All Days are Night: A Concert Review

     On Saturday, August 7, 2010, I had the pleasure of attending a concert held by Rufus Wainwright at the Strathmore Music Center in Bethesda, MD. Many of my friends know that I am a long time fan of Rufus Wainwright. I discovered him on the soundtrack to the film Shrek. One of the sadder moments of the film features Leonard Cohen singing his amazing song, "Hallelujah." The soundtrack of Shrek features Rufus Wainwright's cover of that song. Shrek came out in 2001, which would have placed it right in the middle of my grand love affair with the piano, and there was "Hallelujah," a gorgeous and artistic piano ballad. I fell in love, used the music-finding software of the time to find Rufus's second album, Poses, and the rest is history. I am going on a ten-year relationship with Rufus Wainwright.

     A very good friend of mine attended the concert with me. Parking at Strathmore was a dream, which eased my nerves. Parking in DC has the potential to be a wreck waiting to happen, but Strathmore uses the Metro parking lot, so everything went smoothly. I must mention this--the auditorium of the music center is very pretty. Everything is made out of a light wood stain, the seats are comfortable--any concert is a pleasure to see in that auditorium.

     A big disappointment was the starting time. The tickets said that the show started at 8pm, so I assumed that is when I should aim for arriving. However, although we arrived about ten minutes prior to 8pm, we found the opening act already in progress. Rufus Wainwright's sister, Martha Wainwright, was the opening act. She is a shining example of what is wrong with music today. The woman is so freaking talented. She has a lovely voice and creativity to spare, and she's not famous. She should be, and it is a sin that she isn't. I especially appreciate what she brings to the background vocals of Rufus's studio albums. She is his go-to female accompaniment, and I can't accuse it of being sheer nepotism. When Rufus performs some songs alone, I often wish Martha's voice was there too. She adds so much to a song with so little effort. Anywho, Martha had started way before 8pm, so we only caught the tail end of her act. I wish I would have known that she was starting earlier, because I would have loved to see more of her.

     Rufus's part of the show began with his latest album, All Days are Nights: Songs for Lulu (above), being played straight through as a piece of performance art. To accompany the lone musician and his piano, the stage was dark with the exception of a projection screen behind him. Artistic depictions similar to the cover art of the latest album played on the screen while he played, and he requested no applause between songs. It was a requiem for his mother, the exceptionally talented Kate McGarrigle, who was ill during the making of this album, and who passed away shortly after the album's release. The performance was dark, sad, beautiful, and touching.

     After a brief intermission, he returned to a more positively lit stage to perform songs from his other albums. During this portion of the show, I really felt like he was playing just for me, because he chose a few of my very favorites, including "Beauty Mark," "La Complainte de la Butte" (which he recorded for the soundtrack of Moulin Rouge!), "Cigarettes and Chocolate Milk," "The Art Teacher," "Poses," and of course, his ever famous cover of "Hallelujah." It was nice to see him, bright and smiling in an orange and coral colored suit on a stage of candles, playing these songs that made me so happy over the last decade. It made remember a person I used to be, who was very different than who I am now. It made me remember feeling like I had art inside of me to share, and it made me remember being desperate for love. It was quite a nostalgic experience. Rufus's performance is so precise and superb lately, too, that, paying attention to technicality, you can hardly tell differences from his recordings to his live performances.

     Rufus ended the show by covering a song of his mother's called "The Walking Song." It was a pretty and simple folk love song, and he performed it with such sensitivity--I'm sure everyone was moved. I left that night feeling sad and sweet, for my past and for Rufus and Martha. Unbeknown-st to them, we've been through a lot together.

     Please note that this post contains product links using Amazon Associates. Should enough people click the links and make purchases, I would get paid. Amazon Associates pays once your clicks equal $10; in my entire history with the program, I currently have about $3, so I have never been paid yet, lol. The biggest reason I use Amazon Associates is so that I don't have to use my own personal server space for image hosting when I refer to products, and to ensure proper and unbroken links for archiving purposes.

Let Dinner Tonight text you dinner ideas!

     This is quite possibly the coolest and most helpful thing I've seen in a while. Martha Stewart's Everyday Food magazine has a new text messaging service called Dinner Tonight by SMS. If you sign up for this service, the kind folks at Dinner Tonight will text you a recipe title every day. This is where the service gets cool. You don't like the title? Delete the text. It never came, and you can forget about it. You do like the title? Sounds like it might be tasty?


Dinner Tonight by SMS
Reply with the word "cook". The text messaging service will then text you a shopping list and email you a copy of the recipe. This means that I'm sitting at my desk, it's 5pm, and I'm wondering, "What am I going to make for dinner when I get home?" Boom, a text message with a recipe titled Penne with Two Tomatoes and Mozzarella. Sounds tasty, I think, and I reply. Boom, there's my shopping list, and I can mentally tick off what I have at home versus what I have to pick up from the store (mozzarella). I stop at the store, pick up my cheese, and when I get home, I sign on and have the recipe there, 20 minutes to make, and dinner's on the table.

     The recipes have all been about 20 minutes cook and prep time, too. It's really a brilliant service, and I am looking forward to the quick recipes that it will share. If you're interested and have a cell phone (no smart phones necessary), I suggest you try this out as well.

EDIT: As of 8/1/2012, This service is no longer available. Sorry, non-smart phone users!

Quick Post: Williams Sonoma Sale!

     Although it is currently 92 degrees outside here in DC, I must give all the heads up regarding an email I just received. Williams Sonoma online is having a 75% off summer sale, and when I browsed over to see what they were offering, I found something I had to have:





Essential Oils Collection in the scent of Spiced Chestnut
     I posted about this set last October, but didn't pick it up then. The original price of that set was upwards of $35. If you catch it soon, you can also pick it up for $14.99. I can't wait for fall to come--I'm already fully stocked and ready to enjoy it.

