Out and About

The dining and music scene in the Greater Lowell area is (a)live and well. With a little on-line search, or word of mouth, anyone can find a venue within a 20 minute drive that caters to the atmospheric mix of good food, live music, and sometimes a little dancing. Maybe we’re catching on late, but there seems to be a renaissance with the whole supper club/music cafe concept in the local area in the last ten years, and we couldn’t be happier. We differentiate the “supper club” from the bar & band scene in terms of musicians as professional artists and the audience that tends to be in the thirty-five-plus age range. Not that the bar & band scene isn’t fun and worthwhile, we really enjoy that too. In fact, we expanded our recent evening's entertainment with a really good local band at one of our favorite watering holes.  

There is a wide community of talented musicians living and working in the area from whom we can enjoy the vast catalogue of original works, as well as American and international standards. Where covers are concerned, it is always interesting to experience the artist’s interpretation that sets them apart from anyone else.  

A couple of Saturday’s ago we went to the Acton Jazz Café. This little gem is tucked away in the back, lower level, of a small building that houses a bank, of all things, on Boston Road in Acton. It is not obvious despite the signage on the front of the building. Even if you pull into the parking lot you will still not see the cafe until you drive all the way around back. Once back there you still have to look beyond the drive up kiosk before the warm lighting behind curtained windows comes in to view. When we first walked up to the back of the bank we still couldn’t tell if the door in front of us was going to lead to the club. It looked like the entrance to one of those indoor ATMs.  But entering what is essentially a foyer, and looking right, confirmed we had arrived at the right place. A gentleman standing at a podium beside a double door waved us over. He confirmed our reservations and signed us into the guest book. At that moment a petite women with dark hair came over to great us and show us in. We were to learn later that this woman is Gwen Vivian, the proprietor of the Acton Jazz Café. She personally welcomes her guests. It is no doubt a testament to Gwen, her dedicated patrons, and coterie of fellow musicians that the café has survived for thirteen years in this same funky location. Gwen has recognized the spectrum of her patrons’ tastes, so the café presents not just jazz, but also blues, and poetry. A patron has the opportunity to listen to the individual vocalist or pianist, a poet on open mic nights, the multi-piece acoustic or electrified band.

We were there for the early show, 7:00 PM, and upon entering were immediately entranced with the low amber lighting scattered around the room, candles on small square bistro style tables, and white Christmas lights draped outside the windows. Curiously, a television was elevated on a faux hearth at one corner of the room, running a loop of burning logs in a fireplace. However, this rather artificial set up did not detract from the entire setting, but actually added to the interior lighting. Gwen decorated the room with various posters and photos in the music/musician motif, and once seated we noticed that the double doors served as a graffiti board for what we assumed were her many friends in the business. Tables were arranged in rows on either side of a small dance floor that is located in the middle of the room before the band stand, and along the walls to the left and right of the room. The proximity we had to others with the table arrangements encouraged introductions and dialogue. A cozy looking bar at the rear center of the room glittered with reflections from glass ware and backlit shelves of bottles holding varied spirits.

The evening’s entertainment was Johnny Hoy & the Bluefish. Billed as a “dance blues band”, the four piece combo originates out of Martha’s Vineyard. They put on a fine show with some very infectious and original numbers in the delta blues/rockabilly vein. The vibe for the night was vey honky tonk, and we enjoyed ourselves thoroughly. More than a few couples got up to do some dancing, completely packing the tiny dance floor. We were content to munch our light fare of Tex-Mex nachos, salsa, spicy peanut sauce and bar-b-q chicken fillets while listening and watching. The Manhattans and Cosmopolitans were made to order. Conversation could be heard in the background while the band played. Johnny and his boys didn’t mind one bit, this wasn’t a recital after all. We had fun chatting up two couples from Maynard and Chelmsford who sat on either side of us. Our random and free flowing banter was lively and punctuated by some ribald humor. We love people who can let their hair down a bit on a first meeting. We’ll probably connect with them again. By the time the set ended it was 9:30 and a new group of patrons arrived for the later show. We said our good-byes to our new-found acquaintances and headed back to Lowell.

Once in town we headed over to Centros to see our favorite bartenders, and enjoy the evening’s “theme drinks”. We were pleasantly surprised by the fact Centro’s brought in a band for the evening, which was a new wrinkle in the restaurant’s typical M.O. But we have to say Charlie Christos’ band was tight and put out an eclectic mix of cover music that spanned Nirvana’s “Come As You Are” to Johnny Cash’s “Ring of Fire”. And we have to say the vocals on the Cash number were spot on. During one of their breaks we took the opportunity to purchase a CD from the band called “Woman’s Gun”; an eight song collection of “stories and verses”. It contains some very good original music. A couple of the tracks are reminiscent of Bruce Cockburn. We stayed for a couple of rounds and a set of music before heading back to the homestead, happy in each other’s company and pleased with what we had for an evening of enjoyment.

