I saw my first live band tonight since I came home. Mark it – June 30th. It took me over six months to find someone I wanted to see (the Concertgebouw doesn’t count). I was at Joe’s Pub at the Public Theatre. This marks the second time I’ve been to the Public in a week… which is two more times than I have been to the Public in the last decade. (Go figure.) Joe’s Pub is a pretty nice room. Attached to the theater, it is an intimate space and has good sound. Tickets are inexpensive – though there is a drink minimum. I got there as it opened, about an hour before the 7PM show. First I asked to be seated at one of the tables, but if you have legs this is not a good idea. The tables are small and heavy and packed together. I opted instead for the bar which offered the best seat in the house (remember that- get there early and sit at the bar). My bartender may have thought I was already wasted since I just kept looking all over the room. In actuality, I just got my new glasses earlier in the day and was trying to get used to my new progressive lenses. They are strange but very cool and useful. I should have the hang of it in a few days.

Truth be told, it had been a trying day. Mishaps, misadventures and car issues (Note: If you have a battery replaced on your car, be sure that they re-set the computer chip or the car won’t run.) So – I really needed this show. And it was a good time. The Unthanks – which is Rachel and Becky Unthanks from Northumberland in England and their band. I had originally heard them on a Songlines CD and then picked up their recent LP “Here’s The Tender Coming”. They are a folk band, doing originals and traditional tunes. Just remember that traditional English songs include sea chantys, lost love and songs from the mines so there is an ever present dark side to the gorgeous, lilting harmonies. The band included someone on the violin, another on cello/accordion, one on piano, bass & drums and bass & guitar. They left their brass section at home but hooked up with a local trumpet player an hour before the show who played on one song. Before the third number, the sisters changed from their pretty shoes to these flat shoes. Turns out they were their clogging shoes, which were featured in that song and later in a more extended dance during the encore. I most admit that though the songs were good and the sisters were charming with wonderful, intertwining voices – the thing that got me most were the arrangements of these songs. Very modern and very fresh (at least to my ear).

Truly a great show and, at the end, it was only 8:30! So I walked out into a still light early evening in NYC.

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