As has been my tradition for the last few years, I went to my friend Dave's for his Anti-Super-Bowl house concert in his backyard, which is always well-attended. He hosts The Kennedys, Pete and Maura, a husband-and-wife duo who have been together for 28 years. She plays rhythm guitar, he plays lead guitar and ukulele (performing an amazing version of Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue).
They've lately been playing the entire album, start to finish, of River of Fallen Stars, as their first set, to honor the 25th anniversary of its release, which was amazing. They are nearing the end of the tracklist, and Maura explains that this next song, Life Goes on Without You, is about her mother's passing. As she begins, a bird starts singing along, a harmony/accompaniment to Maura's vocals. It is all at once eerie, beautiful, and melancholy, and Maura bursts into tears and cannot finish the song. Only on that one the bird sang, not before nor after. Goosebump-worthy.
Their second set was all-request, and they honored my ask of one of the three Dave Carter tunes they have recorded, their choice. It was When I Go. Lovely.
I'm always glad to see them, and they me. We talked afterward and it turns out that they'll be at The New Bedford Folk Festival, which my husband and I plan to attend this July, in lieu of Falcon Ridge.
P.S. My graphic made me think of a conversation I had with my brother not too long ago. I was saying that something "wasn't all rainbows and unicorns" and he interjected that the alternative phrase, for those in the 12-step programs (which he is), is "pizzas and blowjobs". Ah, perspective is everything... :-)
SONG: Life Is Large by The Kennedys
BOOK: Super Bowl Coloring Book by Johnnie Walker
POEM: Wide Receiver by Mark Halliday
In the huddle you said “Go long—get open”
and at the snap I took off along the right sideline
and then cut across left in a long arc
and I’m sure I was open at several points—
glancing back I saw you pump-fake more than once
but you must not have been satisfied with what you saw downfield
and then I got bumped off course and my hands touched the turf
but I regained my balance and dashed back to the right
I think or maybe first left and then right
and I definitely got open but the throw never came—
maybe you thought I couldn’t hang on to a ball flung so far
or maybe you actually can’t throw so far
but in any case I feel quite open now,
the defenders don’t seem too interested in me
I sense only open air all around me
though the air is getting darker and it would appear
by now we’re well into the fourth quarter
and I strongly doubt we can afford to settle for
dinky little first downs if the score is what I think it is
so come on, star boy, fling a Hail Mary
with a dream-coached combination of muscle and faith
and I will gauge the arc and I will not be stupidly frantic
and I will time my jump and—I’m just going to say
in the cool gloaming of this weirdly long game
it is not impossible that I will make the catch.
QUOTE: "When you go into a game, and there's something that was drawn up the way it was supposed to be drawn up, and you missed the throw or the catch, as a receiver, it's something where you feel bad about that. You can always regret just missing it, but as a football player, you have to move on to the next play." ~ Patrick Mahomes
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