Home Improvement

So we’re home this weekend for a few improvement projects prior to the Holidays. My assigned task is to strip and re-wax the kitchen floor. It has been something like three years since I last did this and the floor is looking a little beat.

OK, so E and I went to Home Depot to rent a floor "maintenancer" (aka "buffer"). If you’re not familiar with one of these contraptions it is a rotary motor mounted over a circular plate that turns round and round. Attached for the user’s driving pleasure is a tall adjustable post with handle bars. That’s it. It looks like one of those old fashion push mowers except for the spinning circular plate, that’s about 22 inches in diameter, under the motor. A rough pad of woven nylon is stuck to the plate as the business end that does all the work on the floor.

The key operative feature is the fact the user must know how to apply a tilt to the spinning plate via the handle bars to propel the whole device in the desired direction. It does not work with wheels, although two small wheels are mounted at the base of the motor for transport. The buffer spins clockwise at a relatively high rate, and the direction of propulsion is a direct function of where you bias the tilt because you are using friction to move as well as work. Want to go right? Tilt back. Want to go forward? Tilt left. How about left? Tilt forward. Got it? This is all not immediately intuitive, but one can get the hang of it with some practice. 

The problem tends to be the fact practice is “live”, and generally takes place when the floor is wet with liquid wax stripper, which is very slippery stuff. You can try and maneuver away from slippery areas by working one end of the room to the other but sooner or later you will have to go back and go over an area that is wet. If you try this you will find out very quickly that nothing short of track spikes will keep your feet planted against sliding around like you’re out on an ice rink. 

The monster threw me around like a midget at a bouncer's tossing competition. I got jacked into the stove, caromed of the refrigerator, slid and flopped around the kitchen like a tuna on a fishing trawler. The spastic fit culminated with a full blown split. My body has no capability for this, and I am now injured. 

I couldn’t immediately understand why I was having so much trouble controlling the unruly beast, because I did this job before. A little investigation uncovered the reason. The machine I used before had a manageable 1/4 horse power motor and 12 inch plate. This thing…the ultimate behemoth of floor buffers, was rigged with something far larger, and I think it has a turbo charger. I remember my skepticism when the rental clerk brought it over on a dolley. My reaction was “damn that thing looks burly..” I should have known from the fact it took a lot more muscling into the car trunk than expected.

 I might add that I received the most thorough instruction on how to strip and wax a floor than I ever imagined. The clerk was totally into his job, and I respect that. But in his zeal to make sure I understood every nuance of the job he just simply overwhelmed me with minutia and I tuned him out. My eyes must have glazed over sometime around the demonstration of the proper position with hips square and feet at shoulder width because I only recall a dull roar. 

Maybe I should have listened better.

Here is a photo of the Marquis De Sade of rental tools.

Children of the Night

Swirling spot lights of magenta and actinic blue cascade over the crowd. We are entranced by the rhythmic beat of electronic “house” and the undulating waves of humans in motion.  The collective movement on the dance floor between couples, and gregarious clusters of three-somes and four-somes, is expressive and closely physical. Gazing from a balcony perch we are content to be voyeurs, but are gradually drawn to the vortex, and thus descend.  The Downward Spiral  brings us Closer. 

Every once in a while we are motivated to go into the city and do more than sit and eat, or sit and drink. Music and dance are the catalysts for a bit of physicality, and we subscribe to the notion: “gotta move the bones when you’re feeling the jones”.  Our preference is for live music, but have no issue with a DJ’s handy work. We had a lot of fun at the upscale night club The Estate in Boston last Saturday night. The dance music was infectious and the vibe was positive. Once we got into the music and the moment, we were down on that floor, writhing along with everybody else. The spectrum of ages and ethnic mix made for an eclectic crowd. It was a good turn out and the dance floor was jammed to the point random body contact with someone other than your dance partner was inevitable.  No one cared. Clearly, everyone was transported to a special place; feeding off the music and collective energy. We got our fix, and are “good” for now. But we will venture out again.  

