mellow. She was really cute and funny too. One odd observation though: her talking voice sounds nothing like her singing voice. She has this high pitched, cute, girly talking voice and then this soulful, Sarah-McLaughlin-esque singing voice. She also sews aprons and sells them with her other merchandise. Moral of this story: Rosie Thomas rocks. Buy her CD. I did. :)

• The lineup: We had fair seats, but about 5 songs before the end some people left from the front row. So, we slipped up to the front for an incredible view. It was perfect timing too because the very next song happened to be in my top 3 OtR songs - "Suitcase" from Ohio. The lineup was a good mix but was naturally weighted with songs from "The Trumpet Child." I think they played 2 songs from Ohio, 1 from Drunkard's prayer, a couple of great covers (including "Fever" and "Orphan Girl" also two of my favorites) and the rest were from "The Trumpet Child."

• Favorite Comments from the Band: Linford described the title song "The Trumpet Child" as a mixture of his growing up around old hymns and his love for the great trumpeters of the 20th century like Louis Armstrong and Miles Davis. He said that he's always wondered what God's great trumpet call in the end will sound like - in his words, "What's on God's iPod?" He said this was their very own "jazz hymn." It was so incredible it gave me chill bumps. Karin made some excellent comments about their visit to the White House. When asked what they wanted to say to people in their music, she responded with, "you don't have to live life in fear."

• Best Moment: It's hard to pick a "best moment" when Karin wails like she does on every song, melting your heart and taking your breath away. But, I'm gonna have to say that when Karin pulled out an old burnt metal cookie sheet and started playing it like a tambourine in "Don't Wait For Tom", I knew it doesn't get much better than this. Only this band could pull that off and still be classy!

(photo of Karin playing the cookie sheet by Brittany Holcombe)

I bought two t-shirts and got a free concert tour poster. I also bought Rosie's CD. I can't decide which shirt I'm going to wear to the show at the Handlebar on Friday night. I think I'll wear the red one. Red is a good color. I feel like an OTR groupie for going to two shows in the same week. But I like being a groupie... I am already gearing up for round two!!

DING DING!