Holiday Ro o o o o o o o o oad!

     I just got back from a really great family vacation in the Outer Banks, NC. I'd never been there before, but after a week there, I know I'd go back. It's more laid back than other beaches I've visited, but it's got some great little gems that are really worth the attention. It was a great week. Five straight days off of work, read a good book, got some sunburn, but at least my skin saw the sun! Working in an office leaves me paler than pale usually, so I'm really happy I got some color. I know about the health concerns, but like I said, I see sun so rarely, I think my skin will be able to repair the 51 other weeks out of the year that I hide indoors.



     My top five picks for fun at OBX:

1. Duck Donuts: If you haven't had these, I'd almost urge you to drop everything and drive to OBX for them. Best. donut. ever.
   
2. SunScents: My husband and I actually had the chance to talk to the owner of the store and creator of the candles. He was a great guy. He recommended Burt's Bees Carrot Body Lotion for my sunburn, and said that all of the locals prefer it to Burt's Bees After Sun lotion. Also, he said that he tries to make sure that the products in his store are made in the U. S., which my husband and I respect. The candles smelled really good, too. I got one for my mom--don't tell her!
   
3. ALL Beach shops in general. I love beach shops, ankle bracelets, and shell jewelry.
   
4. Billy's Seafood. This place is brilliant. You're at the beach all day and tired, you'd like to eat dinner at your beach house, but you don't feel like cooking. Anything. Take a trip to Billy's Seafood in Collington, order yourself some already-steamed crab legs for under $10 a pound, take it home and feast. If you like blue crabs, call a few days ahead. Their steamed shrimp was also excellent, and you can't beat their price or quality on steamed crab legs at any restaurant.
   
5. Scarborough Faire Shopping Village: I'm a window shopper, and this place was lovely. Off the roads, there's wooden walkways and a ton of shops.
   

     If you'd like to view a couple of pictures that I snapped, I placed an album here.

Rain, rain, rain.

     It's getting warm lately, and humid. With the summer months come thunderstorms, and they surely appear to be getting close and soon.






Photo One is a picture of ducks in my in-laws' back yard in State College. Photo Two is a stormy afternoon in DC.
To quote my mother, it is weather for the ducks. I'm glad I found rain boots.

FYI...

     Yes, my purse is supposed to be a panda.







My husband got it for me for my birthday. :)
I'm answering this question because I'm getting it often lately.

Donating hair!

     I've been growing my hair out for a while. Initially, I made the decision so I could have longer hair for my wedding. I guess I made that decision last, say, summer. We're quickly approaching this summer. At a recent party, someone caught a picture of my hair's current length:




That's me in the lower left corner. I'm very close to my goal--to donate my hair to the Locks of Love Foundation. Ten inches is the amount of hair I need, tip to tip. My next hair appointment is in June, so I'm really hoping that I'll have the right amount by then.

     This will be the third time that I have donated my hair to LoL. The first time was in high school, and the second time was during my first year in DC. It's a fun thing to do. I'll cut it in a bob, then play around with different cuts and colorings for a while, but ultimately, I'll grow it out and donate it again. I think it's better than letting it go to waste, and heck, I'm not using it. Someone else can put it to better use than I ever could.

Ostara excitement!

     I loooove holidays, and Easter is no different. The Ostara celebration is full of fun traditions. My husband and I celebrated in a low-key sort of way, but it was still fun. I we dyed eggs, which I hadn't done in years.




Of course, I had to sort in rainbow order.


In my mom's tradition, we labeled each egg with family names--me, my husband, and our cats.
     We only dyed a dozen eggs because I don't like hard-boiled eggs. My husband is going to have to eat all of them!

     That was Easter Eve. On Easter Day, we went out into the world--and a beautiful day it was--for a nice breakfast.


My landlord's puppy, Daisy, on Easter Day.


The cherry blossoms are in full bloom.
     And finally, I leave you with a picture that my mother-in-law took of one of the baby bunnies that run through her back yard.


Meet George!
     I hope you had a great holiday weekend!

"It's a great day to be a particle physicist."

     She blinded me with Science! It' s poetry in motion! Check this out!:

Cern LHC sees high-energy success

     This is extremely exciting. If you're not sure what they're doing at CERN, check this out first:



     This is another useful article. Notably, it says that we're not likely to see Higgs Boson evidence until after 2013, when the collider is boosted to collision energy of 14 TeV. We're at 7 TeV today. Woo for science!

     Also, nice to know that the future isn't trying to sabotage us this time!

Spring is here!

     And I must admit, I really have been enjoying it. Summers can be incredibly stifling in DC, to the point where I forget that other seasons can be quite pleasant. Ask me again in two or three months, and I shall tell you that I hate this city irreparably. Right now, though, when the cherry blossom trees are blooming and there's a breeze through the streets, things are just lovely. I could live here forever if only it would always be this temperature.


That sky--talk about blue!
     I also just spent a nice and rainy weekend in NYC. My birthday was last week--26 years old!--and my husband took me to see a great new Broadway show to celebrate! It was a really fun trip, despite the rain.


Madison Square Garden in the rain--waiting for a taxi.


We saw a preview showing of The Addams Family, starring Nathan Lane and Bebe Neuwirth. They were amazing!


There are gargoyles outside of our room on the top floor of the Radisson Lex.
     A short summary of my trip in photos is above. Omitted are photos of the largest martini I've ever consumed, along with photos of restaurants, hotels, and all of the indoor fun that can be managed in NYC.

     Happy St. Patrick's Day!