Get into the flow with us. Click on the link below to open the music file at Box.Net. Play it with iTunes or Real Player. Get into it!

http://www.box.net/shared/6b1ulmemmn

Adult regression, Halloween, and other random musings

All of us need more time for fun distractions. Don’t you agree? There is not enough of it, and it is our own fault. “E  ” and I have been trying to do something about that imbalance. All our progeny have left the roost, and we’re still young, so better now than later because the AARP material is not going to stop piling up in the mail box.

We actually got things rolling in 2008. We spent more time going to concerts, getting into Latin dancing, reinvigorating our physical fitness, as well as joining a ski house in Vermont and socializing with active people there; skiing every other weekend. Bike riding was the big thing this summer, as posted earlier, and they have been mellow rides for the most part. Nothing extravagant like 50 mile rides, or daredevil runs down a mountainside. I admit that I am not prepared to take on the same risk that I did in my youth, when my bike riding was much more aggressive. It is a matter of the odds. My recuperative powers are not the same as when I was, say, 13 years old, or even a decade ago. I once fell off of a bike while standing on the seat as I rolled down a street with a steep pitch (and for the record I was 13, not 43, in case there was any confusion). I guess I was coming up on 20 or 25 mph when I lost control, and went over the high side. Thumped, rag-dolled, skidded, and thumped again for several yards. But staggered right back up. Can’t do that these days. No way, no how. If I tried to do something wild like that now, and screwed the pooch, E would read me the riot act….. while I lay on the gurney, sanguinating.

So our forms of fun nowadays must have a degree of “safeness”. Skiing is risky enough. Maybe fun can be more about doing things with the imagination instead of the body (but we DO love the imaginative things that can be done with the body). Anyway, we now have Halloween coming in and I have been fixated on having fun with this day. I think Halloween is an ideal excuse for all adults to reach back and get reacquainted with their inner child’s playfulness. Actually, I got into it last year, now that I recall. That was the year of the Ninja. Most of the ensemble was cobbled from the garments of a monochrome skiing outfit. Black. When coming down the mountain I look like one of the bad guys from Spectre in the Spy Who Loved Me ski sequence. (That’s a James Bond flick for those of you who have been living in a cave in Idaho).

This year’s decision on what to do, what to wear, or where to go for Halloween has been problematic as nothing has fired the imagination, and it doesn’t look like there is any special costume event that would appeal to us. Last spring we got into a more adult, and exclusive, costume event. Parties like that sometimes offer more possibilities for imaginative fun than expected…and the threat of the unexpected can be deliciously intoxicating. However, that little soiree won’t come around again until April 2010.

So this fall we’re probably going to be pinned down at the homestead to hand out candy to the kiddies, or protection money to the local juvenile delinquents.

But wouldn’t it be great to go to a full-on bash with people who really get into the themes of Halloween, and everyone played their avatar fully to the hilt. Recognition of the actors under the finery of well thought out and executed costumes would make it an interesting process of discovery and conversation. I have read about the traditional Venetian Festivals in Europe where people go all out. Here’s one photo of a well turned out couple:

How about this party goer?

Given that we are not going to invest in such an elaborate display, our choices of costume finery are going to be relatively mundane. I thought of being a comic book superhero, but that means spandex which can look really cheesy. Then I thought about a gladiator look, and convincing E  to style as Red Sonja, with those incredible red thigh-high boots she’s got stashed away. No soap. Nevertheless I bugged E  until she gave in and bought us some outfits off the internet. Not my true choice of persona. But what the heck, we’ll keep it PG-13 and have fun with the whole shtick when the kids (or thugs) come to the door. This year: King Bubba Ho-Tep and the regal consort, Nefer-tah-tahs!

(Sigh) Anybody up for a Halloween party in New York city? Check out what’s planned at some of the cool NYC venues at http://newyork.joonbug.com/.  Our venue of choice would be Gustavino’s.

We’ll sign off here with something for those who get into the goofy-scary Halloween thing, a-la KC And The Sunshine Band meets Rob Zombie. Have a spooktacular Halloween!

E

Open Studios

Last weekend was a chance for us to take in some art at the Western Ave. Studios in town. We stopped in to see our daughter Elaina and her works on display in her second floor studio. The photo above is of one of her most recently finished paintings that knocked us out. Eve gets this one. Erik already has several of Elaina's paintings in his office at work.

We are very pleased Lowell has supported the art community, and given our local artists Western Ave Studios as their forum. Everyone in the community benefits. Please take some time to visit if you haven't already been there. We Lowellians are very lucky to have yet another good thing so close!

