Thursday, August 30, 2018

Nixon steps up to the election plate and hits the ball out of the Park leaving Cuomo stunned by her grand slam ,

Cynthia Nixon steps up to the election plate and hits the ball out of the Park leaving Cuomo stunned by her grand slam and pocketing the votes of any thinking person who listened, This game is not over , Two crucial weeks before the September primary. Nixon won the debate and my vote.
I went to Syndicated, a popular movie theater-bar-restaurant in Bushwick to watch the Cuomo/Nixon debate Some friends of mine from Occupy the Pipeline, an Occupy Wall Street off shoot who tried very hard to wake up Greenwich Village to the fact that a fracked gas pipeline was crossing the Hudson and bringing frack gas into Manhattan. Making the high rent neighborhood surrounding the High Line and the new Whitney a potential blast-zone from a possible explosion of the pipeline. The local electeds led by than City Council Speaker, Christine Quinn had been silence. Usually fracked gas is NOT transported into and though a densely populated neighborhoods like the far west Village because of the danger of an explosion, 

My friends had told me they were meeting there to watch h the debate. My friend Kim, a fierce enviormental activist and wonderful large puppet maker, told me she was very impressed by Nixon. I expressed doubt that she could win but I had announced I was endorsing her. I told Kim I would ask others to vote for her. I saw my vote as more of an anti-Cuomo rather than a pro -Nixon vote I could not find my friends in the now crowed room. I secured one of the last seats as the Syndicated filled up with people in theri 20's and 30's. I think I was the oldest person in the room. I sat between a young, full bodied black woman in a red dress and her friend a very thing, white, blond young woman.

Bo y, was I surprised how aggressive and informed Mx Nixon was. Her passion was real, not acting. She refused to give Cuomo an inch. More than once asked him to stop lying. The room was hers as the debate proceeded. He called her a corporation and she repeatedly called him a lier. The biggest roar from the crowd came when she talked about rents being out of control. She pointed out his biggest donors to his campaign are real estate developers. He answer that he support rent control. But like many of his answers during the debate, she spoke fact to his generalizations, repeatedly pointing out rent control, unlike rent stabilization is controlled by Albany . To the delight of the room, she called for a serous, overhaul. Most of the millennials present do not live in rent regulated apartments, The high cost of rent drew a loud response from the young crowd. The MTA issue drew a loud response for because most of the people use the L-train to go to work, It will be shut dow for two years would affect them , I was particularly impressed in how Nixon addressed labor. Than it was over. I left with a very changed impression of Mx. Nixon. I now actually actually think if enough people will listen t this debate she has a chance of wining,
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The crowd at the debate watch party had no patience for Gov. Andrew 

Wednesday, August 15, 2018

A PERFECT CONCERT: Brandi Carlile at Newport Folk Festival 2018

I fell in love with Brandi Carlile the very first time I saw her perform .. maybe 14 years ago .. she is one of my go-to listens ....when I feel down and need a shot of folk joy and authentic emotion and a reality check on life. I grew up in RI  and started going To the Newport Jazz and Folk festival when I was a teenager...high points included waiting with my mom 3 hours in the rain to see Judy Garland..it only took about six minutes for all of us to forgive her ...again waiting in the rain to Mahalia Jackson play her first secular concert (thank you George Wein) she waited until midnight to make a Sat become a Sunday..and brought Church to the festival...her first song was "Oh Lord did it not Rain."..and being part of the majority present who cheered Dylan when  went electic...when Billie walked on Stage during a Lester Young set and began to sing... they had had a falling out a few years previously ..it was an unforgettable moment ..and cemented in me the power of music to heal ..both were dead with the year..or when the Indigo Girls brought out Farron,, and left the stage and the rest of their set to her, but this post is about Brandi.  I want you to listen to this very, very special set .. and please please pay attention to the song The Mothers and the introduction.....please listen to the audio of her set and read FUV''s Rita Houston's pitch-perfect description of Brandi Carlilie. (I am including the actual link in case the audio button does not work'..... and Carlile can ROCK,,, there is a Zepplin rip in the set.


Brandi Carlile, Live in Concert: Newport Folk 2018



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Brandi Carlile.
Adam Kissick for NPR
The family spirit of the Newport Folk Festival is solid in Brandi Carlile's hands. She formed her own musical family with Phil and Tim Hanseroth years ago, and now they all tour together with their wives and children (they even make an appearance on the Newport stage). Stemming out from there, Carlile has fostered a living, breathing collaborative network of artists, walking the walk by showing up early and staying late to perform with her friends. Carlile was all over the festival, performing with Margo PriceLucius, The Lone BellowMumford and Sons and more.

Brandi Carlile performs at the 2018 Newport Folk Festival.
Adam Kissick for NPR
It's all part of a great year, as By the Way, I Forgive You has brought even more fans into the Bramily. Her Sunday evening Newport set was pure celebration, as if she soaked up all that sunshine and love and poured it back over the crowd. The dynamic song list included several new tunes, older faves, and a couple nods to past inspiration, with covers of Joni Mitchell's "A Case of You" and a Led-Zep-fierce rendition of Joan Baez's "Babe, I'm Gonna Leave You."



SET LIST:
  • "Raise Hell"
  • "The Story"
  • "The Eye"
  • "The Mother"
  • "The Joke"
  • "Mainstream Kid"
  • "Sugartooth"
  • "A Case Of You" (Joni Mitchell)
  • "Babe, Im Gonna Leave You"
  • "Party Of One"
  • "Hold Out Your Hand"
Credit List:
Technical Director:Josh Rogosin; Production Assistant: Téa Mottolese ; Location Recording facilities Provided by Aura-Sonic, Ltd.; Producer: Suraya Mohamed; Photography: Adam Kissick.