Simple Pleasures

Sometimes the simplest pleasures in life bring the greatest joy. The feeling here is that a lot of people, ourselves included, lose that connection from time to time under the daily avalanche of information and responsibilities of making a living. We may not forget the mechanics of how to ride a bicycle, but the “visceral memory” of that sublime thrill of balancing upright while in motion atrophies without a little refresher. There is also that wonderful juxtaposition of tranquility, freedom, and adventure in the experience of wandering somewhere with no real objective, and breaking away from a known destination to wander to parts “over there”. There are many ways to get the same sensations, but for us the bicycle ride remains our common form of simple enjoyment. We dedicated ourselves this summer to spending more time doing this together not just as a way of achieving personal enjoyment and fitness, but to get that same sense of shared fun kids get, laughing and rolling through the woods or along a winding path together with friends.

We shared those childhood joys last weekend doing just what we pleased in our various explorations by bicycle along the coast. Although we drove to starting points that happened to be well known to us, and travelled familiar routes initially, it was the fact we did it by two-wheeler rather than four, and broke off in various directions not seen before that made the whole experience exhilarating. The icing on top of three days of riding was in those rest periods that afforded us time to sit quietly and enjoy each other’s company with few spoken words, and simply soak up the sunshine, breeze and sounds of the ocean.

Lowell's Summer Music Series.

Painting by Corey Barksdale

This year's Lowell Summer Music Series has been a real joy. We were able to catch some well known and respected bands like Los Lobos, Los Lonely Boys, Michael Franti & Spearhead, and more recently, Derek Trucks.

We really must extend our highest kudos to John Marciano who is responsible for bringing in what seems to be a better line up every year. No small feat when one considers these musicians are well respected on the national and international circuit, and routinely do bigger venues. And the ticket prices are by far the best deal going in the local concert scene.

John does a great job putting together a very eclectic mix that provides something for almost anybody who loves live music. What might be missing in the mix, like the broad genre of heavy rock, hip-hop, and rap might be a disappointment for more than a few locals, but the downtown setting and limited seating would not be conducive to those kinds of music acts anyway.

It may simply be a coincidence, but we find it odd how few Lowellians we know actually come to the series. At one point during the intermission of one show we attended the audience was asked who was from Lowell and who was from out of town. The majority...by far...was from out of town. We hope more Lowellians will come to the series more often as the support is crucial to the series' continuation.

Los Lobos have one of the most original Latino-blues-rock sound we've ever heard, and never fail to entertain, so we hope they come back again in a couple of years. This was their second tour here we believe. We saw them for the first time in 2006. But if we were happy with the Los Lobos concert, we were blown away with the pure entertainment factor, energy, and flat out musicianship of Los Lonely Boys, who have their own brand of Latino-rock. It's got a little more Santana flavor, and a lot more volume. Michael Frant had the infectious rhythms of reggae underlying a protester's social conscience. His trade mark "Yell Fire!" continues to be a relevant commentary on government and social ills, but the dark lyrics aside, it is one of the best songs we know of that gets people out of their seats and moving. A contingent from Vermont came down to see Franti, and the clouds of smoke filtering around during his set gave the whole scene something of a Greatful Dead concert vibe.

We're probably done for the season but look forward to next year. Hope to see you there!

Blue Note

by

Kathy Mackey

A Walk In The Rain

A walk under an evening rain creates an introspective frame of mind. Breathing slows and thoughts turn to images and story lines of fantasy that bring a warm rush and shiver. It is the same feeling sitting on a sea wall staring out over the waves, listening to their rhythmic cadence. It must be simply the presence and sound of water because the same sensations and dream state unfold under the cascade of a warm shower, or listening to the rain pattering outside a bedroom while immersed in pillows and covers.

A gray early morning back-lights the dim outline of a nearby window. The steady cadence of rain on roof and pane is a Siren's song drawing me back into the warm embrace of sleep.

Moonlight Mile

We chose this name for our blog because of its symbolism. The moon is significant to us for its abstract connotations: love; beacon, harbinger, mystery, insight, intuition, inspiration, and the metaphysical . A "mile" is symbolic of a journey more so than distance. A personal process of discovery over time. If we had thought of this years ago, or if there even was the concept of a blog years ago, maybe we would have started this sooner. There was a lot to write about in the past thirty-two years. From time to time we may reflect, but for the most part this is about what the two of us are experiencing, visceral and aethereal; as well as the things that contribute to better understanding and appreciation for others, what we have, and what is around us.

Prologue

We have talked about wanting to do a blog that would be an outlet for us to explore our desire to write about any number of subjects. It would be we knew, a blog about nothing really; at most a diary of things we experience and think about, and at the least an idle time distraction. We don't intend to weigh in too often on serious matters, but simply the joie de vivre.